Revel & Riot is featured in the curvatures section of the June issue of Curve Magazine!
Thinking Outside the Pink Triangle
by Kyra Thomson
Montreal-based graphic designer Emy Storey of Storey Elementary first caught our eye in 2009 as the artistic visionary behind the striking album covers for bands such as Tegan and Sara and Death Cab for Cutie. For Storey, design is as crucial an element to album sales as it is to the success of a political movement. It is this interest in combining social justice with intelligent graphic campaigns and merchandise that led writer and web consultant Sarah Fobes to team up with Storey to launch Revel & Riot. A web-based company, Revel & Riot promotes LGBT rights, awareness and equality through newmedia, graphics, writing and products. The website showcases a growing assortment of innovative merchandise, with the intent to promote dialogue in society around LGBT issues. Storey and Fobes understand that “when you wear a clever shirt that addresses a serious topic, people take notice and come forward to engage. Our shirts are about Pride, humor and education.”
But what sets Revel & Riot apart from other sloganeering is their commitment to provide extensive educational resources on topics such as coming out and transgender health, as well as role model profiles and an impressive searchable database of community organizations. They also gather relevant news items and uniquely divide these current events into a “revel” category that celebrates accomplishments and political victories; or the “riot” category, which monitors homophobia, transphobia, ignorance and violence in the news. “When we were thinking of a name for our company we tried to come up with something that really captured the essence of LGBT life today,” explains Storey. “On the one hand we have pride, we celebrate, we love, we create our own communities and often our own families, but then on the other hand there is so much suffering, discrimination, violence and alienation. It can be a life of extreme contrasts for many people.” Fobes and Storey decided that a more natural way to present both sides would be to play into the contrast, because “somehow the painful stuff is more manageable that way,” says Storey. “The contrast then becomes something we can balance rather than something that breaks us down.”
Revel & Riot is growing steadily, in both content and presence, and will continue to expand their online resources, educational materials and designs. You can purchase their merchandise online, or find them at San Francisco Pride this year, and revel in the fact that a percentage of every shirt sale is donated to LGBT organizations and campaigns.
[Kyra Thomson]
Our thanks to Kyra Thomson for a great article!!