Local Celebrity

Back in the day, I used to love the phrase “you’re a legend….in your own lunchbox“.

Local Celebrity has brought my favourite phrase flooding back. Local Celebrity is tongue-in-cheek t-shirt label with light-hearted appeal. Their tees look and feel old-school, but their prints have modern undertones and always manage to make passers-by crack a smile.

This apparel company has already had a huge grassroots following on its home turf, in the U.S. What started humbly in a barn in November of 2003 has grown into one of the most sought after brands by young Hollywood, and hipsters alike. Soon it will be gracing the shores of Australia too, for all those Aussie readers out there craving some fresh new tees for summer down under.

“We just wanted to make some cool shirts for our friends to rock around San Diego.” says co-founder Daniel Ballard. “We thought the name Local Celebrity was classic, because of the friendly So-Cal community we live in.”

The story of their humble beginnings is also enough to motivate any budding t-shirt designer to take the plunge too:

In the beginning, the 20-something sibling founders Jordan, Andi, and Daniel Ballard were living at their grandma’s ranch in San Diego, and making t-shirts from her barn. “I was 24, and sharing a bunk bed with my brother” says Daniel. “I was making shirts during the day and busing tables at a local restaurant at night. Andi was designing the shirts, and Jordan was coming up with ridiculous concepts. A couple of weeks after we were up and running my phone started blowing up with people calling for our shirts. I had no idea who they were, but people would drive from all over San Diego county for them. I had to add minutes to my cell-phone plan cause of that. Soon after, retail stores started calling us for our shirts – some from across the country. We’re now selling to a few key specialty stores such as Kitson in Los Angeles, Atrium in N.Y.C., and nationwide in Urban Outfitters.”

So yeah, the dudes behind Local Celebrity are kind of a big deal these days!

Look for Local Celebrity to continue to blaze trails in 2007. So fresh and so clean.

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