Product Hub March 03, 2022
SXSW Returns to Austin – With Plenty of Merch
It’s the first time the buzzy festival will be live since 2019, and some of the trendy merch it offers will only be available in person.
SXSW is back in person this year, for the first time since 2019. It was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and held online last year. The celebrity-studded festival full of music, film and technology takes over Austin, TX, from March 11 to 20, and as usual, trendy merch is a huge part of the celebration.
SXSW attendees will receive this complimentary canvas tote.
The festival is giving away a complimentary canvas tote to attendees when they pick up their badge. SXSW teamed up with artist Laci Jordan, who created a design featuring “confident women woven in a sea of color” for the bag. The design is meant to represent the underlying theme of togetherness, according to festival organizers.
This branded dog toy is available for preorder on SXSW’s merch site.
Though plenty of SXSW merch can be purchased online, the festival is making many styles available in person only, at the Austin Convention Center. “From your new favorite hats and tees, to dog toys and leashes, and all your basic survival needs like lighters, masks and umbrellas – we’ve got you covered,” stated a blog post outlining this year’s merch offerings.
This SXSW tee is printed on a T-shirt from Top 40 supplier Next Level Apparel (asi/73867).
SXSW also announced limited-edition posters. The official SXSW poster, designed by local artist FeeBee, is screen-printed with nine spot colors on heavyweight paper, in a numbered edition of 300 and signed by the artist. There’s also a film poster, with a hand-numbered limited run of 250, created and signed by artist Neal Williams. The comedy poster, which has a limited run of 100, was created by Greg Ruth.
The limited-edition official SXSW poster was created by local artist FeeBee. Only 300 will be printed. It’s available for presale on the SXSW merch site.
In addition to offering physical merch, SXSW is jumping on the nonfungible token (NFT) bandwagon, creating a profile picture (PFP) character, the SXSCritter, “inspired by the local bat population and the variety of folks who come to town every year for SXSW,” organizers noted. The official NFT PFP is launching March 11. With all the buzz about the metaverse, NFTs are becoming an increasingly popular digital merch option for events and brands.
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