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Free Gold Watch, the Silkscreen Master T-shirt Brand, Dives into the Meaning of Graphic Inspiration, the Mariah Connection, + Wolf Tickets

Label Networks TV by Carol Martori + Masaki Miyagawa

Matthew Henri and partner Goldstein out of San Francisco created the T-shirt brand Free Gold Watch in the back of a dry cleaners about a year and a half ago. In a hilarious interview with Label Networks TV during the United Fashion Trade Show in Las Vegas, they talk about what inspires them in their graphics, how Matthew has become known as a silkscreen Master and what that even means today, plus what’s up next regarding their latest creations.

As customized silkscreen T-shirts continue to increase in popularity in street fashion, Free Gold Watch has become a leader in this growing genre. What keeps them fresh is their irreverent attitude and ideas, like their gold screen-printed watch hangtags on swatches of white fabric to be worn instead of watches, or their new “wolf tickets” theme T-shirts.

“There’s a saying in San Francisco that if you’re lying, you’re selling wolf tickets, thus, the wolf head and tickets that say Don’t Sell,” explains Goldstein about their hottest new screenprint.

For Matthew, inspiration comes from many sources, “like walking down the street yesterday.” While he’s often thought of as a silkscreen master, he humbly says he’s still got a lot to learn, but plans to push the limits, like “making my designs bigger and bigger until they become a billboard.”

“I was thinking, it would be cool to make a graphic of a billboard, with feet and shoes on it and a circle with a slash in it, like, “don’t be a walking billboard.” The Gap, Old Navy, they’re just walking billboards—don’t be,” says Matthew with a shrug.

Free Gold Watch also is known for graphic designs on dry cleaning hangers, which the T-shirts come with to commemorate where it all started and with the hopes of bringing back “the art of the hanger.” But perhaps the most interesting line in their upcoming collection is the Litterbox inspired by Mariah Carey.

“You can Googlize this,” says Matthew as if we didn’t believe him, “but Mariah once said that she wished she was as thin as the starving kids in Ethiopia, except without all of the flies and shit.” In response, Free Gold Watch has launched their litterbox T-shirt campaign, which shows their tongue-in-cheek political side mixed with important messages.

Other aspects of Free Gold Watch are the screen-printed posters and “hate blocker” sunglasses which block out haters when you wear them.

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