Can you imagine what it would be like to have one of the world's foremost rap artists appear on his highly-anticipated video release wearing a t-shirt that you designed?!  It happened earlier this week to Kit and Harriet Kirshman, co-owners of Detroit Industrial Gear in Oakland County.  

The local t-shirt company who's concept began as an expression of the city's feisty, working-class reputation, and a sense of loyalty to it, was established in 2005 by the Kirshmans.  Kit started experimenting with concepts and images, refining them into what became a collection of original designs for their Detroit-themed t-shirt company, which he named "Detroit Industrial Gear," aka D.I.G (www.detroitindustrialgear.com). 

Harriet, with her strong marketing background, took the product to the next level, getting it placed in a local specialty shops, supervising website marketing and exhibiting at all the best shows, including Detroit's pinnacle, the 2006 Super Bowl XL:

The first shake-up in their otherwise well-managed marketing plan occurred when their exclusive retailer, Chaud Jeans in Royal Oak alerted the two that "Eminem's people" were looking for Detroit-themed merchandise for an upcoming video shoot.  Having had their expectations raised and dashed before, the Kirshmans didn't give it much more thought besides making sure that they had a wide selection of merchandise delivered to the store. 

Fast forward to last Monday night.  Harriet was working late and before closing up for the night, she logged onto Facebook and saw a friend's posting of the Eminem video.  Sure enough, there was Eminem performing "Beautiful" and wearing one of their D.I.G. t-shirts!  She and Kit immediately posted the video on Harriet's Facebook page, and that's when the congratulatory calls and text messages that have continued, began pouring in. 

"We just wanted to create cool shirt and cap designs that people would be proud to wear.  We're not the first Detroit-branded t-shirt company and I know we won't be the last.  There are other great Detroit-themed t-shirt companies and we're proud to be among them.  To watch one of the biggest stars of all time wear our gear is just an unbelievable honor," said co-founder Harriet Kirshman, who was careful to explain that Eminem's choice did not imply endorsement. 

What's next for the Kirshmans?  "Our short term goal is to continue doing what we've been doing, and what seems to be working."   Kit is working on a new collection of designs; Harriet continues to manage the marketing details.  "Even though we know people are attracted to the designs, we also want to continue to produce Detroit-branded products of such good quality that people will enjoy wearing them for many years to come.  Our long term goal is to open a store front in Detroit and the surrounding areas to showcase our merchandise." 

By day, Kit is a Developer in IT at First American Title in Troy, and Harriet is a Product Manager at McKesson Pharmacy Systems in Livonia. 

To follow or comment, here are links to more mentions, twitters and blogs about D.I.G. 

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?idT9887816&ref=profile#/group.php?gid89090385000&ref=mf
www.twitter.com (DIGGear)
http://after5detroit.com/a5/men-s/detroit-t-shirts-gear.html
http://girl-in-the-d.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html 

Story Written By:
Elaine Kirshman,
Managing Director
Image Artistry Public Relations
emkirshman@comcast.net
www.imageartistrynow.com