Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive sits down with Sam Hansen the creator and designer of the College Dropout bear -- the logo and mascot Kanye West used on his early albums, including his groundbreaking debut, The College Dropout. Sam, alongside his business partner Bobby Naugle, designed, printed and shipped all the merchandise for Kanye's first two albums (College Dropout, Late Registration) out of their shop, FTK. The early merch Sam created now fetches for thousands of dollars in resale shops and websites.
Sam explains how a small retail store in Visalia, California became the hub for Kanye's first foray into the fashion world. He gives us the full story of how the Dropout Bear was born, talks hand-pressing all of Kanye's early merch, getting Kanye's approval on designs, lost and stolen boxes of clothing, lawsuits, designs and ideas that didn't get off the ground, a Kanye in-store appearance gone wrong and much more.
He also talks about the infamous and extremely rare "Miracle-Whip" shirt that was shelved by Kanye's team, that found its way back into headlines this summer as part of Kanye's 'Donda' rollout (and Atlanta listening party merch.)
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Artwork by Tyrine Howard:
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