Triple Z Threadz Style: atx

If there’s any other holiday tradition to keep up with, other than disappointing your family, wear the most offensive Triple Z shirt you can get your grimy hands on.

Tryna not be a total douche lord in 2018? Here's our science-backed guide to going from zero to hero in 30 minutes or less. Read up, folks. 

In the spirit of Update Your Resume Month (yeah, it’s a fucking thing. I’m petitioning the Internet for a “sit in a cold, dark room and don’t acknowledge any kind of arbitrary celebrations for a month” month), we’ve compiled a list of tips certain to land you that dream job, help improve the time spent in your miserable grey-walled, shit-smelling office, or, at the very least, give you a few free laughs while you sign up for yet another rideshare driving gig.

It’s that wonderful time of year again, folks. Every hotel in the city will be booked just about solid, and many locals are even subject to making a few bucks off of luxury couch placement during this annual festival. Given just about two weeks of comedy, film, music and information, you’ll find it hard to keep up on just where to go. No need to sweat though, we here at Triple Z Threadz always have a few sweet recommendations up our sleeves.

There is never a shortage of quality comedians and filmmakers in town for the event, taking up a majority of the first week of SXSW nightlife. But it’s the following week, the music portion, that dominates the city from dusk til dawn. We suggest grabbing the nearest bad ass, embroidered pearl snap in your closet and heading to a few of these showcases we’ll be attending.

The Continental Club, just down the street from our iconic South Congress location,  will be hosting bands from noon until just about 2am from the 16-18th of March to promote local artists, an excellent place to spot one of our infamous ‘Bowie’ or ‘Snake Lady’ designs. Heading more downtown, though, you’ll be immersed in live music on just about every corner.

Many folks have gotten to know us here at Triple Z Threadz over the 13+ years that we’ve been around, from our start in the artist markets of South Congress all the way up until we first opened our flagship store in March of 2016. There are always plenty of questions that people ask us, since we are a bit off the cuff from your standard shopping experience. One of the most important of these, however, lies in our bread and butter, the embroidery itself. It’s an important piece of the process to us here at the shop, and it’s the final step to bringing our visions to life before we tag them and put them up for display in the shop (like the beauties they are).

Our embroidery designs all start out as something rather simple, an idea. From there it’s sketched into existence, and then the magic begins to occur. We hand off our end of this deal to our Master Embroiderer Lucas at his shop in South Austin, so that they may soon come to life. All of our threads for our embroideries are eco-friendly, that way you don’t have to choose between that badass pearl snap and that fancy kale salad you’ve been eyeing. From there, he uploads the design into the machines computer, where it begins to take physical shape. After all the kinks have been worked out, it’s time for a test run. We put a shirt into the embroidery machine, tie her down, cross our fingers and hope for the best.

If there is one thing that is not lacking in this great city of Austin, it would have to be the abundance of musical talent that pours into town on a weekly basis. Musicians from near and far all hope to venture to the “Live Music Capitol of the World” to showcase their art and make a name for themselves. I always enjoy a great live set, and if it is teamed up with discovering some new artist who makes my booty shake, even better.

Thankfully for me, working at Triple Z Threadz leaves me in a rather prime location for whenever I’m able to catch a live set or two after closing time. South Congress has a number of historic venues and clubs that embody the whole reason why people love coming to this funky town of ours. So i wandered on up to C-Boys, a bit south of our shop located at 2008 South Congress Ave. After grabbing myself a double shot of whiskey, I make my way into the back to soak up the sprawling patio area they have here.

I’m greeted by a gentleman who’s very soft spoken, very put together and at the same time, appears nervous. His name is Dylan Bishop, and he’s performing next. Based out of the Dallas-Ft.Worth area, Dylan makes his round all over this great state, none more prevalent than his stints around Austin. His style of play could easily be compared to that of the legends Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mercy Baby, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and Frankie Lee Sims. Him and his simple band setup produce such an abundance of sound and soul, it’s easy to get lost in his sets. Being a young man as well, it’s no doubt in my mind that this old soul is going to make it quite far in this business.

For a rather large city, Austin can sometimes feel quite small depending on your day to day routine. By the time you get yourself out of work, it can be a chore to simply find something to eat before you crash into bed awaiting the next day. But it is normally these types of emotions that drive me to step out of my usual comfort zone and try something new. You never know who or what you might find (FOMO is forever a real thing).

One evening after i leave our fine shop down on South Congress, I decide to go and catch a show at a venue I’ve yet to visit for myself since moving into town. I make my way downtown at an hour where just about everyone is headed in a similar direction. Mind you, it’s Halloween night so I’m greeted by many interesting get ups along the way. Silver Surfer glides by me across the Congress bridge. I’m coerced into a number of pictures with folks who are in egg costumes since I am sporting my usual Bacon ensemble.

The venue is The Belmont, located just West on 6st downtown. Since reopening in 2012, it has become a staple in the area for great local and world renowned acts. On this particular night, I’ve come to see HeartByrne, a Talking Heads tribute band. While making flippy floppy across the dance floor to catch myself a much needed beer, I notice something familiar. A couple visiting from Vancouver, BC, who I had met earlier that day at ZZZ Threadz. Both of them sporting one of our staple embroideries, Sasquatch with a Wristwatch for him and our voluptuous Snake Lady for her. We catch eyes as if we’ve known each other for years and from that point on, the good times kept on rolling. You never know where you might make a new friend, find a new favorite band or even a new favorite beer. On this particular Halloween though, I couldn’t help thinking, “This must be the place”.