Happy New Year

Hey everyone, I know I've been out of pocket lately with the holidays all a blaze. But with the new year upon us I had to check back in to thank everyone who supported Grits throughout 2010. I am excited for what's next here at Grits, we're already cooking up lot of new designs and planning a few experiences for the new year. So stay tuned!!!

Anyway we are two days away from the new year. If 2010 was awful, well, it's all over and now you get a new start. If 2010 was amazing, well, it's all over and now you get a new start.

See how it works?

2010 ends forever tomorrow night. Then it's time to start working on an even better 2011, and if you start today, you'll be two days ahead of everyone else.


No Grits No Glory

Christmas in Hollis

I collect stuff.

For some reason, this time of year always has me collecting all types of random stuff. I try my hardest to hold back because I know once I start collecting something that keeps being produced in amazing variations, it may turn into an addiction. Oh well, At least it’s not drugs!




I love Mad magazine. This is my favorite, Issue 11!! Cover illustration done by one of favorites Basil Wolverton.


I found the perfect piece for the bathroom!! Illustration by another one of my favorite artist, Robert Crumb.


And where would I be with my Maneki Neko. He keeps the luck coming.

How to Make Cheese Grits

Its no secret I love cheese grits. So its a surprise to me when I occasionally run into people that never had or even heard of cheese grits. Since I am not much of a cook, by any sorts, I found a tutorial. If you don't know, now you know.

Irreplaceable

Our society exists in a state of over supply. And that's not just talking shelf space. As we face a significant shift in culture. Especially as it relates to [un]employment rates.There is now an excess of resources, resumes and people competing for jobs. So my questions is, how many of us are truly irreplaceable? And I am not just referring to irreplaceability to our employers, but in our lives. At any given moment there are hundreds or evens thousands of people that can do what we do, how we do, as well as... or even better. So what's your unique selling point, competitive advantage or super power?

In a world where mediocrity once held a long reign. (Get this degree, climb that ladder, buy more "stuff".) We are now being shown that being average actually puts you at a disadvantage in life. A goal of life must be to find your passion and do it uniquely and exquisitely and do it in a way that keeps you from being lost in the sea of mediocrity.

Angry by Tarelkin

Stand by

Please stand by while I pull out the pencils and Sharpies & start getting back into the swing of things. It was hectic last week but we all made it through. Either way I’ll be doing my best to stay on top of the daily blogging — all while cooking up new ways to give you some "Southern Hospitality". We had an excellent meeting today & went over a good chunk of the current + future plans of Grits. Now it’s time to pull out the pots and start cooking! Very excited!

Delicious Grits

Inspiration can come from anywhere. Even boring company meetings that lead to no action. as As a way to counteract sleep at my last meeting, I drew some ideas for next year. Here is one of them. Yes? No? Maybe?

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

We at Grits have been drowning in work lately, but that doesn't stop us from a new flood of ideas. We've got some hot stuff just about to boil over... and you know we plan on servin' up the good stuff! New fun, new adventures, new art! We promise not to tease you with lingering aromas for to long... in the meantime here's a taste!

Case of the Mondays

The last two weeks have been pretty busy so please bare with me. So many days of running with little or no sleep eventually catches up to you or maybe I have a case of the Mondays.

Servin the goodstuff

The newest issue of The Chattabox Zine was released a while back. However, if you haven't got one yet there will be some available at our favorite shops in Houston; Premium Goods, Tipping Point, Sucker Punch, and Check Other Outfitters. They are Free and are included with each order online. Hint... Hint

Make Art Make Love

I ran in to some old friends a few weeks back. They told me how much they loved the blog, but one was a little confused as to why I choose to use the word passion as a substitute for the word art. My answer was, "Everyone doesn't understand art but everyone understands passion."

With that being said, anyone who has made art and/or has had the good fortune of making love knows why passion is paramount.
Making art is sexy. Making art passionately is even sexier.

That’s why we do it…

Everyone else

A little over a year ago I ended a lengthy relationship. While there were many reasons that ultimately led to "the break-up", one in particular always picked at me slowly over the years; I always felt that I was being pushed to be mediocre. To be like everyone else.

It has always bothered me how school and societal standard has groomed us to be average, to be like everyone else. Belong. Fit in. Conform. I can't deny that there have been times I did just that, followed suit to get by from job to job, get through one class to the next. Ironically even when I was excelling by these standards and "performing well", an undeniable scent of the status quo covered me. And I hated the smell.

Every job everyone commended me on was actually the subconscious bane of my existence. I wanted out. Internally I was tired of my parents, friends, "mentors", even my then girlfriend telling me "to be realistic" and do something that was deemed as "safe." Nonetheless I accepted it. The mediocrity. In my job, relationships and in my life. It wasn't until after my ex and I broke up that I began to ask myself one question:

What do you really want to get out of life?

For me it was simply to create. To push forward with my art. To design cool shirts. No matter how menial that may have sounded to some, perhaps even most, I simply wanted to make cool shirts. And the first step towards that realization was to stop being mediocre; stop being realistic. In fact it was time to "be unrealistic" and follow my passion.

Every person who tells you to "be realistic" is asking you to be mediocre. They are suggesting you compromise your ideas and ideals in the name of security. But, our mantra at Grits Apparel is No Grits No Glory; We focus on the way things could be rather than the way things were. Some of the best ideas may seem unrealistic, but what would you rather do?... live like everyone else?

Do something.

We either get paid by the hour, week, month or even the year. I've yet to cash all those checks. Nor do I want to.

After working enough jobs you begin to realize that payroll will nearly never pay you your worth. I guess that's why I initially started to freelance and what ultimately led to my entrepreneurialism. I want to be paid for the value I create, not for how much time I spend at a desk, on the clock, nor how many meetings I doodle through.

If your current situation is filled with office politics and 9-5 redundancy, and you don't like it... it doesn't have to be that way.Your life does not want you to hate it. Your life wants to be loved.

But only you can do something about that.

Cyber Monday

Thanks everyone who has taken advantage of our Black Friday Sale. For the some that may forgot Friday, Here your last chance.

Happy Thanksgiving from Grits!

One year ago we started this journey and it's been one helluva ride. We've made a lot friends, extended family and some haters. Nevertheless, through all the obstacles we faced this year we wouldn't have made it this far without you.

Thank you for joining us every day, thanks for your support, but most of all, for everyone who decided to pursue their passion, thanks for doing the work, work that matters. No Grits No Glory

Happy Thanksgiving from Grits!

BTW Don't forget about the The Grits Black Friday Sale! from 12am- 12pm 40% Off everything!

Jimmy Houston

This past weekend was Houston's 2010 Art Crawl. For some who don't know exactly what that is, Art Crawl is a yearly event in Houston's Downtown and Warehouse districts, where more than 100 artists open their working art studios, exhibitions and sometimes even live in spaces to the public. Art Crawl is intended to give a little insight to the public about the contemporary art being created right here in Houston.

I hate to say that the first couple of spaces I saw were just so/so. That is until I ran into Jimmy Houston. [Yup that's his real name.] Anyway, Jimmy's paintings consist mostly of characters reminiscent of the cool illustrations and cartoons of the 30's/40's. But don't merely take my word for it. Shoot over to his blog and see for yourself. In the mean time, us at the Grits Chatta Box will continue to stay on the lookout for more emerging Houston artists like JImmy, who's definitely servin up some goodstuff.

Black Friday

The Biggest Obstacle

The other day, after having a long conversation with some friends, I came to the realization that the main thing everyone has in common, is fear. I believe it is truly the only reason anyone doesn't reach their fullest potential in life.

I often hear people say that they want to start their own business, pursue a dream, follow their passion. If you want to start a business, you don't need a degree, venture capital, loans, business plan or other "essentials" that often become distractions and excuses. So what's really the problem?

Far more than anything else, fear is the main obstacle that holds us back. So instead of pretending to be fearless, while buckling beneath the surface, learn to work it. Believe me it will never go away, but you can avoid letting fear make decisions for you.

Happenings

At Grits Apparel, we’re always trying to create new experiences for our customers. You may remember this poster as a free giveaway. So this a hint of things to come. #thingsthatmakeyougohmmm

New Chattabox

The new Chattabox zine is available and included for FREE with each order online, and it will be available at stores that carry Grits!

Adventure to Adventure

On the ride back from Stitched Up, I couldn't help but think about how much fun we had and I realized that this doesn't have to stop. You don't have to return to endless droning about nothing in your career. Well you can. But, all it's good for is making your boss rich, but not much else.

See, most people live check to check. Here is an idea. Instead of living check to check, how about adventure to adventure. I figured if you can’t live life like an adventure, it’s not worth doing.

So, what's my next adventure? I don't know yet. But, I know Grits is about to serve some goodstuff real soon.

No Grits No Glory

Stitched Up

If you wasn't in San Antonio, you missed out on Stitched Up. There were plenty of Sneaks and Freaks and Good Music. But this wasn't just another sneaker event (even though they still had sneakers) Stitched Up came correct with some of the dopest streetwear brands that Texas has to offer. What more could you ask for? Being that it was the first event dedicated to Texas streetwear there was plenty of hoopla, and hullabaloo. Actually, there’s still some hoopla (not as much hullabaloo). Here is couple of pics from the event to hold you over till the next one.

P.S. Big ups to Remix Label, Loyal K.N.G., Fresh Kaufee, 3Kings Clothing, Fur Face Boy, True Head, Mofoz Visual, Intellectual, Purely Rooted, Simply Complicated, Toodope, Nerdy Fresh and all the others I can remember right now. And last but not least All The Fans & Cool People We Met. Thank You!

Bayou City Soul Mix

I had a long day at Stitched Up yesterday and I am pretty beat. So instead of instead of my usual rants about work and passion, I figured you should check out a dope funk and soul mix I ran across a few weeks ago from the blog Bayou City Soul. The Bayou City Soul Project is all about the music of Houston. Created by Brett Koshkin, the project was to enlighten people who are not aware of Houston's history of soul music. Check the mix out it's certified dope. Personally I think there is no one in Houston that can mess with Brett on his diggin. You can download or stream the mix over at Peaceuvmine here.

P.S. I know that I am late on this, but I can't resist a good funk and soul set. Especially if the music is from Houston.

Go. Leap. Create.

Today's post is from my new friend Zee at The Middle Finger Project. She has some nice words about pursuing your passion and life as art. Enjoy the read.


If you think in terms of your life being a work of art, is yours a masterpiece, or a half-hearted attempt?

Just like a painting or a clay sculpture, you have full artistic control.

You can shape life however you wish.

You can do the things you long to do - you just have to give yourself permission to.

And that's always the hardest part.

Sometimes, when you know what the right thing to do is, but can't seem to get past all of the logistics, the solution is easy: Forget about them.

No time will ever be the perfect time. No situation will ever be the perfect situation. Nothing you do will ever turn out exactly as you planned.

The only thing that IS a sure thing?

Life is not forever.

Yours certainly is no exception.

There's simply no time for half-hearted attempts.

It's time to get out your paintbrush.

Go.

Leap.

Create.

Be.

You're an artist, whether you knew it or not.

Lazy Day

Sorry guys, I had to take a break and package shirts for the upcoming Stitched Up in San Antonio. So, instead of one of my motivational rants, here is a sneak peak into Grits Summer 2011.

Gritty Dreams: Junkfood Junkie NOW AVAILABLE!!

It is my honor & pleasure to announce that the Grits Apparel X Oven Fresh Dreams collabo "Gritty Dreams", is now available! This shirt is for all the people that love Houston and for all the people who love junk food! Get them while they last! (Much love to Oven Fresh Dreams)

BTW there is also a dope new zine included!!!

Harder Path

It just occurred to me that most of my oldest friends chose a harder path than we could have gotten away with.

It was tough at first, but it seems that it eventually paid off for some of us and for the others (including me) it will most likely to do so in the the future. We had no guarantees when we started to follow our passions. All we knew is what we were doing made us happy. So we took that leap and never looked back. And I'm glad we did.

This Weekend!

If you couldn't tell by the not so subtle post last week, we will be in San Antonio this weekend for Stitched Up presented by the people who do Sneaks Up . If you don't know about it, in a nutshell, Stitched Up is expo for Texas brands ONLY. So, for those in the area, Come out and enjoy the expo.


BTW we will have a couple of new tees ... and as usual free zines for everyone!

The moment

This is the moment when everything changes. Every aspiring entrepreneur knows the feeling. Its the moment when that little voice in your head says...

No Grits No Glory