The Print Shop: Oaf History with Gem
"Going from selling dodgy magazines on a market stall to now has been one hell of a ride, we have also faced floods, fires and organ removal and I think we can safely say that we don’t just sell some product anymore, we have transformed into an international brand, a lifestyle and a creative platform and I am incredibly proud and excited to continue that adventure and spray all of you with the right amount of Eau D’oaf. Or Oaf De toilette.
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Step right up – The Print Shop is open. We’re paying homage to how it all began with a new 8-piece capsule collection of apparel and accessories, featuring illustrated graphics from the mind of Gemma, the King of Oaf. So let’s take it back to circa 2001, where Gem started the brand by selling graphic tees at an East London market alongside classic porno mags. In her own words, she reflects on how Lazy Oaf got started.
‘Let me build you a picture of how I got to this point. I grew up in a pub in Soho and my parents were my business heroes. At the age of 9 I had a sideline in trading Grolsch bottle tops (it was a fashion accessory and I had a large supply) for smelly erasers or snacks, my first entrepreneurial endeavour. Growing up in a pub both my brother and I had time to kill while our parents worked every hour, so we spent it mostly drawing, idly watching 80’s trash tv and being surrounded by characters that were never short of a story. I was a teen in the riot grrl era, an indie girl that was in awe of the new raw bands fronted by strong women, giving zero fucks.
‘I was sneaking into the cinema with a fake ID to watch films like Pulp Fiction which ignited a love of film. At school I took refuge in the art department, smoking cigarettes, and mostly smelling of cheap body spray and polo mints. Creativity has been my constant comfort blanket and where I started to find my peoples, my gang, my tribe. I later went to university, the first person in my family to do so. I studied print design, a frustrating degree that left me unsure about where it would take me and spent a good chunk of time printing T-shirts for friends, being mostly pissed and wearing vintage clothes with nearly no natural fibre content.’
'I had a distinct lack of direction post degree, I had a portfolio of weird shit that people liked but had no idea what to do with. I got myself a job in retail while I tried to work it out. It was my mum who proffered up a leaflet for designers to set up a market stall in East London. I had a small bag of printed T-shirts and a stack of vintage porn and fashion magazines, a lucky find from my dad doing a house clearance, I set up a stall, and started trading as Lazy Oaf.’
"Hand drawing my own catalogue, walking into shops with shaky hands and hoping they liked it enough to buy it, to being one of very few girls starting a T-shirt label in a male dominated streetwear scene.
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‘From here Oaf has evolved and changed from setting up our first studio/store in east London to landing our current flagship store in Soho. Hand drawing my own catalogue, walking into shops with shaky hands and hoping they liked it enough to buy it, to being one of very few girls starting a T-shirt label in a male dominated streetwear scene.’
‘We have had the opportunity to work with brands, icons and infamous institutions that I had been idolising, coveting and admiring since time began and to become their collaborator and creative partner has been one of my many incredible highlights along the way. We have been able to shine a spotlight on the up and coming creatives, working and collaborating on projects, campaigns and growing a family of people that we love to work with.’
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