T-Shirts to make a ruckus.
Avery Monsen & Jory John are notable contradictions: emaciated men with huge ideas, shirt-makers who only wear leather trousers, truth-seekers who continually tell lies to the public and post misspelled rants underneath YouTube videos. Even though they own a high-traffic website, neither of them fully believe in the existence of the Internet. “At best, it’s a trend,” they say in unison, before breaking into a hilarious impression: “Oh, look at us! We’re the Internet! We’re sooooooooooooooooooo important! Whoop-de-doo! We’re the most important thing in the whole wide world! Seriously, talk to us in 2009, when everybody’s moved on to some other gizmo or gazmo. World wide web? More like ‘World wide baby toy for crybabies.’ Chat room? More like ‘Crying room for crying babies who play with baby toys.’”
If certain trends continue, they will have been — as always — proven correct and the Internet will fade. Computers which were once dust will become dust again. Floppy disks will blow through city streets like tumbleweeds. But in the meantime, Avery sticks to his typewriter while Jory diligently takes notes and makes doodles in Sharpie on his leg. His latest creation he calls “Cloud Unicorn Sunset Rain Dance.”
Furthermore, Avery & Jory are complex individuals forming a simple team behind a complex philosophy underneath a simple theorem. Avery doesn’t eat much meat while Jory throws hunks of bloody cow carcass into the street to accentuate certain points. Avery has a collection of high school wrestling trophies (not his own) while Jory has more than 60 spools of yarn that he’s going to use to make — in his words — “a massive sweater that will clothe the entire world twice over.” Avery doesn’t drink much coffee while Jory uses an intravenous espresso-drip. Avery quilts while Jory makes bead earrings. Avery is scared of the dark while Jory is sensitive to light, sound, touch, smell or fast movements. Avery’s favorite movie is “Beethoven” starring Charles Grodin while Jory’s favorite “Beethoven” movie is “Beethoven the Second.”
Most people who come across this dynamic shirt-making duo compare them to famous duos such as Lucy and Ethel, Lennon and McCartney, and Lucy and Ricky. It’s been years since Avery or Jory has given an interview to the press, but years don’t matter, really. Neither do computers or t-shirts or ideas. None of it does. The only thing that matters, to these guys, is friendship, beading, quilting, nonsense-biographies, “Beethoven,” other people’s trophies and clothing the world …
Avery & Jory are the personification of the American Dream, with a touch of the Peruvian Flu. They are very happy that you’re here.