LIBERTY — In a rustic 1800s farmhouse surrounded by fading fall colors, Liberty Graphics is cranking out hundreds of T-shirts daily to fill the biggest order in the company’s 47-year history.
Amid the clank and whir of a screen-printing carousel, a small team of craftspeople mix ink in various hues, load blank shirts onto the machine and carefully fold them as they emerge from a large dryer on a conveyor belt.
The T-shirt they’re laboring over is possibly the most sought-after shirt in the world — for the moment. It’s the 1990s sea otter T-shirt that pop superstar Taylor Swift is seen wearing briefly in the film promoting her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Her fans, known as Swifties, have so far donated over $2.3 million to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in a fundraiser that offered a copy of the shirt as a thank-you gift for a $65.13 contribution to its sea otter program and other conservation efforts.
But while the T-shirt has become world famous, with donations to the aquarium coming from all over the globe, creating thousands of them means business as usual at Liberty Graphics, where they began printing an initial order of 35,000 last Monday.
Well off the beaten path in Midcoast Maine, the company and its 50 employees can print about 1,500 shirts in a day and turned out 150,000 shirts total last year. Until now, their largest order was 20,000 shirts with the iconic logo of the Common Ground Country Fair held each year in nearby Unity.
“It’s what we do,” Matt Enos, multimedia manager, said Wednesday. “It’s certainly a big challenge for a small company like us, but we’re up for it.”
BICOASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFORTS
The T-shirt fundraiser is a testament to Swift’s remarkable influence and the uniting force of environmental efforts on opposite coasts.
Within seven hours of the aquarium launching its fundraiser on Oct. 16, with a goal to raise $1.3 million, Swift’s fans — and possibly some otter fans — blew past that amount.
The aquarium paused the fundraiser at 8 p.m., when the total hit $2,374,332 on the donation website Tiltify. But it appears that a lot more T-shirts may be ordered in the future.
“Over $2.3M raised — we’re otterly amazed!” the aquarium wrote. “Because of you we’re more than a million dollars over our goal! Now we’re catching up, printing shirts and packing as fast as our paws can. Stay in touch for future updates, T-shirt drops.”
While the fundraiser is on hold, the aquarium is asking potential donors to continue making contributions, which will be treated as back orders for the T-shirt. The aquarium is buying the shirts for $26 each, Liberty Graphic’s typical price, so the company could make some profit on each shirt, an official said. The aquarium is paying shipping costs.
“Due to high demand and limited production capacity, if you place a donation now, it will be treated as a back order and delivery will be delayed,” the aquarium wrote. “We strongly recommend placing your order as soon as possible to secure your place in the queue.”
The T-shirts aren’t available for sale yet through Liberty Graphics’ website or retail outlets in Liberty, Camden, Freeport and Portland. They may be available in the future, after the aquarium fundraiser is over, Enos said.
The crew at Liberty Graphics is preparing to start shipping worldwide by the end of the month. The goal is to deliver the first run of 35,000 shirts to donors within eight weeks, while also filling orders from other customers.
“We’re cranking them out,” Enos said. “We definitely will be busy with this for a while.”
EAGLE-EYED SWIFTIES
Swift wears the T-shirt briefly in the film “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” which premiered Oct. 3 to promote her new album.
In the scene, she and others choreograph the music video for the first song on the album, “The Fate of Ophelia.” The design on her T-shirt shirt is faded, but the words “Monterey Bay Aquarium” and a drawing of two otters are visible.
Immediately after the film’s release, Swifties began raving about the T-shirt on social media, noting that both Swift and her fiancé, NFL player Travis Kelce, love otters.
Within days, staff members at Liberty Graphics and the aquarium made plans to reissue the T-shirt as part of a major fundraising campaign.
Headquartered in the heart of Liberty, a town east of Augusta with just over 900 residents, the screen printing company sells mostly nature-themed T-shirts. It was founded in 1978 by a community of local artists and is now employee-owned.
The otter imprint was among hundreds of T-shirt designs that Liberty Graphics purchased from Harborside Graphics in Belfast, which went out of business about 25 years ago and had produced the T-shirt for the aquarium about 30 years ago.
Liberty Graphics found the imprint in its archive, refreshed the image and prepared to reissue the design. It’s something they do frequently, reintroducing past favorites to new customers, Enos said.
It’s unclear how or when Swift got her otter T-shirt. Theories include a thrift store find or that a fan gave it to her because of her fondness for otters. Swift’s team didn’t respond to emails requesting information about her T-shirt.
BELLY-UP CUTENESS
The imprint shows two whiskered sea otters floating belly up, surrounded by information about their characteristics and habits, and illustrations of their favorite foods, including sea urchins, clams and crabs.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium had the original T-shirt made in Maine because Harborside Graphics and Liberty Graphics had developed a national reputation for their skilled artwork and environmentally friendly production.
“Both companies did work for the aquarium in the 1990s,” said art director Sam Bartlett, who has been with Liberty Graphics since 1991. “We’ve been putting out great art for a long time. It’s great that Maine-produced art is getting recognition.”
Liberty Graphics also is committed to conservation and sustainability, Enos said, even cutting up damaged T-shirts into squares to be washed and reused as hand towels in the company bathroom.
The otter T-shirts will be produced with PVC-free, water-based ink that’s better for the environment and on 100% cotton material that doesn’t shed microplastics in the wash, the aquarium said.
The aquarium also is making sure the packaging is plastic-free and is promoting the fundraiser as a statement against fast fashion, since the original T-shirt lasted about 30 years.
The water-based ink and screen-printing process creates a more permanent design than modern digital, single-application designs that tend to crack and peel.
“Water-based ink is more environmentally friendly because we don’t have to use solvents or other chemicals in our cleanup,” Enos said.
GETTING THE JOB DONE
Most employees at Liberty Graphics are unfazed by the famous work order. They’re just getting the job done.
A few are Swifties who are excited about it, including Olivia Walker, 23, a wholesale account manager who lives in Unity.
“I haven’t gone to see her — I wish I had — but I have all her albums and I love to listen to her,” Walker said. “I love her music.”
Amanda Gallion, 35, a quality assurance worker who lives in Montville, has another perspective.
“I just think it’s crazy how people go crazy over a piece of clothing someone’s wearing, like an otter T-shirt,” Gallion said. “It’s not my thing.”
Enos, who lives in Brooks, said he’s indifferent to Swift’s music.
“That type of music isn’t made for me,” he said. “I’m into metal.”
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