I feel like I have to give you a little background on this one.
The idea for Bye, Local Beef came from a song. As soon as I heard one particular phrase, my mind immediately went somewhere else. I thought, Nooo, that is exactly the problem I have with copy-and-paste Western apparel.
It is not that I do not like the song, and it is definitely not that I disagree with supporting local ranchers. Buy local beef. Support your neighbors. Support the families raising the food that ends up on your table. I am absolutely behind all of that!
But does every Western shirt have to say it?
Sometimes it feels like you can walk into ten different Western stores and find the same phrases, the same graphics, and the same overall look hanging on every rack. The store changes, but the designs do not. Western apparel gets reduced to a handful of designs that are used over and over again, as if that is the only way Western style is allowed to look. Copy and paste.
That has never been what SRM is about!
SRM is about creating something original, building its own style, and setting trends instead of following them. You are not going to find my designs looking like every shirt at the commercial ranch store, and you are not going to see the exact same artwork in every other boutique. I want each piece to feel unexpected, artistic, and completely SRM.
About 90% of the artwork I create blends pop culture and music with Western life. Those influences are a huge part of my creative style, but every SRM design is still drawn and developed by me. One artist, one point of view, and one original design from beginning to end.
It is not purchased artwork. It is not an over-edited photo. It is not a recycled graphic with a different business name placed underneath it. It is not the same design you have already seen hanging on five other racks.
It is original art, created by me, for SRM.
That is the real message behind "Bye, Local Beef." It is a play on the phrase everyone already knows, but it is also my way of saying goodbye to the idea that Western apparel has to fit inside the same predictable box.
👋🏼 Bye to the everyday phrases.
👋🏼 Bye to the copy-and-paste designs.
👋🏼 Bye to the same look, over and over again
And hello to original artwork, fresh ideas, and Western apparel with its own personality.
Bye, Local Beef is a little funny, a little rebellious, and very SRM. It does not mean we are saying goodbye to local beef. It means we are saying goodbye to the belief that every Western design has to say the same thing. Because Western style can support tradition without repeating it. It can celebrate where we come from while still making room for something new.That is what I want SRM to bring to your closet... art that feels familiar enough to connect with, but original enough to stand out.