Tumbler Tee

A shirt celebrating downtown's Tumbler, made in collaboration with our friends at The Coffee Ethic. 100% cotton heavyweight garment-dyed tee with screenprinted artwork. Fits true to size and won't shrink.

THE LORE:

In 1971, the City of Springfield commissioned its first modern sculpture for a public space. The piece was funded by a $15,000 donation from a local citizen. Sculptor Aris Demetrios was selected on the recommendation of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, whose office had recently completed the design of the Park Central Square, where the sculpture would reside. 

Demetrios created “Tumbler”, an irregular octohedron constructed of corten steel. For decades, it sat in its place on the square unmoved.

When Tom Billionis and his wife Michelle opened The Coffee Ethic, they saw the Tumbler from their front window each day. Tom was intrigued by it but little was known about the piece.

In 2012, a city employee researched the Tumbler further and got in touch with Demetrios. They learned that he intended for the sculpture to be dynamic; rotated every season. Tom was delighted to find that the sculpture he had admired for so long was created by an artist with shared greek heritage. Even further, it had been created on his birth year and was meant to be rotated on his birthday each year, the Summer Solstice.

He became a champion for the sculpture and even worked with Michelle to make coffee mugs with the Tumbler on them.

After Tom’s sudden passing in 2016, the city dedicated the sculpture to his memory and his legacy as an advocate for Springfield and specifically our Downtown.

Demetrios’ vision for the Tumbler was a sculpture ever new; one that would maintain interest so that the community could feel a sense of ownership and pride in it. With time, its meaning has become new in a way even its creator could not have anticipated.

Creativity, community, and civic pride are at the heart of what we do as a brand and we celebrate the Tumbler as a symbol of these ideas.