About

Welcome

Welcome to I Club Detroit. Here, you’ll find Detroit, techno, house 
and electronic music related t-shirts and tanks. All of I Club Detroit’s shirts 
are conceptualized and designed by owner/designer Kim Wilds. Hi! :D

Spring Line 2014, I Club Detroit

I Club Detroit?

The name I Club Detroit (I ♣ Detroit) signifies an enthusiasm for Detroit's
music scene, its techno roots and electronic music in general. The mark is
designed to look like a hand stamp you'd get upon entry to a venue. It is
also a nod to Milton Glaser's iconic I Heart NY design.

Who Makes this Stuff?

Hi! My name is Kim Wilds, and I am the owner and designer at I Club Detroit. (I'm also the shipper, photographer, vendor, social media, and test market screen-printer person.) 

I started designing techno and house music themed t-shirts for friends and myself to wear to  Movement (Detroit's electronic music festival) in 2009. 
When the designs were a hit, I knew I wanted to design shirts full-time, but
I didn't know how to make that dream a reality. I had a lot of ideas and I was
pretty good at drawing and painting, but knew nothing about graphic
design or the garment industry.

Kim Wilds, Owner/Designer I Club Detroit  

Back to School

Believing that it’s never too late to be what you might have been, I studied graphic design at Washtenaw Community College, and learned about the garment industry wherever I could. I was obsessed. I attended conventions and lectures, watched documentaries, read books and spent countless hours on websites like T-shirt Forums and Skillshare.

Detroit Techno Sketch, I Club Detroit   

Trademark

During that time, I learned a ton about copyrights and trademarks, and
knew if I didn’t apply for my trademark soon, I could lose it. I'd been using
a sloppy I Club Detroit illustration I'd done a while back. Pressed for time,
I applied for my trademark with that in August of 2012 and was approved
nine months later in May of 2013. 

I Club Detroit Trademark

Power Tools and Science, Heck Yeah!

After taking a screen-printing class, I decided I needed a printing press and
exposure unit of my own. I didn’t have the money for either however, so I
designed and built them myself; a six station line-table press and an expo-
sure unit that burns screens in twelve seconds flat. It employs a single-point
light source design with a 1000 watt, 10,000 k metal halide bulb. I nick-named
that beast the Burnomatic, and have started designing a nameplate for it
reminiscent of the old automobile name plates.

Looking for the DIY Exposure Unit information?

DIY Screen Printing Press, I Club Detroit   DIY Exposure Unit, I Club Detroit   Burnomatic Name Plate Sketch, I Club Detroit

The Making of Joan

I Club Detroit needed a female face, but not mine. It made perfect sense
that a crash test dummy should represent the brand considering the au-
tomotive industry in Detroit and the role the that Packard Automative Plant 
played in the techno scene. Crash test dummy masks are really hard to
find, so I made my own lopsided mask and ended up with a version of my
own face after all. Joan is named after my maternal grandmother.  

DIY Crash Test Dummy Mask   Crash Test Dummy Costume, Joan, I Club Detroit   Dick Wilds, Susan (Wilds) Howe, Joan Wilds, I Club Detroit

The Rest

I still had to perfect the LP packaging, design the garment labels and find
the right shirts to print on. The labels and packaging were easy enough,
but I needed an actual product in order to do those things.

I wanted on-trend, lightweight garments made in the United States,
and I wanted the option of creating the colors and designing the garment
styles myself. I gave up on the usual blank t-shirt companies, either because
of a lack of styles and customizability, quality, customer service or location.
I began reaching out to textile mills and garment manufacturers in the United
States, and eventually forged a relationship with the right one. 

Detroit Techno (Goodbye Kiss Remix) Drapey Racerback Tank, I Club Detroit   Techno T-shirts, I Club Detroit   ABCDETROIT Shirt in Vinyl Record Packaging, I Club Detroit   I Club Detroit Label Design

Thank You

Thank you for checking out I Club Detroit. If you have any questions or
comments, feel free to DROP ME A LINE

-Kim

©2021 I Club Detroit kim@iclubdetroit.com 1+517.414.7502

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