SEIBEI is the pseudonym of David Murray, a self-taught illustrator who draws upon his love of comic books, bright colors, and offbeat slogans to create a unique line of graphic tees and accessories under his name. Independently owned and operated since 2006, SEIBEI can be found online, in a select group of boutiques worldwide, or being sold by David himself at concerts and events all over the US. Having worked as a one man show since day one, David takes pride in his independent aesthetic and DIY ethics, but his work’s mass appeal is apparent in the wide range of places you can spot his designs. SEIBEI has been featured in celebrity gift baskets, feature films, the hit TV series Dexter, My Life As Liz, and 30 Rock, the pages of magazines such as Alternative Press and Rue Morgue, and Tees: The Art of the T-Shirt, a book of acclaimed t-shirt designers from around the world.

(Sorry this picture of me is kind of old. I just liked how I had all of my books and photos around me. I’m typically a pretty nice guy and rarely make that face.)

As always, thank you so much to my friends, my family, my extremely supportive girlfriend Kate, all of you who’ve supported me through the years, and, of course, a special thanks to Meera Viswanathan, one of my old Japanese Lit professors. Meera-sensei, if you had actually given me any critique of the extra translation work you had me do outside of class, or ever returned any of the papers I wrote for you that I wanted to turn into grad school writing samples, maybe I would have gone to grad school for Japanese Lit after all. Then again, let’s be honest here; no matter how much I like Kobo Abe, this has always been a lot more fun for me.

OH WAIT, THEN SOME OTHER STUFF HAPPENED IN 2011.

2011 was a tough year for me, and a weird year for SEIBEI. I vowed to do one new preorder tee per week, and kept it up for a while, but I learned that it’s rough to constantly be working on pre-orders (this lead to a lot of people being understandably upset with me when printing got delayed or I just got overwhelmed with work), and that I hate the constant self-promotion that I felt I had to do with a new tee every week.

I also got a day job again, at an awesome print shop in Oakland that was already doing all of my printing – Forward Printing. I work in the art department. I needed more structure in my life, and wanted to learn from people rather than only doing SEIBEI work by myself. So far, it’s been really great.

I also got robbed! Long story short, I was in Los Angeles for one of my favorite shows, the Renegade Craft Fair. I parked my van (full of pretty much my entire inventory, and I’d printed A LOT preparing for this show) on a street that I’ve parked on tons of times, near my friend’s apartment. I went to bed, woke up, went out to the van…and it was gone. I got the van back from the LAPD a week later, and it had been stripped clean of everything valuable (including my boxes and boxes of tees).

I spent the weekend hanging out with friends, drowning my despair in beer, and planning a comeback.

Later that summer, I launched a Kickstarter campaign that was a smash success. It was pretty ridiculous, actually – t-shirt Kickstarters typically don’t do super well, but I got almost $10K of funding in the first 48 hours, and over $30K of funding before all was said and done. If you’re reading this, it’s very likely that you helped raise this money, and I can’t thank you enough.

I have my life back, and I’m ready to build this company yet again.

For best results, read the interviews in reverse order.

Here is a lovely interview with my friend Andy at Hide Your Arms from May 2010.

Here is an interview from August 2009 at How To Start A Clothing Company.

Here is an interview from May 2009 at T-Shirt Magazine.

Where does the name SEIBEI come from?

SEIBEI is a name taken from the title character Shiga Naoya’s short story Seibei to hyoutan (“Seibei and his gourds”). Seibei is a young artist who’s very devoted to his work, bucks popular trends, follows his own aesthetic, and is kind of a funny kid. When I read this story in my study of Japanese Lit, I felt a connection with Seibei, and told myself that if I ever worked as an artist, I’d want to take that name, and follow those ideals. So I did!

Do you do custom shirt printing?

No! I get this question a lot more than you’d expect. I can recommend some good printers, though: American Icon in Newburgh, NY; Forward Printing in Oakland, CA, and Blue Ridge Graphics in Charlottesville, VA.

Why do you make the I’M FAT LET’S PARTY shirt in smaller sizes? Why make a shirt that allows anyone to call themselves “fat” even if they aren’t?

I thought about this for a while before I released this shirt, actually. I decided to release this shirt in every size because it’s not up to me who is “fat” and who isn’t, and besides, “fat” isn’t a bad word.

Some people have taken offense at this shirt even being made, but the vast majority of people who buy this shirt in larger sizes have not only seemed stoked that this shirt exists, but especially that it’s made in their size. I consistently sell out of this shirt in 2XL+ pretty much no matter how many I stock. People have told me that this shirt has helped them with social anxiety, that it’s helped them feel more body confident, and some people have even told me that this shirt has gotten them free drinks or gotten them laid (results may vary). But, let’s be real – it’s just a t-shirt. It shouldn’t be taken too seriously either way.

For the record, I’m one of the few t-shirt makers that makes pretty much everything in larger ladies’ and men’s sizes (up to Ladies’ 2X-Large and Unisex 5XL). Most companies my size don’t bother beyond Unisex 2XL. Need a bigger shirt than that? Contact me and I’ll do what I can. If you want to support my work, the last thing I want to do is turn you away.

Will you be making the zombie hunter shirts again?

Once I can make sure I can stay on top of orders again, for sure. It’s very easy to lose my grip on it when every shirt is a hand-finished custom piece, and demand is always really high, so I’m working on a way to be able to stay on top of it. I get this question a few times a week, so rest assured that I’m working on it.

What kind of shirts do you print on? 

I print on American Apparel up to size 3X, for sizes 4X and 5X I typically use Gildan tees.

Do you sponsor bands?

Not really! I have a few friends in bands, and I give them free stuff sometimes because I like them, but that’s pretty much it. I’m always willing to hear people out, but typically it’s just not something I’m into. “Give us free stuff and we’ll give you publicity” is basically the equivalent of “do this free artwork for me and it will be great for your portfolio.”

Do you do freelance work?

Not really, because all this keeps me pretty busy, but sometimes if my schedule allows it, sure – I’ve done a fair amount of tee design, illustration, and character design outside of SEIBEI. Get in touch!

Would you sell your tees in my store?

Maybe! Please see the Retailers page for more information.

Do you accept design submissions?

I can’t accept unsolicited submissions, but I’m always willing to look at portfolios and love working with other artists. Unfortunately I don’t always have the time to write everyone back!