If you’re like me, you’re not very impressed with the selection of UCF shirts we have in Orlando. Other than the clothing that the UCF Bookstore sells and a few other retailers, there doesn’t seem to be many creative options to choose from. Thankfully, George Kedenburg, a recent UCF alum (Advertising/Public Relations major, Digital Media minor) and friend of mine felt the same way and then did something about it.
Q: Tell me about KNIGHTSWAG & what made you decide to create it?
A: I started KNIGHTSWAG because I noticed a gap in the Knight apparel offerings. There are plenty of shirts that have the UCF logo or Knightro on them and that’s the only reason people wear them. I wanted to make shirts that don’t blatantly say “UCF” but you can tell by looking at them that they’re a Knight. I’ve been sitting on the idea for a little bit over a year now, and I just recently decided it was time to actually do something with it. Because of that, I don’t remember exactly what was happening when I thought of it.
Q: Where do you get the inspirations for the shirt slogans?
A: I have a tight knit group of friends that I use as a brainstorm/idea machine. I call it the KNIGHTSWAG Test Kitchen. They help me refine the ideas in to the pure awesomeness you see on the shirts.
Q: Do you have any big plans for the release?
A: Hmmm maybe some digital confetti?
Q: How can UCF students get these shirts?
A: www.knightswag.com
Q: Do you plan on designing any other types of UCF merchandise in the future?
A: I definitely don’t want to do too much. I don’t want to be that brand that has their name on everything. If the shirts do well though, I may expand into other items.
Q: If you had to pick just one of your shirts, which one would you say is your favorite?
A: Geez, that’s a hard one. It’s a tie between ALAFAYA IS MY HOOD and STOMP, STOMP, CLAP, CLAP, WOOSH.
Q: Did you think KNIGHTSWAG would be this big?
A: I knew I had a good idea, but I never expected it to grow this quickly. At one point we peaked at 100 new fans a day on Facebook.
Q: What can we expect next?
A: Unfortunately the future SWAG must stay a mystery. Only me and my test kitchen knows what’s coming next.
The KNIGHTSWAG website is officially up and running as of Saturday, October 22nd and the shirts are priced at $20.00. For more information on pickup dates as well as new designs follow KNIGHTSWAG on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KNIGHTSWAG) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/KnightSwag).