Take a stroll through The Brush Factory on Kings, and you’ll see a bounty of beach-themed antiques, artwork, vintage china and fabrics. There is shabby chic furniture for the seaside cottage and ship models for the mantle. There are stacks of peeling reclaimed doors and racks of modern women’s clothing.
Among the among the antiques and vintage home goods, the solid, earthy colors of KAM Productions‘ line of hip sportswear certainly stands out. Every piece in the collection has a distinctly coastal Delaware image of a horseshoe crab—which is the state’s official marine animal—wearing the numbers 302—the state’s only area code.
Artist and KAM Productions owner Keith Mosher started making 302-themed clothing and accessories in 2016, and business has “snowballed from there,” he says. Once primarily a wedding and portrait photographer, he now devotes most of his time to the apparel business, which also sells items in Dover at Amity Coffee Roasters or My Roots, and in Milford at Lifecycle.
While Mosher has created T-shirts featuring other designs, the 302 horseshoe is the bestseller.
We asked him about the origin and popularity surrounding his understated yet distinctly Delaware design. (The answers below have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.)
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Photos Courtesy of Keith Mosher, KAM Productions. - Partner Content -
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Did you study art?
I got a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Shepherd College in West Virginia. I met my wife, Karlin Maull, in college, and she brought me to Delaware. [In 2002, he starts his own photography business.]
Why did you start making T-shirts with a horseshoe crab on them?
A friend of mine, Rob Waters, had a film festival in the Milton Theatre featuring local artists. He asked me to come up with a T-shirt design. He gave me no guidelines. That’s when I came up with the horseshoe crab.
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Photos Courtesy of Keith Mosher, KAM Productions. |
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You just happened to have a silkscreen print machine around the house?
I’d started playing around with putting my own images on rawhide hand drums. I came up with my own technique using silkscreens. When my wife needed T-shirts for school, I had the silkscreen for that project, and then Rob came along with his request.
I’m guessing that many shoppers understand the link between the crab and Delaware—or, at least, the beach. But what about the numbers 302?
My father-in-law, whose family members were some of the first off the boat in Lewes, still asks me about it. It takes people a while, but then they see it. The products go over well because they’re local. Those who go to the beach know about the horseshoe crabs.
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Mosher and his family.//photo courtesy of Keith Mosher, KAM Productions. |
How many different items are branded with the logo?
We have hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts, key chains, garden flags, bottle openers, water bottles, towels, mugs, license plates and dog collars. I outsource items like the water bottles. I print all the clothing by hand, one at a time. That’s been a big selling point, too. I keep the item as an art form rather than as a mass-produced item.
Can you buy the items online?
I don’t sell online right now because our inventory moves that fast. We sell at arts festivals and beer festivals. [Sons Penn, 10, and Beck, 6, help out.] We’re in four locations, including The Brush Factory on Kings. The items there are all high end; there’s an application process to make sure that what goes in the shop is a good product.
Because everything is printed by hand, I tell people that if you see it in the store, you’re better off getting it right then. We may not be able to get that color again or it might take some time. We’re really trying to give KAM Productions an artistic vibe.
More information:
KAM Productions • Locations
