Graffiti has probably been around since the earliest days of man. Seriously. Paintings inside the Lascaux Caves in France date to prehistoric times—and graffiti was actually found in the Italian archaeological site of Pompeii, where some man proudly scribbled, “Gaius Pumidius Diphilus was here.” While those might have been the original graffiti artists, graffiti as… Read on

Graffiti is a form of expression, a way to state things (i.e. funny, political, or otherwise), and can be found in any place. We’re using our graffiti in defense of clean cotton, safe fashion, and a healthy environment. Wear it alone. Mix it with other graffiti. Layer it. Tie your hair back with it. Belt… Read on

The “Summer of the T-shirt” continues, and today we introduce a (very) limited-edition run of one-of-a-kind graffiti tees as part of our new capsule collection, “Graffiti: Red, White, and Blue”. The tees are made from recycled cotton t-shirts and are a callback to the early days of Alabama Chanin (more on that here) and Natalie’s… Read on

Clockwise from top left: “Magpie” from the In Flight series, 2020 by Mark Harvey; Swatch of the Month 2021 Subscription from The School of Making; Graffiti Painted Tee from the Alabama Chanin Archives; Black Bugle Beads from The School of Making; The Keyhole Dress Kit in Baby Blue from The School of Making; “Structural Constellation” by Josef Albers via “Josef Albers’ Intimate Visual Relationship… Read on

“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight…” ― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God This summer is unlike any many of us have ever experienced. Though we are spending more… Read on

As we write this post our national food and beverage industry is in free-fall. Restaurants and bars, shuttered in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, have laid off an unknown number of staff and servers across the country. We feel deeply what our friend Brooks Reitz wrote yesterday, “Uncharted waters. We have been gut punched,… Read on

Every year it seems that we say what a busy year it has been for us at Alabama Chanin, and every year we mean it. We seem to keep growing as a company and as people and making opportunities that expand our horizons. Look back at the 2018 happenings for The School of Making, Bldg…. Read on

Within our Core styles, our design team refers to the garments in various ways. They think about the garments by their way of construction: hand-sewn by our artisans who work out of their homes or machine-sewn by the Bldg. 14 team who works at The Factory. Or they associate them by fabric type: our signature… Read on

Our Collection evolution continues with the introduction of new everday styles, embroideries, and colors. These updates tie together the work Natalie and our design team have created earlier in 2018 with what’s to come. We have quite a few updates to share and present them below in an easy-to-follow outline. NATALIE’S DRESS, TUNIC, AND PULLOVER… Read on

When she began her art career, Swoon (born Caledonia Dance Curry) never tagged her art, opting to leave her pieces anonymous. She came up with the “street” name in a dream and began to use the tag which, because it is not gender-specific, led many observers to think the artist was a man—an unexpected advantage… Read on

We love a good T-shirt, and our summer has revolved around this classic garment with the launch of the Clean Tee collection from Bldg. 14, a special one-of-a-kind Graffiti Tee collection from Alabama Chanin, and the Frances Dress and Top pattern—our take on an effortless, relaxed T-shirt dress—launched earlier this month in The School of… Read on

It’s the summer of the T-shirt at Alabama Chanin. Next Tuesday, we’re launching The Clean Tee program from our Bldg. 14 manufacturing facility. Later in the summer, we’ll introduce one-of-a-kind “graffiti tees”—each hand sewn and uniquely stenciled. Today, to kick off the summer of the T-shirt, we share inspiration and insight about the T-shirt from The… Read on

“What does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” – Sophie Scholl These were the words of Sophie Scholl, a 21-year old leader of an Anti-Nazi rebellion movement in the 1940s. Sophie, her brother Hans, and their friend Christoph Probst, were executed by Nazi party officials in 1943,… Read on

“I am a designer and I want to design things.”  – Ettore Sottsass When Alabama Chanin started our MAKESHIFT conversation nearly three years ago, inspiration came from several places and sources. The core idea was, and still is, that through the gathering of like-minded folks (writers, designers, thinkers, artisans, creators) we could elaborate on the… Read on

Thanks to everyone who came out for our Visiting Artist Series with Faythe Levine. It proved to be a fantastic evening of crafting, conversation, and Old-Fashioneds. In addition to the interactive crafting that ensued, Faythe held a seminar where she lectured on ‘Craftivism’, her work and travels (examples include urban camping in Detroit and a… Read on