Out and Proud: iCandee Takes on the Graphic Tee
There's no better time of year than Pride season to pick up some fabulous swag. For those actually wearing clothes to their favorite parade, iCandee delivers brow-raising graphic tees that will let the world know you've got your gay on.
Born almost on a whim, as so many of the best ideas are, the promotional marketing and fashion company is taking the business world by storm. Based out of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, iCandee was founded in 2011 by couple Billy Stevenson and Shawn Van Horn and their friend, John Lashmett. In just four years it has grown from a small clothing venture focusing on the LGBT community to a custom branding business that specializes in producing personalized corporate and sports team apparel and goods.
Along with work for a host of other clients around the globe, iCandee now proudly designs and markets signature shirts for Pride fests across the country in addition to manufacturing individualized Pride apparel for corporate and nonprofit customers. This year they're helping dress events like Proud to Run, the Chicago Pride Parade, Pridefest Chicago and International Mister Leather.
Humble Beginnings
Four years ago this kind of bonanza success wasn't necessarily on the minds of iCandee's founders, who were mostly just looking for a way to immortalize some outrageous humor. "We have some very colorful friends," explains Stevenson, "and on more than one occasion an entertaining quip from one of them was met with the response 'that would be so funny on a T-shirt.' So while stuck in traffic on a rainy day in 2011, I tried to come up with a reason why we shouldn't put them on T-shirts. And I couldn't. I came home and talked to Shawn, we invited John over to our place to discuss it, and the next week we formed the company."
If You've Got it, Flaunt It
Much of iCandee's apparel is for those who want to make a statement or kick up an X-rated conversation. Some of their out-and-proud shirts sport advice like "Suck a Dick, Make A Friend" and "Enjoy Cock-Choking" (the latter riffing on the classic Coca-Cola logo), and ask "Would You Mind Terribly If I Tongue Punched Your Fart Box?"
Others advertise the wearer as a "Bear Trapper" or note "It Takes Balls To Be A Transvestite, And A Fierce Set of Shoes." Every shirt also helps the company to contribute to notable LGBT organizations. iCandee donates time and money to a variety of organizations such as Test Positive Aware Network and Hotlanta Softball League.
Back to the Future
While Stevenson admits the retail side of iCandee has "languished on the vine" a bit in favor of the custom work the company produces for their clients, he promises that's about to change. Plans include the introduction of a line of hats and jocks and a series of new T-shirt designs.
"That's our foundation," Stevenson details. "It's where we started. It allows us a creative outlet personally that we don't get to realize in most of the other work we do. Our own designs, which are largely created by Shawn as head of our graphics and production team, are the true 'personality' of iCandee. We're really excited about what the future has to offer."