Northfield Limited Print T-Shirts
Collaborating with artists is one of the most rewarding parts of our work here at The Northfield Workshop. Throughout the years, we've become accustomed to combining talents so that we can produce something special and unique. We thrive on the community and companionship that comes from working together with great artists, luthiers and performers. We often refer to this whole company as a collective and we're very proud to present to you our most recent cooperative adventure.
Bob Hergert is a renowned Scrimshaw and engraving artist. When I met Bob he had just finished doing all of the scrimshaw art on the 1.5 millionth Martin guitar on exhibit at the January NAMM show in Anaheim,California. Together with the incredible inlay artistry of Harvey Leach, the work of Leonardo Da Vinci was intricately detailed into a masterpiece. While we were together I had a chance to look at a few pen and ink line drawings he had done. They were remarkable. Intricate images with subtle details and shading, all done with a single line. I had to get one. Then that lightning bolt hit me...how about working together on a project? And so, the "Mandoline" drawing was born and made into a screen for making our first ever T-shirt!
In keeping with the detail that went into the drawing, we spent a lot of time working on the screen print and shirt selection. A great screen printer here in Michigan, Chad Gilbert of Meridian Screen Printing, was up for the challenge. We selected a 100% organic cotton shirt made by American Apparel in California. It's a more form fitted wear/feel with a very soft touch and a high thread count, making it as pleasant to wear as it is to look at. The colors we picked are a Cinder Gray (this is like a slate gray that meets tan, with a slight hint of magenta) and a Natural (off white, with a hint of a natural hemp coloring). The contrasting colors for the art range from the more obvious or bright contrasts found on the Natural with Steel Blue and Cinder with Brick Red, to the more incognito or subtle faded look of the Cinder with Slate Gray artwork. Each color for the art is a mix of several different tones so it's a bit tricky to name them....kind of like explaining the shade of a sunburst on a mandolin!
 Natural w/ steel blue-green |
 Cinder w/slate gray |
 Cinder w/ brick red |
The sizes available are L, XL, and XXL. Because of the fit we recommend that you consider our take on it, as these shirts could fit differently than others residing in your dresser drawers. For those that are typically a tighter fit in a medium we recommend the Large. It'll be a little longer in length but will probably fit you up top like a shirt you've had for a little while. For those in good shape, unlike myself :?) and around 5-9 to 6' 180-190lbs I'd recommend the Large too. I'm 6'1 and 200lbs myself and find the Large to be perfect on my days of good posture. For those a little more stout, packing summer brew in the front, or all together a little longer and lankier I'd recommend the XL. It'll just fell better around the sides. If you always wear an XL I'd recommend the XXL. It'll be bigger at first but should tighten up a bit after a few dry cycles on medium heat. In general though, we recommend air drying your shirt to maintain its fit and shape. Please note that these are 100% organic cotton T-shirts made from natural fibers. Small "flecks" or thread ends are sometimes visible on the shirt. These are not stains, just small details left from the fibers that were used to make them. Depending on the color of the shirt they could be more noticeable in places. However, they're really very minor and do not look out of place. Just wanted you to know. Of course, if you have any questions about the shirt please feel free to email us and we'll be happy to get back to you with information or suggestions.
BONUS: For a limited time the shirts will come with a numbered 12.5 x 12.5 print of the original art. It's a great piece and definitely worthy of framing and putting up in your favorite musical space there at home or at the studio. Also makes for a nice gift.
