With each issue of the SK Newsletter, I like to direct our readers to various advertisers that have caught my attention, but sometimes I just vent on an issue that has been on my mind. What’s been on my mind lately is something I never thought I’d be writing about, the Sea Kayaker T-Shirt.

I’ve been working in sports marketing and advertising for 15 years now and I’ve had a steady flow of T-shirts sent to me every year. I’ve become a bit of a T-shirt snob; I keep a few that I like and the rest I donate to a local shelter for the homeless. So when we were designing the current version of Sea Kayaker’s shirt I was worried that we might produce something that I’d be inclined to put in the donation pile.

A lot of discussion precedes the creation of a T-shirt design here. My own feelings on this matter became so passionate that I thought it best to remove myself from the process altogether. The T-shirt eventually went into production and was delivered to our warehouse. I didn’t take a good look at what was designed until an advertiser stopped by the office a couple of weeks ago and I went down to our warehouse to get him one of our T-shirts as a gift.

I was more than pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. I’m happy to say I really like the new Sea Kayaker T-shirt. I picked one out for myself and it’s not going to wind up going to the homeless shelter.

I like the T-shirt because it is a good quality, heavy cotton shirt and not just a promotional item. The shirt identifies you as a sea kayaker and the design on the back of the shirt—a view of a Greenland kayak frame—links us to the historical roots of our sport.

The kayak frame has an interesting story. Our readers are aware of Christopher Cunningham’s role as the editor of the magazine, but I don’t think people are aware that Chris is a skilled wooden boat builder and often writes for WoodenBoat magazine. He has published a book on Greenland kayak construction and has built several kayak models for the Alaskan State Museum. Some of his work has been incorporated into art pieces. The Greenland kayak frame that’s shown on the T-shirt was built for a work of art first shown at the Leo Kaplan Modern gallery in New York City. The kayak frame was part of a number of mixed-media pieces Chris made in collaboration with renowned glass artist Mary Van Cline.

We have a few more angles on this design and will be incorporating them into different T-shirts over the next couple of years. It’s an old school design and I am excited about the direction we are taking. So if you see me wearing this T-shirt it’s not because I’m homeless, it’s because I like it.

By the way, I should point out that the shirt is made for casual wear. We recognize that cotton is not a good material for paddling clothing.

Click here to view T-Shirt