What's a ZBQ?
I was a child in the 70's and early 80's and so I still feel a connection with the styles from that era- stripes, warm colors and sporty vibes (think Adidas jackets, ringer tees, North Star runners). The "shirt shacks" of the late 70s made a big impact on me and many of my friends: a store where you could walk in and get your choice of hundreds of different prints instantly available on any color or size of shirt.

As a teenager I came of age enmeshed in the energy of punk and hip hop cultures of the '80s, and the looks and styles that went with them. I was inspired by the DIY ethics of punk, hand painting my first cut up t-shirts and adding zippers to jeans and tees.

Over the years I kept putting art on t-shirts and in 1993 started Zero while living in Vancouver BC, producing a line of my own designs as well as others pilfered from comic books, Omni magazine and Durer prints. I was inspired by the art that was coming out at that time- the exciting west coast outsider art scene as seen in the pages of Juxtapoz, the exploding alternative comic scene and a lot of the newer graffiti styles that I was seeing on the streets of Vancouver and in zines at that time as well.

By 2004 I had relocated to Halifax NS and the name of the operation had metamorphasized into "Zeroboutique", or ZBQ for short. By that point I was screen printing all of my own stuff and had established a respectable presence online. The look of the gear had become a little more streamlined, with more of an emphasis on the kind of graphic work that was emerging from the very active street art movement at the time. By then I was lucky enough to be working with some very talented artists from the graff and stencil art scenes to take some of that modern street art vibe and put it onto t-shirts. I was definitely taking a lot of inspiration from brands such as Stussy, Upper Playground and Obey as well as artists such as Banksy and Kozik, but was aslo trying to push the limits of what fit within that type of aesthetic and vibe as well. I was able to explore a lot of different exciting ideas in the following years, moving into oversized prints and different types of inks, dyes and other processes, but by 2010 or so I was starting to tire of printing on pre-made garments and wanted to follow another impulse I'd had for many years: making clothing.

In 2011 I produced my first experimental cut and sew pieces. My focus from the beginning was to make fun and interesting casual/sporty clothing that reflected that same artistic, DIY attitude that had inspired me to start. I started using upcycled fabric from an early point, giving many pieces a more retro look in a nod to the styles of the 1970's & 80's of my childhood, and sought to make each individual piece as unique as possible. I also started numbering and cataloguing my shirts at this time as well.

ZBQ is a story of perseverance, endurance and love. Keep fighting and dreaming.

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  How does your sizing work?
The patterns we use for our shirts are always evolving, but we try to keep the sizing as close to an industry standard as possible. Some people find them a little bit slimmer than standard sizing, but not by much. Here are chest and height measurements for our current patterns if you want to be sure:

Unisex (men's) shirts:

Size	Chest	Height
S	38" 96cm	27" 68cm
M	42" 106cm	28" 71cm
L	45" 114cm	29" 74cm
XL	48" 122cm	30" 76cm

Ladies' shirts:

Size	Chest	Height
S	33" 84cm	25" 63.5cm
M	34" 86cm	26" 66cm
L	45" 114cm	29" 74cm
XL	38" 101cm	28" 71cm

We are able to customize shirt sizing if these measurements don't work for your body, depending on requirements, but that may add another delay of 1-2 days. Contact us if you have questions.
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  What are your shipping charges?
We try to keep shipping charges as low as possible. Here are our current shipping fees:

US Orders:

Order Size	Shipping Charge
$0.01-$32 USD	$8 USD
$32-$64 USD	$14 USD
$64-$99.99 USD	$18 USD
$100+ USD	FREE

Canadian Orders:

Order Size	Shipping Charge
$0.01-$49.99 CAD	$15 CAD
$50-$74.99 CAD	$21 CAD
$75-$99.99 CAD	$25 CAD
$100-$124.99 CAD	$29 CAD
$125+ CAD	FREE

Shipping for British currency is set from £8 up to £18 (depending on order size) with free shipping for orders of £75 or more. All other currencies will default to the US shipping fees listed above.
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How long does it take to ship?
If you are ordering a pre-made product without any custom-sewn pieces then we generally ship your order out right away. 3 days is a maximum turnaround time for our custom sewn shirts (such as those in Batch ZX)- most orders are processed faster, but occasionally will take that long.
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What is your return policy?
If you decide you just don't like your shirt for any reason, if you return it to us in good condition we will be happy to make you a new shirt more to your liking or issue you a refund.
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Are you looking for artists?
The short answer is that we are always looking for new artists to work with. The reality is that due to the often tedious process of preparing screens it often takes a very long time from expressing interest in working with them to the actual production of a shirt. So if you are a patient person but think that your art would fit in with our aesthetic, write us at [email protected] (or head to our contact page) and send us a link, or hit us up on IG @zbqfanclub or on our Facebook page. Generally we pay artists a set rate per each piece printed that we feel is very fair, though we do occasionally buy designs outright.
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Do you wholesale?
Wholesale discounts are available for all of the in stock items in our store and can be shipped out within 24 hours (please contact us). If you are a store seeking some custom sewn garments we do offer discounts for bulk orders but turnover times may vary. For more information write us at [email protected], go to the contact page, reach us on IG @zbqfan.club or on our Facebook page.
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