Ballard loves its T-shirts

Geeky Swedes Ballard

You’ve probably seen the bumper sticker at Archie McPhee’s, “Ballard Welcomes Our New Condo Overlords.” And now there’s this T-shirt available at the Sloop Tavern, designed by Ballardite Jim Thompson:

The $13 condo tee is flying off the shelves. The Sloop says it’s already sold out of two batches and is nearly sold out of the third batch. Of course, Ballard has a thing for T-shirts and bumper stickers with political statements, from the Ballard for Obama shirts to the “FLEE BALLARD” bumper stickers.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

59 thoughts to “Ballard loves its T-shirts”

  1. those shirts are great.

    i saw a bumper sticker the other day that said “ballard welcomes it's condo overlords”, which is doubly great because of the simpsons reference.

    let's all face it fellow homeowners, the sleepy little burg that we made so great in the last couple of decades is changing, and ultimately we're the ones who killed it by making it such an attractive neighborhood to live in. Ironic, huh? So, where we gonna go next? Georgetown? Southpark?

  3. i have the condo overlords sticker on my refrigerator and LOVE it! this shirt is awesome. i think i just may wander into the 'ole sloop to get me one soon! great design and very funny!

  6. I'm so sick of hearing about this good-Ballard vs. evil Ballard crap –

    PLEASE move to Georgetown and pretend like you are fighting the man down there instead. Oh, and don't forget to cash in on that improved property value thanks to all the great new homes and businesses in “new” Ballard on your way out.

    Don't forget to pat yourself on the back, too, for all you did for Ballard, soldier.

  7. hey i'm not going to move to georgetown and build a condo, or buy a beater house and flip it, if that's what you're implying.

    and you KNEW this comments section was going to turn into new-vs.-old ballard, since that's the point made clear on the t-shirts, right?

    anyway, i'm not being judgemental. i've got NO problem with change, it's just a fact of life. neighborhoods are dynamic. gentrification did not start in ballard. i get it.

    i like that people make these shirts, it shows they've got a sense of humor about the issue, just like i do. i was simply trying to point out the inescapable irony that the “liveability” of a quaint urban neighborhood is exactly the thing that's going to turn it into a not-so-liveable neighborhood. i'm not crying about it, and neither should anybody else be.

    ballard will become belltown. one day shorline will become ballard, which will one day become belltown. big deal.

  8. Saw this shirt in the window of the silk screener (?)/t-shirt maker business on ballard ave. So want one! I also love the bumper sticker mcphee has about the condo overlords.

  9. We bought a beater house, fixed it up and we live in it. I only hope and pray that the beater houses in my hood get “flipped”. Beaters look like crap and do nothing for the hood.

    I do like the t-shirt, but someone really, doesn't the condo problem exist in part because folks are selling their land to developers? Isn't the real problem that folks are “selling out” to developers?

  10. Funny shirt! I've only been in Ballard 2 years, but I have a really bad problem with alchohol, does that make me old Ballard?

    Opps, Old vs. New – nothing left to say – been there done that.

    Yawn – next up…………………. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Hey, I know lets all make friends and B*tch and complain about somthing else.

    For example, f(x)= Y2(Y-X) Those Xs sure do suck, those Ys are sure out of control, who do they think they are.

  11. Good points! I'm just saturated with Ballard-bashing, I guess.

    A lot of folks don't have a sense of humor about the changes taking place in Ballard and it's so hard to tell sometimes.

    Humor is always a good thing and Ballard should have a lot of it no matter what!

    I feel bad for people who have spent their lives in Ballard and are finding themselves at odds with their new surroundings – I am personally excited about density and things like 5 star energy rated, green-built homes and condos that allow for more cool businesses, parks, etc. in Ballard but – I get why it has it's drawbacks as well.

    I think there's room for both and right now Ballard has a good mix, IMO.

  12. it is a shirt. it is funny. loosen up for Pete's sake folks. can't it just be a funny shirt and that's it or is it always a debate?……lame!

  14. Yes, I said it was a “funny shirt”, and made a prescient joke about the direction of this thread. I was/am keeping it loose.

    Lastly, to answer to your question, I was rather lightheartedly pointing out it has been a debate, and probably will be again, not that I want to re-start it.

  16. So I have a question…

    I have lived in Ballard now for about a year, currently dumping rent into the bottomless abyss with the hope that one day I wont have to anymore. I love this neighborhood. I want to stay in Ballard, but can't afford a house just yet, and don't have the time to fix one up. So purchasing a condo is becoming more and more attractive to me. Purchase Condo, market eventually goes up, sell condo, buy house. But with all this hate (and no, I'm not calling the t-shirt hateful, I can take a joke) I've been reading towards condos and condo owning yuppies and so forth…should I feel guilty for looking into this? Do I get to look forward to eggs being thrown at me if I walk out my cute little condo door?

    I understand that most of the anger is pointed toward the eye soars they've built along Market and Leary, but I just want to know: Is the general feeling in Ballard: Rent, Own a home, or get out?

  18. My Dogvatar is a rescue mutt. That is a rare good photo of an animal that won't sit still.

    FYI – I tread lightly here but I think you have some point and click issues, However, if thats your only problem, your life must be pretty good! You responded to me under JRT, and to Prudy under Edog.

  19. i think i must have point & click issues…ha! sorry about that. the rescue mutt is cute. my 2 dogs would never sit still either.

    i try to tread lightly everywhere i go….have a great day and i will try to improve my reply point and clicking…..

  22. Well, I promise not to throw eggs at you JRT. Speaking on behalf of all my fellow Old Ballard Broads the animosity is more towards the developers and their design tastes (and the loss of Sunset Bowl) than the condo residents. All are welcome.
    Even I'm a little tired of the Old Ballard vs New Ballard debates. There are still enough good watering holes around here to give me a sense of humor about it all. I've got the overlords bumper sticker on my iMac. Have to get this shirt now.
    And like I needed an excuse to wander into the Sloop!

  23. There is an old joke:
    What's the difference between a condo and a STD:
    You can get rid of an STD.

    My point: The condo market doesn't always go up. Especially if the market is flooded. Homes to me seem a better buy for this reason.
    But bottom line – try to figure out what will make you the most happy. Who cares about the rest?

  24. no, sorry jules.

    I meant the first sentence of the article.

    although the image of you pointing at me with your pink ring, looking all Joe Pesci-ish saying “you talkin' to me?” amuses me :)

  25. don't worry ballard complainers society…i am only 4'11″ so i am not very scary. as soon as i typed that line, i thought the exact same thing and chuckled as well! have a great tuesday today.

  28. Not liking condos says more about you than it does about the condos, their residents, or developers. So what is it that you don't like about this growth? Is it the ugly designs, increase in population, change in culture? I'm curious.

  31. On the contrary, I enjoy the topic.

    It's not just Ballard, it's all of Seattle. I happen to like growth and change. I even like the condos. Bring on urban density. I just think it's amusing when folks complain about condos and developers, and they never mention the (old Ballard) folks who sold the land.

  34. I own a condo and I'm gonna' buy that shirt. Anything to promote local GDP and increase the value of my sixth floor dwelling.

    That's right, I have granite countertops and a sense of humor :)!

  35. Funny thing is most of the people who will buy this, or put one of those 'Free Ballard' bumperstickers are new comers themselves.

    Personally, I want a 'New Ballard' bumpersticker with the bird flipping gesturing as punctuation.

  36. Wait, is the New Ballard circa mid 90s that was discovererd by Christopher Columbus when he moved to Seattle from Northern California, or the New Ballard of Today, or are you talking about the New Ballard of tomorrow, or maybe a few weeks from now?

  37. The rents just got too high for the Capital Hill crowds. Belltown became popular and the same thing happened there, and Fremont. Gentrification is the perfect word for it. Don't have to like it. Vote with yer feet/$$ then. Simple. That's my plan. It aint my grandmas Ballard any longer. Sad indeed. But then again taking a census is easy: count the Subarus and do some simple math.

  38. Why is it assumed everyone from Old Ballard is an alcoholic. I don't even drink, and the people who spent thier lives worring about all the hardcore “waterholes” being driven out of Ballard, should grow up and spend some time at home with their families, rather than sitting in a dirty bar night after night, crying about condos. I would not shed a tear to see half the bars on Ballard Ave shut down personally. It's a clique of posers and losers down there. A bunch of 40 year olds with families, pretending they are rockabilly? Go home and see your kids for a change, will ya? It's not cute any more.

  39. Get off your high horse, Rockabilly. If you don't like the bars here don't go into them. And please stop assuming we're all abandoning our families when we go out for a beer on Friday night.
    Can we get back on subject now please?

  41. I've owned a mortgage on a Ballard house for over 25 years so whatever that makes me, old, new or otherwise….I like the t-shirt and don't mind the condos for the most part. I happen to know of several homes in the area that were sold when the “old Ballardites” died. Not much we can do about that, eh?

  43. Trix

    I was responding to what someone said above and the saying on the shirt portraying us as mindless drunks. That is a very small segment of Ballard and vanishing quickly. Thankfully.

    Going out for one beer on a Friday? Yea, sure…. whatever you say. Trust me, I do stay out of them. I have more class than that. Thanks for the tip though. And yes, there are plenty of problem drinkers on Ballard Ave, who's kids, wives and husbands, would probably rather have them home, rather than acting 21 showing off their new tattoos, when they are actually 40 and have responsiblities at home.

    The saying on the shirt is the topic and does not apply to 99% of the productive people in Ballard in 2009. I would prefer something about the great minds of the people of Ballard, not how childish they are.

  44. Trix, you call yourself an angry Old Ballard broad (Madame K wannabe) type. But, say you miss the bowling Alley and like to wander into the sloop? Let me guess, you have tattoos and drink beer as well. Is that really what a decent woman does? Come on, not to be judgemental, but give us a break. Go home with your kids and snap out of it.

  45. I certainly didn't mean to sound 'angry.' Not that it's anyone's business but, for the record, I don't have children, or tattoos, and I haven't been in the Sloop since my 21st birthday (that's 18 yrs ago). I was merely defending Ballard bars and the people who go to them.
    I know not all Ballard folks hang out in bars. The t-shirt was meant as a bit of snark. Take it as that, and nothing more.
    And since I have a 3 comment limit on a thread this is the last barfly defense I'm giving (and I'm sure you're glad to hear it). A good night to all.

  49. Yeah! A condo owner with a sense of humor – that's all I ask for!

    Some of the new Ballard types are way too oversensitive. This T-shirt is great! If you have a problem with it make up your own shirt/bumper sticker (maybe a sweater you can tie around your neck?).

    Mrs. Swede, you rock!

  50. Ballard Rules!

    I said it first when I moved here 13 years ago, and I'm still sayin' it. My neighbors have changed a lot, but I'd still rather live nowhere but here.

  53. excuse me all but I need to intervene here and put a halt to all this foolish chatter. I have a question to you all? Would you rather like to see a t-shirt with the words” A little village with a big homeless problem and lots of parks with no place to sit.Pass the drugs please”. End of discussion

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