Rustic Merch

photo courtesy Hope For Agoldensummer

Hope For Agoldensummer, a dreamily named Georgia roots-music trio, takes an earthy approach to its merchandise. Yes, the group sells T-shirts and albums on its website. But it also sells handcrafted soap.

Vocalist Claire Campbell says Hope For Agoldensummer’s homespun aesthetic comes from necessity, not contrivance; all the band’s wares—from CD sleeves to massage bars and lip balm—look homemade because they are.

This DIY ethic has led to the occasional mini-crisis. During one fateful soap-making session, Campbell miscalculated the temperature of water as she poured lye into it. The resulting “volcanic eruption of soap” quickly overtook her porch. Says Campbell, “It just kept foaming and foaming and foaming.”

During another attempt at innovative merchandising, Campbell engraved the band’s name on 200 pocketknives, which her sister’s cat promptly peed on. The knives rusted and, worse, smelled like cat pee—and when Campbell ran the knives through the dishwasher and laid them on her front lawn to dry, they rusted again.

Despite the occasional mishap, Campbell says the band’s approach to producing homespun, soulful merchandise mirrors its approach to making homespun, soulful music. “It translates directly,” Campbell says. “We all have a hand in making all these things.”

The band’s wares—and its newest album, Ariadne Thread—are available at HopeForAgoldensummer.com.