A start-up T-shirt design business is supplying a big-name electronic music group following a chance encounter at a gig in Stroud.
James Widdowson, from Chalford Hill, runs the xTOPIA brand of designed T-shirts and similar contemporary clothing, having only gone live mid-March.
James explained: “I went to The Orb gig in Stroud, mid-April, wearing one of my own designs, got chatting to the guy behind the merch stall who happened to be their management guy!
“Long story short, I delivered a box of my T-shirts to them this weekend at another gig, less than three weeks after that initial conversation and watched them outselling the other five or six choices by some margin.
“I’ve been a huge fan of The Orb since I was a student, and it means so much that they are the first music act that I have approached and been able to make a start with. Whilst nothing is guaranteed in the future, I hope it will lead on to more opportunities.
“Music takes me, as with many others, to a special, happy, place and a collection linked to music is therefore highly appropriate for the ethos of my brand – from Utopia to Dystopia and any place in-between.
“With the T-shirt I’ve done for The Orb, it is currently only available at their live shows. I’m hoping in the fullness of time to be permitted to sell them from my website too, but they are a busy team with a new album about to come out and being mid-tour. So, I just need to be patient and zen-like amidst my excitement.”
James produces a wide range of designs and sizes, from baby grows, children’s T-shirt, right through to adult sizes.
“With respect to my own range, solely on xtopiaclothing.co.uk, the designs are available from babies and children upwards, and adult sizes range from XS to 3XL. The designs are all connected by having a sense of place, on a spectrum from Utopia through to Dystopia, and any place in-between. Some are more abstract than others. Also, the new Father’s Day range is nearing readiness for release.”
