Tyler Carroll and Zack Davenport of CityFabric show off their "Wear You Live" tee, which has an aerial map of Durham printed on it
Stuff We Like is our new Web series. Every Friday, we'll share an event, a place, a dish, a drink or just something random that the editors love here at Durham Magazine.
One of the first things I learned about Durham was how to make the Bull City sign by sticking my fists together with thumbs pointed outward. I’m pretty much 5 years old at heart, so I thought it was the neatest thing to have a hand signal that represents your city. I found out that Bull City Tees makes shirts with that sign and the words “Bull City” on the knuckles. I desperately wanted one, but unfortunately they’re not taking orders at this time. (I’ll definitely be checking back!)
Luckily, cool, creative types + a love for this city and everything local = plenty of other folks offering Durham swag to placate me until Bull City Tees starts cranking out T-shirts again.
Almost everyone knows and owns a “Durham, it’s not for everyone” shirt from Vaguely Reminiscent, and I tend to be a more polite driver when I see a Sustain-A-Bull or Dirty Durham sticker on the bumper of the car in front of me. Both Sustain-A-Bull and Dirty Durham use Ad Spice Promotional Marketing on Broad Street to print their stickers and T-shirts.
Durham City Goods offers mugs, tote bags and onesies in addition to tees and stickers that bear images of the iconic bull, American Tobacco water tower or a ham – as in “Dur-Ham.”
But my favorite has to be CityFabric. Although they are based in Raleigh and cater to other cities throughout the United States, their products and mission are so personal to Durham, that they may as well be local. It’s their belief that the more people talk about their city – in this case, through apparel – the more they’ll get involved in the community. I bought their “Wear You Live Tee” last holiday season for my boyfriend (OK, and one for myself!), which depicts a map of Durham, so “you’ll never forget where home is.” [Insert “aww” here.] They also make totes and prints to hang on your wall, and the tees are hand-printed in Raleigh.
Most of these items can be ordered online, but you can also find some of them at The Regulator, Parker & Otis, The Scrap Exchange, One World Market, Hunky Dory, Offbeat Music, Ox & Rabbit, Magpie Boutique, Bull Street Gourmet and more. Only 130 shopping days left till Christmas, folks!
