A thriving streetwear line, Paper Root Clothing is on the roll with its hot designs.  SoJones.com got the chance to talk with the man behind the line, Gregory Dettra.

S [SoJones.com]: How and when did Paper Root clothing start? Who’s the mastermind behind the clothing line?

GD [Gregory Dettra]: Paper Root started a little over two years ago in North East Florida. It is basically just me, but I have some silent contributors that assist with alot of the processes and curating. I had come into possession of a 30-year old screen printing press and started to learn that whole process. It wasn’t long before I got comfortable with it all and wanted to take it to another level. I was obsessed with t-shirt culture and streetwear at this point, but wasn’t terribly impressed by a good bit of what was out there. I’m not a fan of t-shirts with quippy sayings or sarcastic shit or logo takes or straight up pop-culture exploitation tees. I wanted to do something that was more focused on the artistry of t-shirts and leave the focus off of humor and logo-centrism. Not being a great artist myself, I started talking with some artists that I knew about bringing some of my ideas to life. After the designs were done, I starting hand screen-printing all the shirts and selling them everywhere I could: online, markets, shows, festivals, etc. Eventually, we started to pick up steam and got in contact with some online arenas and some shops around the country and overseas, which has afforded us the ability to keep coming up with new designs and new tees pretty regularly. That’s pretty much where we are today, moving forward and continuing to grow.

S: What’s with the name ‘Paper Root’?

GD: The name was meant to be a sort of question mark. It’s two very common words, but they both have literally thousands of interpretations in our society depending who is saying them and how they are being used. We base alot of our concepts off of our own psychological theories, so the name is a conglomeration of that. The name could mean something different to every person, so we leave it at that. It definitely has a specific meaning to me, but I’m gonna hold that captive.

S: Is there any brand philosophy behind Paper Root?

GD: The brand philosophy is art and catharsis. I’ve come across too many t-shirt designers that have to constantly churn out stuff for clients that is just corporate “what will sell” mentality. We prefer the perspective that is similar to fine art in that it is meant to express what you are feeling. I don’t want to get too heady about it, but our designs are basically a way for us to exorcise the demons that we are dealing with at the moment. And not really demons in a bad way, but more in the way that when you become obsessed or addicted to something, you find that it starts to control or influence your actions. Every one of our design concepts came about from coming to the realization that there was something in our lives that may be taking a little too much control. One example would be the “Donut Rampage” tee. That concept came about from my obsession with my favorite sweet treat, donuts. I found myself getting distracted by the thoughts of when I could run out and grab a couple, so I figured it was time to put that grapple out in print. Hence the t-shirt where the donut has revolted against its creators and is instead devouring us. You can actually spot some sweet treats in a few of our designs, so that should tell you that it is something that we deal with on a regular basis, but it is usually not in the forefront, more of a side-note most of the time. Another is the “Cool as F*#k” tee. Obviously based on fixie culture, one of our designers started to get a little too into his fixed gear bike, so we decided to shine a revealing light on the culture that is starting to over-take mainstream society as the new hipster revolution (i.e. custom fixed gear bikes courtesy of Urban Outfitters, hence “you think you’re “Cool as F*#k”).
Now, this does not mean this is the only focus of our tees, because in the end we still want to make shirts that look hot as shit. But overall, we want them to come with some meaning. Our hope is that someone sees one of our tees and thinks “man, that is a sick shirt”, while they subconsciously connect with the elemental meaning of the shirt.
Not that we are always trying to be this deep, we are also slowly getting into the realm of some branding efforts and some cut-n-sew pieces, but we’re always going to have the graphic tees to express us.

S: What are your greatest influences and inspirations?

GD: Our greatest inspirations are society around us. We all have clothing brands we admire, but not to the point where you could really see similarities in execution. The less we see of everything else, the more original we can be.

S: What differs Paper Root clothing than any other clothing out there in the market?

GD: Pretty much a lot of the things I’ve mentioned above. I don’t expect people to instantly fall in love with our style, because our line is pretty all over the place. And that is something that a lot of people in the industry frown upon. We’ve been told time and time again that a brand should have a certain aesthetic. It should make them recognizeable and should be something that people can come to expect from you time after time. I disagree with that. I believe in variety and keeping people guessing. So that’s what sets us apart is the meanings behind the shirts and the fact that you probably will never be able to guess what we’re going to put out next.

S:  Have you endorsed celebrities? If you haven’t, do you plan to? Which famous face do you see fit to live the Paper Root lifestyle?

GD: We have not endorsed any celebrities, and we don’t really have any intentional plans to. I definitely see the value of having celebrities rep your brand, but I don’t believe it is something that you should force on someone or contract someone into. If a celebrity gets some Paper Root gear and is into it, that’s amazing. But if there is some sort of deal or contract involved, then that devalues the genuine-ness of the brand.
As for a famous face, we have alot of respect for musicians, since they’re essentially doing the same thing that we are. As in wearing their hearts on their sleeve and putting their emotions and demons out to the world for us to judge. I personally have a lot of respect for Mos Def, Kanye West, The Roots, Outkast, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne. Plus they all have great fashion sense, so they’d be ideal representatives to live the Paper Root lifestyle.

S:  What are your current varieties in the line? Any plans to expand the line in the future?

GD: Our current varieties are mostly graphic tees, but we do have alot of custom stuff in the works for the next few seasons. Some custom hoodies, knits, hats, and accessories are all in the development stage. We do have alot of plans to extend the line in the future. While we got our foot in the door with the t-shirts, we also see the value of putting that big graphic tee in the closet and opting for some solid combinations or getting dressed up for the night out. So be on the look-out for some custom solid outfit pieces fit for any wardrobe and some t-shirts that aren’t covered in prints, but have some more classic images or just good color combinations.

S:  Which Paper Root items do you recommend for SoJones readers for this season?

GD: From this latest drop, my favorite pieces are the “cool as F*#k’ tee and the “NWJ” tee. But a staple favorite of mine is the “Run Buddha” tee, it takes on some of my favorite struggles in the freshest way possible.

You heard it straight from the creator, so here are the recommended Paper Root Tees that are also huge hits with SoJones editors.  You can get them from Karmaloop!

Paper Root Cool as F*#k Tee, $30

Paper Root NWJazz Tee, $30

Paper Root Run Buddha Run Tee, $30