Dave's New York x Henbo Henning - Part 3
A little over 3 years ago, a regular customer of ours (Henbo) was talking with my brother and me, and he said, "I have an idea for a design for a shirt, can I show it to you?" Now, we knew that Henbo did tattoos and was an artist, but we had no idea what to expect when it came to a design for Dave's. So we set up a meeting. About a week later we sat down and to our surprise, the first 15 minutes of the meeting we just talked about the things that make NYC great. We both shared our love for the energy of the people, the cityscape, the things that make NYC distinctive and our home. When it finally came to the design I could immediately tell that we were on the same page; let's make a design that calls out the things New York is known for. We could have done several things, but Henbo's love of monsters and characters really brought this idea to life.
When he showed us his ideas for design he said that he thought of 4 main characters that people associate with New York; a Pigeon, a Rat, a Bagel and of course King Kong. To be fair, I didn't immediately know what to think when we said Rat, Pigeon, Bagel, but knowing Henbo, I had to let him work and when he showed us a Rat wearing a Dave's Hoodie, a Pigeon in a Dave's Tee and a Bagel wearing overalls (with a huge grin on his face), we knew that these characters were perfect. Henbo also included his take on Kong with his signature flair and details in the eyes and mouth and while it was instantly recognizable, it was also unique. We hosted an in-store event where we screen printed these designs live, and there was an overwhelming response that day.
Last year we debuted Part 2 of our Dave’s x Henbo series, which featured the cast of characters as well as some additional NYC details; a cityscape, a subway car, pizza, and graffiti. The design also featured the Brooklyn Bridge, and a silhouette of our grandfather Dave. All of this fit within our Iconic logo (large DNY) on the back. Again, with the Henbo attention to detail and artwork that he has become known for, this design was intricate, unique, and decidedly NY and Dave's. We launched it last October as a merch drop in our store and worked with a lot of our friends to get the launch ready. It was a fan favorite from the moment it was released, and when I say fan I mean customers, employees, our family, and friends. Henbo has immense talent and really helps bring ideas to life.
Now we are here for Part 3 of the Dave's x Henbo experience, and we combined a live screen printing event (October 19, 2024) with a classic merch drop. The designs continue to expand on the ideas of Rat, Pigeon, Bagel, and Kong and this time we have two new designs. The series is called Monsters at Work and the first one shows our crew of Rat, Pigeon and Bagel all working on our Vintage Logo D to construct, paint, and get it ready. Dave's will always be a work in progress and our little friends are helping us get along. The second design in Monsters at Work has to do with our storefront. Kong is repping Dave's and working hard as he is breaking through a brick wall with the help of a sledgehammer, and his friends. The design speaks to the generations of people who have helped build NYC. We support those who work, and we appreciate those who build.
We hope you like the Monsters at Work series as much as we do. Henbo has put a lot of effort and thought into making designs that include many aspects of his style, Dave's, and New York City. If you couldn’t make it to the live screen printing event, we also have the designs available for sale throughout the season. We appreciate your support in these projects and can't wait to hear your thoughts and reactions. You can always reach out to us at info@davesnewyork.com or visit our shop. See you soon.
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