Contestant's Case to Win

"Move over, Ralph Lauren..."

... So said Blueprint Magazine NY, in a tongue-in-cheek manner when they featured some of my pop-culture t-shirts. Now, I harbor no delusions about posing any sort of threat to Mr. Lauren, but I am thrilled at how my shirts have been embraced by customers and reviewers.

I started Rotem Gear in 2002, as a part of my graphics and intercultural marketing company, Rotem Design Studio, and the online shop took off on its own. What makes Rotem Gear different from the many other t-shirt sites? Not only are the designs mine, but the ideas and languages come directly from my own multi-cultural background.

In response to why I should be considered for the Home-Based 100 Competition, I am a believer in bringing all ones resources and skills into ones business, to find what makes you unique and let it take your business to where others cannot go. If you are a jewelry maker who happens to know French, use it in your creations or in your marketing. If you are filmmaker who also knows gardening, consider a series of landscaping videos. Think globally even about your own abilities and experiences.

I have done that with Rotem Gear. I wasn't always a designer by trade, but have always been a student and teacher of languages, cultures and aesthetics (I have an MA in Japanese and a BA in Asian Studies.) I have lived in Japan and Israel. I’m captivated by textures, typographies, rhythms and architecture. This oddly cross-cultural view of the world come into play when I design ... connecting the dots between words and images, languages and aesthetics, as well as American pop culture and the kind of quirky humor I find amusing.

My vision for Rotem Gear is that global mixed-up nature: exotic and familiar, vintage and hip, local and connected, respect and humor -- all in an everyday sort of package. A t-shirt.