Artists who happened to practice BJJ give life to the gis we wear. But unlike other artists that have made beautiful rashguards and gis, Patches O'Toole focused on patches over anything else.
Gi bling happened to have a soft spot to us. Aside from our team patch, we love to make our gis stand out with other BJJ related patches. For those who followed Patches O'Toole in recent years, they've accomplished a job well done making some of the best patches around.
We recently interviewed Aengus of Patches O'Toole and learned a lot about their products and the company in general.
When was Patches O'Toole founded?
The company is a few years old now, I think maybe 3, though I can’t remember exactly. I’ve never been particularly good with numbers, or remembering things for that matter.
What was your inspiration making the brand?
That BJJ people like patches is obvious to any onlooker (why is another matter) but most of the patches out there were pretty shit. It was all this tap or snap nonsense or just nasty looking graphics. I wanted to tie in what I did for a living (graphic design) with what I did for pleasure (Jiu Jitsu) and patch design fit nicely. I also wanted to create art pieces that looked great, and lasted. These days the quality of products can be really poor, so I wanted to make something that would last. Kind of the old Krugans gi I have, it’s years old, but still keeps on going when a bunch of others have come and gone. Quality lasts.
Do you have products aside from patches?
Yea a few, a couple of sweaters and some funky mugs, but my main focus is the patches. I didn’t want to become another brand banding out the usual shite, I think it’s important to specialise. BJJ patches is a micro niche, already in a nice sport. So if I can defend my little corner, I will be happy with that. It’s always cool to walk into a gym and see someone wearing one of my patches.
Do you design the patches on your own or do you have your team of designers?
A bit of both really. If I see an artist that is drawing really cool stuff, I think let’s get them designing some stuff for BJJ. I like the variety using loads of artists can bring, and there are so many talented artists out there, I would like to work with as many as I can. Lately I have been coming up with the concepts behind the patches then having one of the illustrators draw them up. I’m a big fan of employing people who are better than me, in whatever skill set.
Have you ever thought of collaborating with other brands/schools to design gis/academy logos etc?
Yea I’ve done a few collaborations so far. Some stuff with Caio Terra Online, The grapplers gift, some work with Duane Ludwig and Lagarto, so there have been a few projects in the past like that. I get approached on occasion by BJJ schools looking for a cool new logo, so that is always fun to work on. A lot of the club designs out there aren’t great, so it’s always nice to give them a bit of a facelift.
Where can we find Patches O'Toole? Social Media accounts, website?
The website is the main port of call, www.patchesotoole.com, you can check us out on Instagram or Facebook too, we are easy to find.
https://www.facebook.com/PatchesOToole/
https://www.instagram.com/patchesotoole/
With popularity of different designers such as Meerkatsu and Gawakoto, what are your plans with your brand?
Those guys produce some really nice stuff. Seymour (Meerkatsu) has been at the forefront of art & BJJ a long time, so we owe him a dept for his perseverance and creating such cool stuff. They do their thing, I do mine. I don’t think they delve in to patches too often, and I don’t really do tshirts and stuff, so all good. My plans are to keep on creating patches with as high quality design and quality as I can. I really need to make a patch for women as I have been asked a bunch of times, that and one specifically for kids are at the top of my to do list.
Gi bling happened to have a soft spot to us. Aside from our team patch, we love to make our gis stand out with other BJJ related patches. For those who followed Patches O'Toole in recent years, they've accomplished a job well done making some of the best patches around.
We recently interviewed Aengus of Patches O'Toole and learned a lot about their products and the company in general.
When was Patches O'Toole founded?
The company is a few years old now, I think maybe 3, though I can’t remember exactly. I’ve never been particularly good with numbers, or remembering things for that matter.
What was your inspiration making the brand?
That BJJ people like patches is obvious to any onlooker (why is another matter) but most of the patches out there were pretty shit. It was all this tap or snap nonsense or just nasty looking graphics. I wanted to tie in what I did for a living (graphic design) with what I did for pleasure (Jiu Jitsu) and patch design fit nicely. I also wanted to create art pieces that looked great, and lasted. These days the quality of products can be really poor, so I wanted to make something that would last. Kind of the old Krugans gi I have, it’s years old, but still keeps on going when a bunch of others have come and gone. Quality lasts.
Do you have products aside from patches?
Yea a few, a couple of sweaters and some funky mugs, but my main focus is the patches. I didn’t want to become another brand banding out the usual shite, I think it’s important to specialise. BJJ patches is a micro niche, already in a nice sport. So if I can defend my little corner, I will be happy with that. It’s always cool to walk into a gym and see someone wearing one of my patches.
Do you design the patches on your own or do you have your team of designers?
A bit of both really. If I see an artist that is drawing really cool stuff, I think let’s get them designing some stuff for BJJ. I like the variety using loads of artists can bring, and there are so many talented artists out there, I would like to work with as many as I can. Lately I have been coming up with the concepts behind the patches then having one of the illustrators draw them up. I’m a big fan of employing people who are better than me, in whatever skill set.
Have you ever thought of collaborating with other brands/schools to design gis/academy logos etc?
Yea I’ve done a few collaborations so far. Some stuff with Caio Terra Online, The grapplers gift, some work with Duane Ludwig and Lagarto, so there have been a few projects in the past like that. I get approached on occasion by BJJ schools looking for a cool new logo, so that is always fun to work on. A lot of the club designs out there aren’t great, so it’s always nice to give them a bit of a facelift.
Where can we find Patches O'Toole? Social Media accounts, website?
The website is the main port of call, www.patchesotoole.com, you can check us out on Instagram or Facebook too, we are easy to find.
https://www.facebook.com/PatchesOToole/
https://www.instagram.com/patchesotoole/
With popularity of different designers such as Meerkatsu and Gawakoto, what are your plans with your brand?
Those guys produce some really nice stuff. Seymour (Meerkatsu) has been at the forefront of art & BJJ a long time, so we owe him a dept for his perseverance and creating such cool stuff. They do their thing, I do mine. I don’t think they delve in to patches too often, and I don’t really do tshirts and stuff, so all good. My plans are to keep on creating patches with as high quality design and quality as I can. I really need to make a patch for women as I have been asked a bunch of times, that and one specifically for kids are at the top of my to do list.
Labels: aengus ryan, gi critic, patches o'toole
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