Username

Password

---

New Account Signup
Forgot Your Password?

Llama weaves a special kind of warmth into clothes

Llama Clothing owner Andrew Morrison bushwhacks through a radiant jungle of his own hooded artwork.

Sometimes having fun is hard work, even when the lines between friend and customer blur.

By Tom Lowery
theclaw.ca
jameatermustbedestroyed.blogspot.com

He doesn’t look exhausted, nor does he exhibit the undead characteristics of someone who has been deprived of sleep and substituted the misplaced hours with concentrated doses of percolated coffee. This is because Andrew Morrison doesn’t drink coffee. So despite going to bed at 4 a.m. and then rising a few rapid-eye movements later at 8 a.m., the owner of Llama Clothing is supernaturally alert.

Perhaps it’s because he is setting up for the annual first sale and public unveiling of his newest designs at Nipissing University’s student bar, or perhaps it’s because just seven months ago he wasn’t sure he’d ever do it again.

So what had such a high priority the night before that it kept Morrison from getting his much needed eight hours rest? Why stickers, of course. With a new/used Toyota pick-up truck and trailer in the driveway already loaded and ready to move his neon garb, all that was left to do was print off a couple hundred Llama logo stickers for customers. Except the label ‘customer’ is a misnomer, for anyone who supports Llama instantly becomes a friend.

By understanding that, one can begin to make sense of Morrison’s willingness to sacrifice snoozes for what is commonly considered a chowder-headed swag item, and even though it might seem like a half-baked idea, Morrison’s ever-ambitious tone implies that the thought has never crossed his mind.

“I’m just making sure that everyone gets a little something extra when they come,” Morrison enthused, adding, “I think stickers are a great way to say ‘thank you’.”

Expressing gratitude to anyone who shows interest in his creations is one of Morrison’s many glowing qualities, and it’s an honest trait that has garnered him a substantial collective of loyal friends. But even with email and Facebook, it’s still hard to keep in touch with so many allies, let alone find time to simply hang out.

Factor in the obligations that come with solely managing a clothing line, and it becomes apparent that working in the medium of apparel could easily make someone a hermit. Except Morrison refuses to allow that to happen, and has found a way to include his friends in his efforts by using them as mannequins in his seasonal catalogues.

“I want to involve them as much as I can,” Morrison said amiably “It wouldn’t be the same if I was just using a model that I didn’t know.”

Four years in, and it’s still an idea that continues to work out nicely for Morrison because not only does he get to spend time with his friends (who all have separate agendas in other cities), but he also doesn’t have to pay any of them for their services. Although, true to his humble reputation, the notion of using peers as a scheme to save money is the last thing Morrison considers when he enlists their help. His philosophy on it all is actually much like a family photo album.

“I feel as though some day I’m going to look back on it and it’s almost going to be like a catalogue of the times in my life,” Morrison said. “And I’ll remember who I was hanging out with at that time, and the fun we had.”

As Starship Llama explores the creative planets orbiting Morrison’s head in search of fresh aesthetics to apply to future garments, one wouldn’t assume he was questioning his passion back in March after some hard luck earlier in the New Year. In short, Morrison’s neighbors at the time didn’t think much of the t-shirt printing apparatus he had set-up in his living room, and after they filed a number of strident complaints to the landlord, Morrison decided it was best to move out. From there, things only got worse when his relationship fell apart with his girlfriend, who was the computer wiz behind the business and his partner in crime for nearly three years. With nowhere to live and with nowhere to print, Morrison was forced to put all his equipment into storage, and just like that, Llama was on indefinite hiatus. As hard as it was for him to live through, it was no picnic for the people who cared about him either. But even though no parent wants to see their kid struggle, his mother had a hunch he’d pull through.

“I figured he’d make the right decision, and what ever it was I’d just support him,” Nicole Morrison said confidently.

With his life suddenly resembling a dropped piece of toast, which always seems to land jam-side-down, Morrison opted to skip the banal sulking stage, and instead of writing bad poetry about his situation, he decided to get some fresh air. After tethering his snowboard to a duffel bag, Morrison did something he’d wanted to do for a long time, and caught the next flight to Whister, BC.

“It was probably the best decision I could have made,” Morrison gushed adding, “I was able to reflect on the business and look at things, and I decided I needed to take steps to progress it now.”

A phone call Morrison received while he was out West was a partial catalyst to his threaded epiphany. On the other end of the line was a friend who had just returned from his honeymoon in Las Vegas, and an altercation at the airport had nearly caused him to miss his flight home. Morrison was flabbergasted as he listened to the story unfold.

SHIRT = TERRORIST

“He said ‘You’re not going to believe what happened to me on the way back,’” Morrison recalled. “I was really surprised.”

The friend was walking through the terminal sporting a Llama shirt that happened to brandish a highlighter-pink pistol on it with the words ‘Safety First’ printed underneath in a font similar to that of a vintage label maker. Morrison said the shirt was intended to be a poke at the logic of people who claim to carry guns for safety, but airport security didn’t get the joke. Ultimately, the newlywed was taken to a back office and was about to be strip-searched when the boys in blue decided he wasn’t a threat after all, and let him board the plane with his clothes on, albeit inside-out to conceal the inked weapon.

“It made me think about the power of the image that’s on your t-shirt, and what kind of message it can send,” Morrison explained while pondering, “there’s a lot that you can do with a message that’s on a shirt, so what other kind of reactions can we get?”

When Morrison felt he had cleared his head, and figured his legs needed a break from the legendary mountain, he booked a flight home because he had work to do, and it was time to dust-off the t-shirt press. When his Nike sneakers finally made contact with North Bay pavement, Morrison felt rejuvenated and had a bevy of concepts he was eager to make happen.

But one detail still needed to be sorted out: where was he going to live, and more importantly, where was he going to set up his equipment? At first, he contemplated living at his family cottage with his t-shirt tools outside in a tent, but before he could even bounce the idea off his parents, they offered him their garage.

“My family and friends have helped me out huge,” Morrison said then further acknowledging, “I couldn’t do it without them, and I just want to make them proud.”

A delegated motive is something Morrison felt Llama always lacked and subsequently held the business back, but the brand’s message has always been inspired by friends and fun, so he figured he’d stop trying to make Llama something it wasn’t and work with what it already was. Since embracing this mantra ideas have been spilling out of his head and onto t-shirts faster than he ever imagined possible.

“I was really excited when I came home because I had a direction again,” Morrison explained, “I’m feeling really good, like I finally found a purpose, and I don’t feel like I’m searching anymore for the right steps to take.”

Like a maple tree with t-shirt ink for sap, Morrison has tapped into something inside him, and is now cooking up what he expects to be some of his most innovated creations yet. Essentially, Llama was just sugar and a bunch of unpronounceable ingredients, and now it’s a healthy organic product to put on waffles – the waffles being people. Like night and day, or more fittingly, Aunt Jemima syrup compared to the traditionally made ‘real’ stuff, Morrison’s new zest to press is surpassed only by his mother, who is thrilled to see him back at it.

“I think he’s doing awesome,” Mrs. Morrison said. “He came back from out West very invigorated and very determined, and it’s very exciting.”

Plans for future Llama collections are already galloping off the drawing board and into production, but looming on the horizon like a rifle-clutching John Wayne in The Searchers, is a whole new project Morrison is currently keeping a lid on to build interest. He expects he’ll be ready to share this new vision in time for Llama fans to do their Christmas shopping, but with it he’s also hoping to gain a whole new demographic that maybe weren’t taken by Llama’s predominantly fluorescent wardrobe.

From what he hinted, it sounds like a more mature realm of clothing that will house some of the thoughts he’s had since hearing about his friend’s plight at the airport.

“Llama has a specific and restraining image that might not be the right venue to present these ideas,” Morrison admitted “People who aren’t into Llama might like it.”

Having full creative control of the clothing and the good times is what matters most to Morrison, and wherever his new aspirations lead him, he’ll always have his business with the silly name to amuse himself with.

“I make time for the small things, and I don’t think I could do that if I didn’t have Llama because there’d be no reason to get everyone together for something like a photo shoot.” Morrison said, and then, with a smile like alpenglow concluded, “I just want to make cool t-shirts and do art that I like.”

Morrison pauses, looks at the ceiling, and then makes eye contact as he shrugs.

“I’m just trying to have fun.”

These might interest you as well

• Dragons’ light...
• Good-hearted bu...
• Good-hearted bu...
• Wal-Mart keeps ...

• Small Business ...
• Nipissing Strike
• Part Time Vote