We are a clothing company based in Red Hook, Brooklyn, specializing in hand-silkscreened tees, children's clothes, dresses, prints, jewelry and totes. Our designs take inspiration from the industrial buildings, Coney Island, and the waterfront and streetscapes of New York City past and present.

When I (Pete) moved to New York in 1991 to earn my MFA degree in painting at Hunter College, I was drawn to the industrial buildings, bridges, and other structures that make the City such an awe-inspiring place. These structures figured prominently in my paintings.

After graduating I took work as a Graphic Designer (my BFA degree) at various companies around town. After more than a decade of working on other people's projects, I decided I needed a change.

Looking out my apartment window in Red Hook, Brooklyn one day with my wife and son, and admiring the giant "R" sign that once belonged to E.J. Trum company. I thought "why not make a tshirt of that, and sell it at the local diner down the street?"
It sold so well, I decided to design more shirts with the images of industrial structures that captured my attention around Brooklyn, and sold them at the local, and now world-famous, Brooklyn Flea.

Hence, Live Poultry Designs was born! Fifteen years later we're still going strong, and have sold our designs to people all over the world.

WHAT'S UP WITH THE NAME?
Well, as a wee boy, I used to trek over tall mountains to a small village, and bring home a fresh chicken so my family....
No, actually, anyone who’s ever spent time in the outer boroughs is familiar with the ubiquitous poultry markets where you can pick out a live bird for dinner. We chose our name from a long defunct market that we lived next door to. The sign was something of a local icon as it was re-purposed as a pop-up comedy club called Live Poultry Laughter (see our version of the sign on our tee design of the same name).

All our clothing is hand-silkscreened in the traditional way, just ink, screens and squeegees (no automatic presses!), on the finest blanks in the industry from Alternative Apparel, with our printing partner in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Due to the handmade quality of our prints, each shirt is a unique garment. Our design studio and inventory storage is in an old Civil War era warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

FIND OUR STUFF:

Brooklyn Women's Exchange (Brooklyn Heights)

Remedies Herb Shop (Carroll Gardens)

Something Else (Smith Street and Union Street locations)