One of the Babes: eythink
Lettering by Ashlee J. Pryor, Photo by Amanda Stosz for Got a Girl Crush magazine
Meet Lindsay Eyth, the founder of the lettering and T-shirt brand, eythink. She'll be vending at our June meet!
Q: What inspired you to start eythink?
A: Eythink was initially just a punny URL for my freelance design portfolio site! I started an Etsy shop under that name maybe 5 years ago, with very low ambitions really—I just wanted a place to put random, little experiments out into the world. I've always been interested in lettering, but in 2012 or so, I started pushing myself to develop my skills further. Then in 2013, I did a Valentine project based on the Magnetic Fields album "69 Love Songs," and the shop grew a little then. In the summer of 2014, I made the first version of the I Don't Fucking Care If U Like It shirt, which took off, wholly unexpectedly. Now, running the shop is a big part of my day.
Q: Do you have any tidbits of advice for people with passion projects?
A: Oh gee, passion projects can be so different, depending on the person and their life's circumstances. So much of what works for one person may not work for another. I would just say: You deserve the chance to discover what you're capable of. Do your best to avoid spending time with people who make you feel like you're not enough. If you can, spend as much time as possible connecting with people who encourage/support/motivate you, people who make you feel smarter and more creative.
Q: How do you stay inspired?
A: To be honest? I don't! In my experience, inspiration is fleeting, and that's okay. I'm a human being, not a machine, you know? I try to fill my life with as much of what's important to me as possible—ranging from dear friends to my favorite rappers to social justice stuff to bubble baths (I'm serious)—and to keep my hands busy, so that when inspiration shows up, I'm ready to do something with it.
Photo by Amanda Stosz for Got a Girl Crush magazine
Q: What have been your favorite moments of creativity (possibly a time when a burst of creative energy produced something you could have never expected, etc.)?
A: The origin of the IDFCIYLI shirt is a perfect example of the type of moment you're describing. I read this essay on a Friday, and it summed up a lot of what I was feeling after a lifetime of living under the patriarchy. That Saturday, a dude I'd been on a few dates with turned out to be wildly condescending and out of line, and I spent Sunday afternoon doing some aimless lettering practice, while both the essay and that guy's behavior bounced around in my head. I drew up the IDFCIYLI design that day and had it on a T-shirt the next day (thanks, Fine Southern Gentlemen). Within a week, Ann Friedman had endorsed it in her newsletter, and I was suddenly very busy. I definitely never expected all that.
Q: When you're discouraged, what do you run to or away from?
A: Regular discouraged? A bubble bath or a hot tub, with a beer. If it's REALLY BAD? The Grand Canyon.
Your favorite band: Nicki Minaj
Current read: "Some Sing, Some Cry" by Ntozake Shange & Ifa Bayeza.
Your local Austin gem: Go get the coconut macaroon from Thai Fresh's dessert case. Also, bring me one. Thanks.
Your social media handles: eythink on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr. (It's pronounced the same as "I think.")