It’s a thrift store; it’s a gallery; it’s an event venue. Neo Trash comes close to defying description, but since opening this spring it has become the place to find the latest stuff by Bay area artists working on canvases of the wearable variety. Local T-shirt mavens Owl Movement, who cull graphics from artists around the world and print them in limited edition designs, launched their latest Tee series here. (Their owl-riffic shirts have been worn on VH1’s Best Week Ever and Alias, of all places.) Art-meets-fashion events include a recent exhibit of collaborative screen-print paintings by Brandon Dunlap and Red Labor paired with the latest wallets, bags and shirts from the latter, who are also the masterminds behind Resist Today (resisttoday.com; formerly known as Iron-on Resistance), another great place to buy from amazingly talented locals. Other local labels available at Neo Trash include Sauver and Suspicious Package. 1515 E. Seventh Ave., Tampa, 813-241-8490, www.myspace.com/neotrashllc.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.