The Oyster tee is a tribute to my Nan and Pop, who were the backbone of the Karuah oyster industry for their entire lives. The leases, the early mornings, the seasons - it was their whole world, and it became ours too.
Nan and Pop fed us oysters growing up - a staple of our diet, and a non-negotiable at Christmas lunches: freshly shucked with Pop's special knife, and kilpatrick with all the good stuff, something for everybody. There was always a take-home jar too, whenever we visited in season. Somewhere along the way they became the taste of home - the taste of Worimi Country. We'd take the jar straight from the fridge, and each sneak spoonfuls when no-one was looking.
A staple of the diet. A non-negotiable at family dinners. The taste of home.
The Sydney Rock Oyster is small, slow-grown and unmistakably of this coast. It asks for clean water and patience, and it gives back something that tastes like exactly where it came from. It felt like the right place to start.
So the graphic isn't really about an oyster. It's about the people who grew them, the dinners they fed us, and a way of life worth remembering. Wear it, and you carry a little of that story with you.