2023-10-02 13:34:11
Damien, 26, comes from a Bordeaux business school, his sister Marie, 24, from the Rennes School of Fine Arts. Two areas of expertise that they decided to combine by creating Kalamar. “With the octopus invasion, I went fishing several times and I stained my clothes and the boat, hence the idea of collecting the ink from octopuses and cuttlefish to screen print clothes. In fact it started from a joke! “, explained Damien.
Marie was already drawing with textile pencil on t-shirts. Thanks to a friend, Malo Jezequel who worked at the Concarneau fish market, they collected octopus ink. Then they immersed themselves in research into making the ink. “We used octopus ink only for the black of the screen printing. We played apprentice chemists to prepare the ink, basify it, mix it with other products, such as baking soda, filter it through a coffee filter and, finally, mix it with ink. screen printing”. For the rest, the recipe is secret, as secret as that of the famous magic potion…
Dozens of washes and it holds up!
And it holds up, even after dozens of machine washes at 90°. “The ink doesn’t move. However, we tried it dozens of times in a machine,” the duo rejoiced. The adventure therefore began with a first series of screen-printed clothing, then a second… They quickly had the wind in their sails. The Kalamar brand has successfully anchored in southern Finistère.
“It’s Marie who creates the screen-printed patterns, inspired by the ocean, personal emotions, octopuses and faces. Moreover, our logo represents two inverted symmetrical squid hats. We then print the designs on t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags and some aprons.
For the moment, the brand is only distributed in a few stores, including “L’Artère” in Quimperlé. But Damien, who is in charge of the communication and sales part, Marie taking care of the design and creation part, already has numerous contacts for upcoming events, Christmas markets, association festivities, as well as restaurants and bars which request special silk-screened series.
Contact : kalamar.bzh or [email protected]
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