ROCKS - A Short History of an Expanding Brand
Nick Charde, 2022
It all started with a crazy idea on a hot summer day in 2018: what if we all find a rock in the woods, paint it, and create an origin story for it?
Later that morning, I led a group of over a dozen 10-year-olds through the woods on a quest to find their own pet rock. After all, at summer camp, anything goes.
What began as a silly idea turned into a full-blown "secret" society at camp -- complete with an original song, an exclusive hangout spot, and of course, customized hand-painted t-shirts for all the members. Though I no longer work at camp, the club lives on nearly five years later.
After the initial success of Rocks in Summer of 2018, members of the camp staff began commissioning me to make shirts. These shirts were done without stencils and each one turned out differently - only one picture still exists from this era (unfinished):
The following summer, the demand was even higher, so I decided to make a single design that I could mass-produce using fabric paint and stencils:
The following summer, 2020, camp was sadly canceled due to the pandemic. Still, I was hooked on the idea of creating t-shirts, so I continued to avidly sketch new designs:
After many attempts, I eventually landed on a simple two-toned purple design, which I made a handful of for staff the following summer (2021):
Rocks design, Summer 2021 (unfortunately, Summer 2020 was cancelled due to covid-19).
The summer of 2022 was my first summer not working at camp in 5 years (excluding 2020). Many of my good friends were still working there, so I was sad to not be going back, but I still wanted to be a part of the camp culture somehow. After all, I had been there for so long that campers I had known since they were 10 were now on staff.
So, I sent out a sign-up sheet along with 3 different designs that counselors could choose from. I offered a Red/Pink gradient, Blue/Purple Gradient, and Yellow/Orange gradient:
They were priced at $25 each and, like the others, were designed using Adobe Illustrator and transferred onto the shirts using fabric paint and stencils. It was the first time I had done something as complex as this, and the process was difficult but extremely rewarding. By the end, I had a smooth system down and was able to make multiple shirts in a day.
The way a product is packaged is extremely important - it can directly impact the way we view it, wear it, or use it. In this case, a neatly packed t-shirt is a lot more attractive to customers than a t-shirt thrown in a box. I wanted counselors to receive their shirts and love them before they even unfolded them - I even included a few free stickers.
If you have any interest in ordering a t-shirt yourself, please click here.
*UPDATE: READ BELOW!!*
You can check us out on Instagram at @rocks.slc or browse our Etsy shop at etsy.com/shop/rocksSLC.
Nick Charde
2022