Dave Hopley has created a recognizable brand and a loyal following by supporting local artists

There are two sides to Dave Hopley. One is the slim, clean-shaven, short, graying-haired, somewhat shy and amiable guy in jeans, sneakers, and T-shirt. He's a fit-in-anywhere kind of guy. Then there's the arts-savvy entrepreneur whose hip line of T-shirts hugs the torsos of latte sippers, stroller-bound toddlers, and culture-seeking tourists.

Hopley owns and operates Living Planet, a screen-printing company in St. John's specializing in printing works by local artists on T-shirts and other items. It also custom prints shirts for groups and events. The philosophy major with a love of pop art moved to Newfoundland from British Columbia 10 years ago ("I married a Newfoundlander") after seven years in the screen-printing business. "On my visits prior to moving here, I noticed there wasn't anything in the way of decent T-shirts, mainly tacky souvenir shirts," says Hopley almost apologetically. "I'd worked with artists in Vancouver doing artists' designs on shirts. I knew there was a vibrant fibre arts community and a lot of artists here. So I approached artists to see whether I could reproduce their work on shirts."

Hopley tapped into a cultural core when he began coupling local art and patriotism with a healthy dose of irony. Shirts that proclaim "Free Nfld," "Newfoundland Liberation Army," or another that expresses a traditional yet sardonic relationship with seals, remain his hottest-selling items. It's a combination that has earned Hopley a loyal following, won him the Newfoundland and Labrador Patron of the Arts Award in 2005, and got him (or rather, his pro-Newfoundland tees) invited to be part of the acclaimed "Republic" exhibition this year at the Provincial Art Gallery.

"I like to think that we're doing something that has a bit of an edge to it, that has some intelligence," says Hopley. "It's been easier in Newfoundland than in B.C. because Newfoundland is such a patriotic place. Local people really support local art. They've certainly supported me in supporting these pro-Newfoundland items."

But therein also lies the challenge. The Newfoundland-designed T-shirts have precluded Hopley from developing a large off-island wholesale business. "So we have to do all our growing within Newfoundland," he says. Nevertheless, Living Planet has expanded with a downtown shop, a separate storefront studio/production facility, an online store, and a core staff of 10 during the summer months.

Hopley's advice for others entering the business is simple: "Be original, and don't just try to attract the tourist market. Direct your energies toward providing something that local people are interested in."