Keely’s the creative force behind our new tee lineup—designs sparked by years spent underground, underwater and everywhere in between. Each tee is a nod to the wild places that shape outdoor folk, stitched with her own cheeky touch. Built tough, drawn true, made for the people who get out there.
What kicked off the ideas behind the four new tees?
A lot of these tees are a bit of a tribute to my time working across New Zealand and Australia in the outdoor industry. From starting out in caving, all the way through to my most recent endeavours as a diving instructor onboard sailing boats. I wanted to really showcase all the different places that working and enjoying the great outdoors can take you!
How did you make them feel Cactus without losing your own touch?
I kept them Cactus by always reflecting the outdoors in every design. Whether it was the mountains or the sea, I wanted each piece to represent that sense of place. As for keeping my own touch, I don’t think there was anything too specific I did, except for the couple of skeleton guys. I’ve had a bit of a theme of drawing skeletons in place of proper people because I can never quite get the knack of drawing realistic faces.
Any stories or places that fed into the designs?
The first design I drew was the simple braided rivers and mountains - it was the very first idea that came to mind. The image of seeing the rivers feed out to the sea from the top of Mt Hutt is something I was so amazed to see for the first time, I grew up in rural Waikato and was never really exposed to snowsports except for my first ever week snowboarding where I managed break my wrist (classic.) A few years later I decided to get back on the hypothetical horse, booked a trip down south to visit one of my best mates, and gave snowboarding another crack. Despite the gale-force winds coming off the plains, that view from the top had my jaw on the floor.
It gave me a new admiration for my home country and a new passion for the snow. Within a year of that trip, I’d moved from the North Island down south and bought my first season pass.
Got a favourite one in the bunch? Why that one?
I think my favourite has to be either the Keas or the Sailboat scene. I’m an animal lover to my core,no matter the animal, I love ’em. So, adding personality to two keas was pretty fun (not that keas need any more personality, really…).
The sailing one is a bit of a physical manifestation of what I’m working towards in life. I’ve spent the last couple of years building my career in the marine industry here in Australia, and that drawing feels like a visual reminder of the future I’m aiming for — living and working on the water.
Who did you have in mind when you were designing them?
Honestly, I was thinking about all the really rad people I’ve been lucky enough to meet while working in the outdoor industry in NZ and Australia. Whether it’s been on top of mountains, down in caves, or out on the sea, one thing always remains constant: the kind of people the outdoors attracts. It just draws in the best sorts, and many of them I feel so stoked to now call friends.
There’s a Māori proverb, originating from a story in the Far North, that captures it perfectly:
He aha te mea nui o te ao?
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.
