The legend of I Love Vagina (ILV) begins in a Hermosa Beach one-car garage in 1998. It was in that garage that founder Drew Fin-Kelson began what would become a fixture in novelty tee shirts, adult entertainment and heavy metal: I Love Vagina Clothing. Touring as a drummer for punk bands, Drew had experience screen printing and selling his own t-shirts. However, one shirt idea would become the foundation for an entire company. Drew looks back on Vagina’s conception. “I made three of the same t-shirt in that garage. I wore one to a party that night. On the way, a girl in a near by car mouthed, ‘I Love Vagina,’ pointing to my shirt with a smile. Then everywhere I went people liked the shirt. So I made more and more.” Drew hit the road with Stealth Destruction the following year and sold the ILV shirts everywhere the band went. That shirt, which started as a joke, began to slowly gain popularity in a grassroots, word-of-mouth fashion. “Two years from the day I started it, I was at the beach on acid with a friend going, ‘We should make that a company.’ The first two years were kind of a campy joke. Now, it’s all about tradeshows, branding, building lifestyles and making bands look cooler. For this brand, I chose the least common denominator. We all came from it. Most of us are trying to get back into it, and for the ones who aren’t, we have ‘Enjoy Cock,’” laughs Drew.
The brand began to gain steam as Drew built www.ilovevagina.com to sell the t-shirts, underwear, hats and accessories. Meanwhile, the ILV booth became a staple at Adult Entertainment trade shows—AVN, AdultCon, Venus Show and Erotica LA. Vagina then made its inevitable network television debut on the hit NBC show “Scrubs.” Drew continues, “Being on ‘Scrubs,’ it reached a lot of people. After it aired, our web site blew up. It happened because the show’s wardrobe lady was on Melrose at Pleasures, and she bought everything we had in the store. The producers called me and said they wanted to do an episode around one of the shirts. When it aired, it was like seeing your kid hit a grand slam for the first time.” After gaining a foothold the Adult entertainment world, Vagina fully embraced the heavy music scene with a booth on OZZfest 2005,06, 07 and Family Values 2006 and numerous KROQ shows. Drew shows, “I get a lot from the music culture because I was around it for so long. I feel like I Love Vagina is my ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’” This is only the first hit, however.
In 2007, Electric Eel out of New York approached ILV to do a licensing deal. “They’ve never taken on a t-shirt company. They want me out on the road branding, and they’re going to help the follow up.” With the deal, adult stores like Condom Revolution and Touch of Romance will be carrying ILV. In order to further grow, Drew aims to pursue branding just the “ILV” initials on shirts. This way you can wear it to school or church, without the prudes getting bent out of shape. Drew sees it as another evolution. “I want to be the Levi’s of Vagina. I want to be your everyday wear. Vagina fits you good.”
Screen printing each shirt by hand, Drew touches every aspect of the company. The brand’s charm lies in his intelligent, affable and downright hilarious personality. “We put smiles on people’s faces. They turn the corner and laugh when they see it. I give people something they feel they’re missing out on in life, and they return it with compliments and purchases.” The legend will surely continue with vagina for all. – Rick Florino
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Hi I LOVE VAGINA .COM! We are the symphonic black metal band from Israel, Dagor Dagorath. You are invited to visit our Facebook page, just click the little link below.
We would like to say Thanks for being a Austere friend! You are now a family member of our Thrash/Metal union. KEEP THRASH ALIVE AND LET IT RULE THIS WORLD AGAIN!!!
A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, 'Do these turkeys get any bigger?'
Thanks for the add!!! Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/JaceyMFC or Facebook www.facebook.com/jaceymfc so you'll know when I'm on cam and come say hi!!! And if you REALLY wanna have fun buy a show!!!! xoxoxo
