Growing pains.

Close-up macro of a sewing needle with threads under tension.

I love building Mongrel Logic. We are officially into our 6th month as a start-up, on zero budget, that’s just a fact. Although, I look forward to it becoming a historical fact one day. Just saying, I still do the day job as well.

Time has lost all meaning.

Work never stops. There is no such thing as a day off. I’m not complaining, there are just many elements to what I am building. Organic business growth exclusively in our first year is just one of them, which is partly why time has lost all meaning.

Social media has taken over my life.

Days are spent agonising over content I have, knowing more needs to be done, having barely any time to do that, but needing to push on even if it’s not perfect. Even if I haven’t got everything I need. Which is an extremely frustrating problem to have, but essential at this point and an on-going process.

The reel story.

Sorry…The real story is I care about all this. I was born in Africa, I live in the UK. I’ve lived both sides of the solution and the problem. But this blog isn’t about waste. Nor about extremely good quality clothing for an exceptional price. (Shameless plug.)

I draw incredibly weird shit, mythical cosmic world builders, sun eaters, South African crime fighting superheroes, lots of eyeballs. It’s about using creativity to build a way forward. Said every artist ever.

I’m not afraid, to t…struggle in obscurity.

Persistence in the dark. Being unseen until the world is ready. The undertow, the liminality. A lone wolf. Gestating in the undercurrent of, ok, I’ll stop. World domination loading.

Endurance.

Not just a tag line. An essential ingredient to the first year, an ethos, a mindset, an inner vision and outward expression of what it means to live where design chaos and craft collide and what it means to think that survival deserves to be worn.

The Story Behind Our Art: Building the Mongrel Logic™ Universe

Original lines, translated into thread. The archive, made tangible.

Mongrel Logic didn’t begin as a product line. It began with drawings.

Some of the artwork in our Core range was drawn in the 90’s and early 2000s. Long before hoodies and brands. In fact, what kicked this all off was drawing the embroidery for our Signature cap, more on that another day.

Flaws are as important as perfection.

Keeping the art close to its original form matters, not polishing away the awkwardness, not correcting every detail. Letting the lines stay human. Time will tell if the idea is sound or not. Re-working drawings without erasing where they came from, and building them a future, has been one of the most satisfying parts of all of this.

We are ‘the’ weirdos, mister.

I’m not apologising for it. Art has informed everything from the design of the first cap to the current development of the designer range. Testing art on textiles is the most fun I’ve had in years. Watching something once trapped in a notebook move into fabric feels like unlocking a small universe.

Art is the foundation. Form is the future.

Using my antique, vintage, almost cave-era drawings gives us a clear starting point. Not everyone understands the purple weird monster immediately, that’s fine. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to feel slightly unfamiliar. It isn’t made for everyone.

Serious comes next.

Right now, it lives simply. A sweater. A graphic. A familiar softness. I put on my own Logic Descends sweatshirt and feel the soft fabric settle. The drawing sits there quietly, carrying two decades of history with it.

This is how the universe builds.

From the archive outward. From the monsters under my bed, to the fabric you can’t say no to.

Verbal bondage and visual systems.

AI visual showing the three characters to Mongrel Logic, a small part of the process of developing our visual system.

The tiny problem when you build like I do is the language evolution as I progress. I’ve changed the website more than I have changed outfits this year.

Defining what hasn’t been defined.

Learning how to talk about the three characters I inhabit in this world has been extremely challenging. Every time I refine even the smallest phrase, the knock-on effect of clarity in one area means a complete rewrite in another.

It’s ok, I won in the end.

I have emerged from the wilderness of my own mind, covered in moss, dirt and ichor. But I think I might have finally moulded all these things into one coherent, cohesive story that finally has its visual shit together.

The evidence of our evolution is here for all to see.

I don’t mind that. At all, actually. I have built this from scratch. Whether it’s finding identity in wording, or arguing with myself over flat felled seems and GSM, pattern makers, choosing our manufacturers for the limited editions; it’s been one hell of a journey to be able to stand here next to a thing that looks like a thing. The beginnings of a thing. A ‘th’ if you will.

Mongrel Logic has found its stride.

Which is good because I walk fast. I have not stopped in months. The tiniest bit of wording on the website, image, description, product seen and the coming soon limited-edition range is all occupying my head. All trying to find its mark.

It took a minute, but this is the first time it’s felt like it can breathe.

There is much more coming. And so much more to do. I’ve just finalised a visual identity system. And our next hoodie design is under construction. I’ve just finished rewriting the website again, and for the first time, I think I have a plan for our socials. The AI image above was part of that journey, trying to articulate the three characters of my business. I needed a visual way to help me delineate language and this helped quite a bit.