Like so many things in this world, it all started with an Apple. A bright red apple printed onto a bright yellow t-shirt with a paper stencil in year 3 art class to be precise, and the rest, as they say...
Tony Clayton's first foray into the t-shirt business was with a stall at Paddington Markets in the 80's selling t-shirts that couldn't have been designed in any other decade. Two-tone tees and art school inspired graphics, think Picasso meets the Ramones. The bestseller, "100% Bimbo", was a parody of the (soon to be) iconic surf wear brand, Mambo, where ironically, Tony ended up working for 10 years.
In 2001, Tony left Mambo and went to live in the Biggest Apple of them all. Returning to Sydney, after a year of swanning about in New York, Tony was determined not to work for anyone else ever again, and Well Spotted was the result.
It began with an adults range, rich in irony and exposed stitching, until 2003 when my son was born and I spent his childhood over designing kids t-shirts instead. At the time, because of the disappointing lack of locally made quality kids t's and a market saturated with trucks, trains and puppies, Well Spotted became, for a while, a predominantly kids brand, aiming to provide a witty commentary on parenthood via the t-shirt. Now that my former muse has become a fully fledged adult my focus has shifted back to adult t-shirts which I like to think offer an ever so ironic take on the state of the world today!
Well Spotted is committed to keeping all production as locally focused as possible. The t-shirts are made in Bankstown only 12km from home and Tony hand prints them all himself.
If all the clothing labels in this country continue to manufacture off-shore then one day there will be no one left here who can put a garment together. Imagine that, an Australia where nobody knows how to make a t-shirt! Not going to happen on Well Spotted's watch.
