T-shirts-- back in stock!

It's always been easy to look good inside the Coffeehouse, now the Coffeehouse can help you look good wherever you go.

After much anticipation, we are proud to release our new, limited-edition, hand-screen-printed Modern Times Coffeehouse shirts. Screen-printing is no small task, so before making the t's available, we wanted to let everyone know a bit more about the process and all the love that went into making these shirts a reality.

Late this summer, while stumbling upon what seemed to be just another ordinary yard sale in Mount Pleasant, former Modern Times barista Matthew Davis discovered an old, empty screen printing frame, alongside a bag of inks and a swatch of silk-screen fabric. Not sure it would all work, he decided to haul it home anyways. Many of you have experienced Matthew's fine artistry served up warm in a cup. You may not have realized, however, that his artistic expression extends far beyond a delicious espresso. Now employed as a full-time illustrator and graphic designer, for years, Matthew had talked with Modern Times owner Javier Rivas about designing a custom t-shirt for the Coffeehouse. Now armed with (at least some of) the necessary screen printing tools, Matthew decided to take action.

Step one: creating two prints and a design prototype. Step two: boss' approval. Step three: lots of pizza. Step four: calling lots of friends to provide free labor in exchange for pizza.

With a full, rag-tag screen printing crew mobilized, we began work on an initial batch of 20 limited edition shirts. A near fatal accident with an excited cat, spilled ink and flying kitty litter, caused a temporary detour in the production process. But Matthew's determination to complete the job meant that three days later, the beautiful new t-shirts were ready for their introduction to the world.

First batch is just 20 strong. Each t-shirt is designed by Matthew, hand-printed and individually numbered.

That means for now, until we print more, only 19 people in DC can look as good as you (if you buy one).

$25 buys you one.

For more information on Matthew's work, check out davisionary.tumblr.com or follow his tweets @davisionarybros.