ASTY

ASTY began as a reaction to the trend of looking down while walking. The crisis, problems and a city largely suffocated don't aid in personal reconstruction. Within each of us lies an innate power for positive change, good, beauty, aesthetics, and excellence. When you get used to looking down, there's nothing else, nothing below. And from there, you must start the upward journey again. Look up, become human again. Looking down, where you step, there is beauty. I found beauty on the lids of streets, dedication, honest work, and hours of labor of people who didn't just go through the motions. A job that didn't shine in color and light like those that oppress us to chase. It was far from pretense and empty projection. I found it touching. Noteworthy and deserving of attention. I found it meaningful. I discussed it with a friend, an urban planner, and he summed it up in a poem. I had this poem accompany the ASTY logo. It goes like this:

The hands that built the cities
Etched the distinctive imprint
Of their toil and artistry
Where gazes are lowered

The unorthodox aesthetic of the city
An aesthetic of necessity
Escapes the sensitive eyes of its contemporaries

Yet cities will deposit upon us
The most improbable traces of their evading history.

So, I wanted people to carry this feeling with them. To walk and subtly display it. Not to flaunt it. There is interest and beauty where you walk. Don't just go, stooped, dull, and listless.
Craftsman friends supplied me with cotton shirts, and with eco-friendly colors, they printed the designs on them. The designs are inspired by the lids of the water supply network, drainage, natural gas, and electricity. In short, anything that makes life possible in the city. If we don't appreciate the city we live in, we won't beautify it.