I came across Low Tide Thread Company when the image above graced my Instagram feed. I was immediately hooked.
Being a Corporate Deadhead, I’m always drawn to creative and smart Dead designs, and it’s part of the reason that drew me to the band. Enter Low Tide Thread Company. They are officially licensed by the Dead, so these aren’t bootleg designs that will eventually be taken down. They have a bunch and are continually adding more. Not only that, but they have quite a few vintage-inspired designs that are a lot of fun.
Getting to know Justin, the guy behind the brand, it is very clear that they are much more than a t-shirt company. There is A LOT of depth. He was nice enough to sit down for an interview:
What is the history of Low Tide? So when I ponder on the true origins of LTTC, I think it all started for me much longer ago than I possibly realised. My preferred style of illustration, design, and love for the Grateful Dead infused themselves into the beginnings of Low Tide, but I had to do a deep dive into my mind to understand where all of my inspirations started. I was born in 1984, and I was a true 90s kid and loved the tail end of the 80s, from what I can remember. I grew up drawing a lot, and it started with Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters, but I got hit with the Grateful Dead when I entered the 6th grade at Savannah Christian Prep School in Savannah, Ga. I had never heard of the Dead at that time but I noticed on non-uniform days and school dances that kids would wear these tees with skulls, roses, and bears all over them. I was immediately captivated because the only other thing everyone was wearing was Polo and Tommy Hilfiger. So you had Polo, Tommy, and then these tees with skulls and dancing bears….I didn’t get it, but I loved it. I finally asked, and someone said, “It’s the Grateful Dead!” I thought it was such an interesting name, and I soon became hooked. I had to have my Grateful Dead tees, and before you knew it, my entire room was nothing but the Dead.
On Christmas of 1995, all I wanted was Grateful Dead stuff. To this day, I still have an ornament from 1995 that goes on my tree every year. Now, keep in mind, I wasn’t really into the music much yet. My brain wasn’t ready for that, but I was fully in love with the artwork and iconography. My love for music came later. And that’s one of the beautiful things about the Dead…I’ve discussed this with Warner Bros. They agree that the Dead is that one band where the art and the music stand alone. Yes, to a Dead Head, it’s all infused, but they have such amazing art and the best iconography of any band, so their artwork stands on its own and can be loved even if someone doesn’t get into the music that much. My point in taking you back to my younger years was to point out that my love for the Dead Tees back in my younger years kinda got forged into my DNA as I got older and creeped into our earlier designs without me realizing it. All of our earlier tees had skeleton figures instead of using actual humans. Someone asked me why that was, and I had to think about it. First of all, when you use skeletons, you don’t have to worry about skin tones and things like that, but it was the love for Grateful Dead tees over the years that inspired me to create designs featuring skeleton figures in my own way. It’s been a true full circle moment of life to now get to create for them officially, and it’s like Christmas in 1995 all over again because I get to design as many GD products as I want and can come up with! I find it interesting that the year I learned about them was the year Jerry passed as well. That’s just how life is sometimes.
So that was just a glimpse into the past of where my love for the Grateful Dead started, but my inspirations for starting the business originated in college. I graduated from SCAD in Savannah, Ga. It’s known to be one of the top art & design colleges in the world, so we were pushed hard by some very talented people. My major was Visual Communications, which they now call Advertising. I was trained to be an Art Director & Copywriter. I fell in love with branding at this point and knew I wanted to eventually run & own my own business. My favorite book was the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, which I still look back on to this day. SCAD was great because we got to work with real-world clients and learn about effective & ineffective marketing. I had the honor of writing a Superbowl Commercial for Pepsi Max & Doritos. We also did work for Smart Car, Barnes & Nobles, Nike Golf, and a few other big companies. This is where I first got my feet wet in Adobe programs and learned how powerful great designing can truly be. I always felt like I had an entrepreneurial spirit, but my time at SCAD provided that push for me and would ultimately set up the foundation for the years ahead.
Low Tide Thread Co. was born as I wanted to do a full-blown clothing company. I immediately got to work on designs, logos, and branding, and I started everything from scratch. Now we are celebrating 3 years this month! March 21st, 2025, will be our 3rd Anniversary! “What a Long, Strange trip it’s been” so far! in 3 years I’ve had the honor of providing wardrobe for the Showtime show Yellowjackets, made my beer with Two Tides Brewing in Savannah, Ga, created designs for Daniel Donato, signed a multi year contract with the Grateful Dead…there are a couple announcements that are coming…follow us on Social Media for all the good news.
It’s been a heck of a journey so far, and I feel like the engine is just warming up- no pun intended.
The designs are incredibly unique. What are the inspirations for the designs? I draw a lot of inspiration from everywhere. I am very into vintage stuff, so I look at a lot of designs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I use a lot of color palettes from those time frames, too. I get inspiration from a lot of music. Aside from the Dead, my musical taste is all over the place. I grew up listening to oldies, so I still do a lot, but I range from Queens of the Stone Age to War on Drugs, Deftones, Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. I’m all over the place!
I love the brand Imogene + Willie out of Nashville, so I look to them for inspiration a good bit. They do a killer job with their branding. I will also surf Pinterest a good bit and look at old military patches and concert posters. I try not to force any designs and let the inspiration hit me. When it does, I get really into it.
What kind of person is an LTTC customer? From our data, we have found that the LTTC customer is typically a guy in the age range of 35-45. Of course, there is spill over both ways but mostly outdoorsmen, music lovers, concert goers, hobbyists, and folks that enjoy adventure. I tend to hope that the majority of LTTC customers are individuals who like unique stylings and try not to fit into any specific box.
What do you like to do outside of running the company? My answer to this is going to be boring at this time because, honestly, this has become my baby, and there aren’t enough hours in the day anymore! I am working 90-100 hour work weeks, and because of the company’s growth, I do not have much of a life outside of LTTC these days. I still love golf, and that’s what I try to do in the times I can devote to something else, but I might get to play once every few weeks. If I just need a mental break, I’ll play my bass. I’ve played drums for 20+ years and bass for around 12 years, I think. So, playing a little bass can clear my head. But yes, these are the grind years, and I’m running the company as lean as I can for as long as I can, which means I have about 5 or 6 jobs. Product designs, social media, customer service, email marketing, photography, video, and package design. I live and breathe the company.
You are clearly a big Dead fan. What is your favorite era of the Dead? My favorite era of the Dead tends to be the late ’60s and early ’70s. I love the psychedelic jams of that era, and I also think American Beauty is the best studio album, which was from around that time. The Wall of Sound came about in the early ’70s, which paved the way for modern PA systems. It wasn’t a sustainable system, of course, but it was such a cool idea, and I’m sure it melted tons of faces! Such pioneers! We are celebrating 60 years of the DEAD for 2025. What a huge milestone. Our Volume III Collection will be coming out in just a week or two!
What’s on your Spotify playlist? Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t have Spotify. Still just rocking Apple Music, but I really should get into the Spotify thing. I guess I’m behind on that front. But it would include some of the bands I listed above!
You can see the whole collection on LTTC’s website.
