San Francisco | 12/01/19 | Baja Llama, The online retailer known for its one of a kind button up shirts, secret side stash pockets, and prints that tell stories through art, has released a new line of wicked shirts. Along with a full array of new products on the way.
Baja Llama is elevating the Hawaiian shirt game by implementing an art first strategy that utilizes some of the most clever artists around the world to tell imaginative stories. All of their shirts feature something unique. Currently it seems like every brand has a shirt with flamingos on it. BORING. How about throwing some red glasses on orangutans, handing a narwhal a beer, or taking the classic palm shirt and sending it into space?
“We really wanted to create a brand that would cater to world travelers, adventure seekers and bad ass people that do cool sh*t! Whether that is sitting bar side in Budapest or climbing in the Colombian jungle, we wanted to make clothes that would function perfectly and give you a nice little attitude boost. Hence the outrageous prints on our button up collections.” -Jeff Anderlite, Founder.
Baja Llama takes an extraordinary amount of time in conceptualizing and developing the designs for each shirt to make sure they are far more interesting, unique and awe inspiring than any other Hawaiian, t-shirt, swimsuit, or hat out there. Their company’s motto is #FightAgainstBoring and felt it would be an injustice if they were creating basic apparel. Their button ups are already turning ‘Casual Fridays’ or ‘Aloha Fridays’ into something much more interesting.
Being from the Bay Area with start ups on every corner, they realized the corporate world of wearing a suit and tie was becoming less mandatory and much less respected by employees for that matter. Fun button ups and Hawaiian shirts started popping up more and more, but every time they looked around it was always a little Flamingo print, some flowers, and maybe a few pineapples. Still better than a suit for sure, but why couldn't there be a bit more artistry and intrigue mixed in with these fun little designs? After seeing the 5th guy with the same print, they asked themselves, “What animal is weirder than a Flamingo?” How about a narwhal. Maybe we should give him a beer.
BOOM! Enter Baja Llama and their first hand-painted, watercolor print showcasing an underwater party was born.
“As we go into 2020, nothing is out of reach in men's fashion. Hawaiian shirts that went out of style for years are now becoming staples in men’s closets from all walks of life. The bolder the print, the more interesting the story, the greater impact you’ll have on people.” -Richard Court, Head Designer
Where do the design ideas and inspiration come from? Jeff and Sean’s love for travel and adventure for the last 15 years was the driving force. To properly launch the brand in the summer of 2018, newly created Baja Llama sponsored a 1999 Ford Fiesta Replete. With all of its mind bending 72hp, Jeff, his brother and a few friends drove from London to Mongolia in search of excitement, and an unwavering desire to explore the unknown. They drove 17,000 km through some of the most incredible places on earth. It was the perfect emulation of their company.
After many years and 75 countries later, their thirst for travel, adventure and excitement has only grown stronger. This thirst is now at the forefront of their design philosophy.
Traveling to so many places has also allowed them to learn first hand about some of the world’s systemic problems like ocean pollution, deforestation, and even poaching. They decided to create a collection called Prints + Purpose which immediately resonated with their customers.
Not only do they maintain their uniqueness by creating outrageous designs no one has ever seen before, but they help raise awareness for global issues and partner with foundations like The OceanClean Up, Cool Earth, and the Anti-Poaching Federation.
Going back to the narwhal drinking a beer (there’s also a squid bartender serving up drinks), their Narwalled print paints the picture of an underwater party scene. It also showcases the amount of trash that’s in the ocean that sea life have to deal with every day. Their No Poaching print was a fan favorite as they flipped the script and put the animals in charge. You’ll see elephants crushing poachers, hunters' heads mounted, and even gazelles laying on human skin. Yes you read that right. They donate a percentage of their Prints + Purpose collection sales to the corresponding organization. Each element of these prints is painstakingly hand-painted in watercolors. Then they take hi-res photos of each element and position them, overlap them and adjust their colors to create these one of a kind prints.
“Are some of our prints outrageous? Absolutely. But with a touch of genius. That’s what Baja Llama is all about. We had so much positive feedback with our Prints + Purpose collection that it was the springboard that got us on the map. You probably have lots of shirts in your closet that you’ll wear and hear, “nice shirt”. The difference between wearing one of ours is you’ll usually hear something like… “Nice shirrrr, wait what’s going on here? Haha that’s amazing! Where do I get one?” -Sean Kolina, Founder.
Their prints are conversation starters which they take pride in. Whether you’re at the office or traveling the world, you’re almost guaranteed to have someone walk up to you and say something. Jeff & Sean want strangers to engage with each other again and their unique clothing gives people an opening to do that. While most of these other button up shirt companies are the flamingo, Baja Llama wants to be the narwhal holding a beer.
Baja Llama has found success in their Hawaiian button up shirts starting at local Art & Wine Festivals, Bay Area events like TreasureFest, and have been invited back to bigger pop ups like Facebook’s HQ. Their shirts have been seen on actress Denise Richards and NFL Pro Bowl TE George Kittle.
They’re expanding their product line to bathing suits, t-shirts, and hats early next year. They are using the same strategy that has given them success by hyper focusing on the quality of fabrics, details, and unmatched design work.
You can purchase their unique Hawaiian button ups right now on their website bajallama.com.
If you’ll be in Orlando for Surf Expo, stop by their booth #540. They have some fun surprises planned.
#FightAgainstBoring
Contact Info:
Name: Sean Kolina
Company: Baja Llama
Address: 1224 Juliet Ct, Concord, CA 94521
Phone: 925-765-9900