King Cole
@king.cole
The Stealie King – King Cole has some of the most inventive versions of the Dead’s classic ‘Steal Your Face’ logo I’ve ever seen, encapsulating entire landscapes, characters, and scenes into the iconic logo. He also designs 1/1 pieces on organic hemp, repurposed, and naturally dyed clothing.
Bacton Retro
https://www.treesofzion.com // @bactonretro
Fresh out of college and taking the scene by storm, Brendan is an amazing artist and graphic designer that also has an impeccable sense of humor that influences his art. At a high level, his style blends psychedelia with Western American/Cowboy themes, but spans way beyond just that. His designs have given nods to a wide range of pop-culture references from Seinfeld and Always Sunny to the Talking Heads. He’s done incredible official work for Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country and has more exciting new projects on the way. In addition to his design work and merch drops, Brendan has also been conducting “Psychedelic Sound Research” via his Bacton Music (@bactonmusic) page on Instagram that highlights and resurfaces some of the best throwback live music clips of all time.
Shakedown Styles
https://www.shakedownstyles.com // @shakedownstyles
A true OG, Ronnie from Shakedown Styles hopped on the bus in 1989 at the LA Forum and has been slinging tees, stickers and more ever since. His illustrative style is reminiscent of the best parts of 90’s fashion, featuring bright coloring and amazing dye patterns that compliment his designs perfectly. He’s even got some galaxy style dyes that are unlike any other patterns out there.
Lizzy Lightning
https://www.lizzylightning.com // @lizzy.lightning
Lizzy’s is a straight up badass and a jack of all trades. Currently residing in the NYC area, her background is in industrial design and her work is heavily rooted in scientific research that looks to incorporate ecological processes into our daily lives in hopes of creating a more sustainable society. Lizzy Lightning started out after she made some laser cut charms for one of Phil Lesh’s epic birthday shows at the Capitol Theater, and she’s been personally laser cutting and assembling hundreds of pieces she designs and sells by hand. While she specializes in custom laser cut jewelry, she also makes pottery and paints.
Dead in Good Company
http://deadingoodcompany.com // @deadingoodcompany
I like to call Yuri from Dead in Good Company “The Font Wizard”. He is an artist and graphic designer that explores the creative intersection of typography & color. Based out of Denver, he re-interprets and re-contextualizes the imagery and vibe of the Grateful Dead in a Modern artistic style. The fonts and color palettes he chooses in his designs create some of the most eye catching aesthetics in the scene.
Lot D Griddle
@lot_d_griddle
I had to include my favorite Shakedown food vendor, Damien from Lot “D” Griddle. Damien took the tried and trusted “lot grilled cheese” and made it his own. His creation, dubbed the “Capr-Easy Wind”, features mozzarella cheese and tomatoes toasted on parmesan crusted Italian bread topped with balsamic jam and basil mayo. This is the best lot grilled cheese you’ll ever try. Last year on Phish lot Damien kept me well fed, as he offered to give us sandwiches in exchange for a t-shirt in one of my best trades to date.
Nomad
https://www.nomadstradingpost.com // @no_m.ad
Nomad’s style is unmistakably his own. Mixing brilliant illustrations with an almost gothic flair, his designs are reminiscent of vintage heavy metal tees, but updated with some modern flair. Along with Dead-inspired pieces, his line features a slew of jaw dropping takes on Disney imagery.
Deadend
https://www.deadend.us // @deadend.us
Dylan at Dead End was destined for Shakedown, as his parents met trading Dead tapes after Jerry passed. While it took him some time to get into the music, he stumbled on the Dead’s Red Rocks ‘78 show and it all clicked. After graduating college this year, Dylan invested in a screen printing press and re-invigorated the Dead End brand. He’s also done some work for good causes, most recently his “Future is Here” tee in which 50% of proceeds were donated to Stop Cop City, an organization fighting against the destruction of the Weelaunee forest to build a massive police/military installation.
This Old Engine
https://thisoldengine.net/
This Old Engine is the is the graphic design and illustration studio of Danny Evans—a multidisciplinary designer that specializes in brand development, designing-for-print media, illustration & merchandise design. Whether it be a concert poster, band t-shirt or logo for a new business – his work promotes the uses of many different creative styles; utilizing cartoon-inspired hard line work, illustrated scenes & characters, simple logos, digital bitmaps & collage – as well as eye-catching headlining & supporting type work. He’s done work for Rayland Baxter, Dogs in a Pile, The Sam Grisman Project and more.
Dyer on the Mountain
https://www.dyer-on-the-mountain.com
Aptly named, Jenn aka Dyer on the Mountain resides in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of PA. Even more beautiful than the scenery there are her mind-blowing dyes. Jenn takes garment-dying to the next level, breaking boundaries with style and her use of negative space. She specializes in made-to-order ice and tie dye and (if you’re like me) will take your favorite pre-loved clothing, put a fresh dye on it, and send them back!
Lemonlight Tie Dyes
https://www.instagram.com/lightemuplem/?hl=en
Luke is another great tie dyer coming up and making a name for himself. He does dyes for a ton of different vendors in the scene. Luke was gracious enough to hook us up with some custom dyed tapestries for our festival season this year that we’ll be debuting at Bonnaroo. If you’re going to Roo, keep your eye out for them.
Toon
@t000nnn
Have you ever imagined what the ‘heady’ version of your favorite cartoon character would look? Look no further than Toon. Think hippie Spongebob or Deadhead Cosmo and Wanda and every character in between. Deven also has may be one of the youngest vendors on lot, but is already a brilliant designer and ahead of his years.
