The Plant Gays will host a screen printing and upcycling pop-up with American singer Daya. Credit: Courtesy of The Plant Gays
At local plant shop The Plant Gays, sustainability will meet dance-pop as the shop hosts a screen printing and upcycling pop-up Friday — providing attendees a chance to refresh old clothes alongside Daya, an American pop-singer best known for her hit songs “Hide Away” and “Sit Still, Look Pretty.”
The event’s aesthetic draws from Daya’s most recent album “Til Every Petal Drops,” and current tour of the same name, which will make a stop April 22 at A&R Music Bar. Hosted outside The Plant Gays’ German Village location from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the pop-up will offer local creativity, eco-friendly fashion and, for fans who show up early, a chance to experience Daya in-person before her concert.?
“We obviously are always looking to source and promote sustainability in our shop and even in the products that we curate in the shop as well,” David Erbe, co-founder of The Plant Gays, said. “Using local artists and makers to help with that route [and] really collaborating in a way that promotes sustainability encouraged us to move forward with the event and really got us excited about the event with Daya.”
The Plant Gays’ founders — Erbe and Aidan Robinson — both attended Ohio State, where they met and were able to merge their talents and establish their brand.
“We met at OSU and I majored in landscape architecture,” Erbe said. “I got a little background with mostly outdoor plant[s] and design, and then focused more on indoor plants during the pandemic and that’s how we started our business.”
While at Ohio State, Robinson said that some of Daya’s bigger songs were very popular, making him and Erbe fans of her work.?
“We’re definitely fans and got a chance to listen to her new album too,” Robinson said. “There’s a nice mixture of some more dancey-electronic sort of songs and some more chill songs too.”
PromoWest Productions, the entertainment company that owns A&R Music Bar along with other Columbus venues, initially contacted The Plant Gays regarding a ticket giveaway to help promote Daya’s upcoming concert. From there, Robinson said the idea blossomed into something more hands-on, with Daya’s team suggesting a screen printing event to highlight not only the album, but local talent.??
“If people want to upcycle and bring their own clothes to get printed, a local artist from Pittsburgh has made some different designs that people can choose from,” Robinson said. “They can get tote bags or shirts — whatever they want, they can get screen printed.”
All screen printing will be free of charge, according to Erbe. If attendees decide not to bring their own clothes, he said there will be limited edition merchandise from Daya available for purchase, along with items from The Plant Gays.?
According to The Plant Gays’ Instagram post, another key draw of the event is the chance to win a pair of tickets to the April 22 show. Those interested in entering must tag a friend in the comments on the post. The winner will be announced Friday on their story.?
