bS Shirts Goes Out of Shirt Business With a BBQ Blaze

NEWS AND OPINION > PHILLYNOW

By Dan Eldridge

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted May. 28, 2009

Back in the day, when designers Chris Colon and Brandon Schell used to hawk their silkscreened T-shirts on the corner of Houston and Broadway in Manhattan, they were known by locals primarily as “the T-shirt guys,” and occasionally as “the artists.” But after relocating to Philly in the summer of 2008 and opening bS Shirts, a retail storefront and gallery in Old City, that all began to change.

“In Philly, we’re known by our names,” says Colon, in a recent telephone interview. “It’s more like a community [here]. When one person knows you, then you know ten other people.”

Unfortunately, the bS Shirts retail store is closing its doors for good on Sat., May 30, after being in business for just under eleven months. Chris and Schell plan to eventually reopen at their current location, but strictly as a whitewall gallery.

As a way to celebrate the end of one era, and the potential beginning of another, Chris and Schell will be hosting an all-day barbeque at the shop -- 16 N. Third St. -- on May 30, from noon to midnight. The festivities will include an “old-fashioned cookout with all the trimmings,” according to a recent email sent out to customers. Hip-hop and rock groups will provide the entertainment, and everything in sight will be on sale, including the furniture and display cases. Even better, every last bS Shirt in stock – each one is a handmade original – will be priced at $20 per.