Down With The Ship
In 2024, two years after I shuttered Abandon Ship Apparel, I decided to release an art book with a twist to document the brand's history and incredible creativity between 2011 and 2022. I took on the project myself, overseeing every aspect of the journey. I called the book Down With The Ship.
Abandon Ship was a pivotal brand in the UK alternative clothing sector during its time, starting as a bedroom brand and expanding into high street stores and a global fanbase. As one of the founders and the director of the brand throughout its entire lifespan, I am in a unique position to tell its story. The book showcases artwork by some of the best in the business, alongside my own artistic contributions, but it also explains the reasons behind certain designs, the processes of clothing production, the stories behind collaborations, and the realities of running a business. I included a lot of my personal feelings and motivations, as my own life became so intertwined with the brand's.
I started with a week-long deep dive into the brand's archives. Luckily, I still had the majority of the artwork and photoshoots stored across a few hard drives and in the cloud, so pulling everything together was more a process of pruning and editing than hunting. Unfortunately, some things were lost to time and the internet—particularly the candid and ridiculous content from our old social media accounts. Once I had compiled a massive folder of art and images, I began the process of laying the book out in Adobe InDesign. I wanted to tell the story chronologically so that the evolution of the brand's creativity aligned with its history. I placed anchor points of significance and then filled in the gaps, creating my own sections and eras of the brand.
Originally, the concept was just an art book with some interesting stories, but as I began to pore over the history and build the book, I realised it needed to be more. By the final edit, I had written over 37,000 words across 350 pages of art, images, and text.
I designed the entire book layout myself over the course of three weeks of intense focus. I lived in the book, and as I delved deeper, I remembered elements I had forgotten and added them in. I asked my mother, wife, and sister to proofread the book for me, and I worked on three final edits during that time, rewriting whole sections after each round to ensure the book was the best it could be.
Once the book was complete, I worked with a British book publishing company to self-publish it. I opted for a hardback, A4-sized book with its own dust jacket on silk paper stock. For the project, I created two new pieces of artwork: a Down With The Ship logo in the style of the long-term Abandon Ship Wheel logo, and a hand-drawn cover for the dust jacket, filled with references to the brand's history and artwork. The cover took me several days to complete. The publishing company loved the dust jacket design so much that we collaborated to create a gold foil on matte black version—the first they had ever produced—which, in my humble opinion, looks incredible and brings the book together perfectly.
I worked with the publishers on sampling and quality to ensure the final product was perfect. I also created limited-edition merchandise—what the brand was known for—in the form of Down With The Ship T-shirts, available exclusively as a pre-order.
When the book went on sale as a pre-order, I reconfigured my Disaster Inc website to include direct links with new book-related domains and landing pages, ensuring the experience felt on-brand for Abandon Ship. I launched a new Instagram account for the book, which amassed over 900 followers organically within just a few weeks. I produced my own content, used the sample book to shoot product shots to help sell the pre-order, and even created a bundle edition with additional items, including a bookmark, stickers, and an art print—all developed by myself. I utilised my mailing list and hit my sales target within the first week, which meant the project was self-funded and sustainable. I even added an additional 100 copies to my order with the publishers.
When the books arrived, I handled all customer service and logistics myself. I researched the best book boxes for shipping, packed every item personally, signed copies for those who selected that option, and delivered them to the post office depot in time for Christmas delivery.
This project was incredibly personal to me and emotionally taxing, as I revisited over a decade's worth of work and memories. Beyond that, it demonstrates my exceptional project management skills. I took the concept from idea to reality, handling every step of creation, production, and logistics. I produced a truly remarkable, one-of-a-kind product—not just for a loyal community but also for those interested in the apparel and art worlds.
