Since the shipping of Vault package 44 is delayed until July, we wanted to make some De Stijl-themed products available to y'all while you're patiently waiting at home (thank you again for your patience, by the way)!
The wooden jigsaw puzzles sold out lightning-fast, but there are still quantities of the shirt, tote bag, and socks in stock (as of writing this post, at least) on the Vault Novelties store. Let us know what you think of these Vault 44-themed offerings in the comments below!
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From the desk of Ben Blackwell:
When we first went out on the road for De Stijl, I was selling one measly t-shirt design at the merch table. The first night, in Milwaukee, we sold more than half of the shirts we had printed. Which begat a moral quandary…do you want to sell out as fast as possible? Or make sure that you can get some West Coast representation with those sly peppermint print t-shirts? Fortunately for you folks, we’ve printed a few more of these items than we did of those original t-shirts. Think of these items as all the things I WOULD have been selling at the De Stijl merch table if we’d had the time, money, know-how or space in the van to carry them.
Sincerely,
Ben Blackwell
White Stripes Roadie since 1997
The puzzle is awesome!
It’s nice to have these things available in the Vault rather than only in the Nashville and Detroit storefronts.
I appreciate it!
I miss the white stripes so much I missed the puzzle they sold out super fast if anyone’s got one to sell I’ll buy it have an entire room full of white stripes merch
I had been waiting for the tote since it was first shown in the TMR e-newsletter a month-ish ago. But then you all gave us a preview of the puzzle. $75 for a hand-cut, gorgeously crafted puzzle by a company that has a similar ethos to Third Man’s, or a $45 tote bag that’s beautiful but, still, just a tote bag? I couldn’t justify both. The puzzle won. Glad I was checking the shop while the Racs doc was premiering.
Gin & Apathy do such quality work, with handcrafted attention to detail, that I couldn’t wait to buy one of these puzzles. The other G&A items I’ve bought have been worth every dime, so I was super-happy to see a real collectible like this for De Stijl. I love the socks, tote, and shirt, too—the socks would complement a pair I bought at an art exhibition (they were called Feet Mondrian :D ), though I may have to hold off a while.
I love all things Third Man as much as any fan. From the care and passion you take with your releases to the incredible fan servicing and experiences you provide, but I don’t remember the last time I’ve bought any Third Man merch. That’s not to say I wouldn’t love to sport something from the label, but the offerings just haven’t been my cup of tea. The shirts never fit right, there’s more novelty items than anything and they’ll just be put in a box with the rest. The price points too, strictly as on the consumer front, aren’t agreeable to me. I understand that there’s plenty that goes into these items behind the scenes that undoubtedly make them more costly, but a $45 tote bag and a $75 five inch puzzle just don’t do it for me. All that aside, I’ve been an avid fan of the label for well over a decade now and I’ll continue to support your efforts, but as of late I just don’t find the merch all that appealing.