A Month in Memoriam: Day 4

“This isn’t heather grey.”

I stared at a box full of t-shirts I didn’t order.

“What’s wrong — you don’t like the gunmetal?”

My jaw clenched. My ears cringed. They were supposed to be heather grey with the names of the fallen sisters and brothers in black.

I took a deep breath.

“I didn’t order gunmetal,” I said, looking my printer dead in the face.

I had orders to fill. People were waiting.

“Here,” he said. “Take these and I’ll get the heather grey to you in a few days.”

I walked out with the box of tees in hand. What was I supposed to do? How was I going to explain this to customers?

Peace Ella*!

I just wanted to personally let you know that the shirts are finally in & will be shipped out tomorrow. I sincerely appreciate your patience in all of this. My t-shirt manufacturer made a mistake & printed a portion of my shirts in the wrong color (flat grey with white text) but gave them to me as a courtesy so if you would like one, please let me know what style (brothers or sisters) & what size so I can include that with your original order! Pictures are attached.

-September 2014, Email Correspondence | *Patron’s name has been changed.

Later that month, I put the rest on sale but not before renaming the actual color of the shirt.

I couldn’t get with gunmetal.

Gunmetal.

It was a trigger. The majority of the fallen brothers and sisters lost their lives at the hands of someone firing a gun. 50 bullets. 41 bullets. One bullet straight to the head.

So, gunmetal became flat grey. Heather grey speaks to the subtle flecks of black mixed in with the lighter grey to create a textured look in contrast to the solid, darker grey. To my surprise, the flat grey turned out to be a better seller than the heather grey.

But more importantly, the beauty of creative control is that you’re able to make adjustments where you see fit. This was more than fitting.

I did not want the narrative GLOSSRAGS strives to tell marred by such a jarring term as gunmetal.