Well, TBRU is around the corner, we can’t believe it’s here already!!!

One of the things we are passionate about here at BWM is shopping local, and shopping queer! We are doing our bit with our new local guides to help you find businesses that welcome you locally, not just online.

We also love the vendors that pop up at all the bear events. Typically they are small businesses and we encourage you to head to the vendor area of any one of them, and buy something, Your spend of $20-$30 can go along way. Also please USE cash! Using cash means the vendor and you lose nothing in bank fees at any point too.

We wanted to highlight a new business we have discovered which is called Brenin Press , a cute Tee Shirt company that is creating looks for Bears, and selling other fun designs like a great tee for the ace community. We got a chance to ask the owner Paul Brenin a few questions about his business – have a look at what he had to say:

Bear World Mag: Tell me a little about yourself and your background 

Paul Brenin: So my name is Paul Brenin. I studied graphic design and art history in college and have bachelor’s degrees in both. Print was my minor. After college I struggled with finding work for myself in either field that felt correct. I started making woodcut prints for fun just to keep my skills sharp. I had a lot of reaction from the first few prints that I made that I had several friends tell me I needed to open an Etsy and show my work to the world. I decided to start putting my art on to shirts because art always seems to be something unapproachable to people, like you buy it and you put it on your wall, you don’t interact with it. Folks in my generation seemed to be more drawn to art that serves more purpose than to hang on a wall. There are way too many screen printers out there and with the rise of cricut sublimation I thought I could “carve” out my own niche in the art and craft world. I find my art to be an outlet for my quirky, snarky, and queer imagination.

BWM: Where do you live? and what’s the Bear Scene like near you?  If no bear scene locally – where do you go for the bear scene. 

PB: I am out of the Des Moines area of Iowa. My studio is at Mainframe Studios, a 4-floor former office building turned into artist studios with a killer external paint job. The local bear group here is The Capital Bears. They have been very friendly and so very supportive of my work. I have worked with them to raise money to shop for adopted families during the holidays and we always have a wrapping party for all of the gifts we get during that time.

BWM: You are vending at TBRU – is this your first time?

PB: This will be my first visit to TBRU! My first bear event was World Bear Weekend in KY last year. I also vended there. It was a lot different than I imagined it would be. Everyone was friendly and genuinely seemed to enjoy interacting with me and my art. I’ve made friends there that I am looking forward to seeing at other bear events.

BWM: What do you like about designing for the bears – and tell us about your design style?

PB: What I enjoy about designing for bears and other queer family is that not everyone feels represented in the art and merchandise brought to these events. I wanted to do something different than most of what other t-shirt makers were doing which is screen printing. There are a lot of screen printers in Des Moines. I try to lean into my sense of humor with my art, I find humor is a good way to break the ice. One of the things that I got commented a lot was that my art is cheeky and snarky but you could get away with wearing them outside of the bear events and the bars. Also going to my first bear event I made sure to stock all of my shirts in sizes from Small to 6X, I know how it feels to love seeing something and not having it in your size. I want people to know that my art is for everyone, all body shapes, sizes, colors, and identities.

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If you can’t make it to TBRU – please consider shopping online with Brenin Press: