Two years ago I designed a “Quantum Leap” T-Shirt for my brother-in-law Cary for his Birthday. Why “Quantum Leap” you might be asking yourself? Well, when I was younger and Cary was merely dating my sister, it became our weekly ritual. He’d come over to my parent’s house, sometimes with a package of Twizzlers in hand and we’d sit back and enjoy the time traveling escapades of everyone’s favorite Quantum Leaper…Dr. Sam Beckett and Holographic pal Admiral Al Calavicci. So it sort of became our thing. Hell, he even gave me a pair of “Quantum Leap” underwear for Christmas one year…okay…they weren’t really officially licensed “QL” wear, they weren’t “Quantum Leap” in any sort of way. Rather it was an incredibly nasty gag gift of pseudo-stained underwear that he had taken from his dad’s underwear draw and wrapped very festively for me. So there’s a history of each of us giving each other “QL” merchandise, even when there was no merchandise out there to give. So a couple of years ago for his birthday I decided to design a T-Shirt for him with our favorite subject matter.
Above is a photo of Cary opening said Birthday T-Shirt and grinning from ear to ear.
The story doesn’t end there…fast forward….um, I mean…Quantum Leap forward to a little over two years and here is where the saga resumes.
I was contacted by an individual named Tom Soliva through my Flicker account where I load a majority of my artwork…and one piece of that portfolio is this design. He simply asked, “Is there anyway someone could buy one or more of these shirts?” He explained that there was going to be a 20th Anniversary “Quantum Leap” convention coming up in Los Angeles at the end of March and that he was sure that many fans would love to get a shirt with my design on it. I thanked him for his kind words and interest in my artwork but informed him that “unfortunately, the design was done solely for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own the rights to the photographs used in my design and therefore can not profit from them.” With that he informed me that he would bring my T-Shirt design to the attention of the Convention planning committee.
A couple of days later I was contacted by Brian Greene from “The Leap Back,” the official “Quantum Leap” 20th Anniversary Convention.
He informed me that they had gotten permission to use the photos that I used in my design and would love to be able to use the design on T-Shirts for the convention. After working out the details with Brian, I decided to allow the design to be used because all the profits made from the shirt as well as from the convention itself were going to be going to charity, The Starlight Children’s Foundation.
So if you’d like to purchase a T-Shirt with my design and also help out charity, below is the link that will take you there. Not only has the design been applied to T-Shirts but it has been placed on almost every type of apparel imaginable as well as Mugs, Clocks, Aprons, Bibs, Teddy Bears, Etc…Oh, Boy! So there’s something for every “Quantum Leap” Fan.
CLICK on me to view “Quantum Leap” items
All merchandise is being printed through Cafepress and remember, not only do you get a cool design, you’re helping out Charity.
One of the coolest thing about this situation is the possibility that “Quantum Leap” stars Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, and show creator Donald P. Bellisario might see and appreciate my design. Being that I’m such a big fan of the show and it’s special place in my childhood memories, it’s an honor to be able to come full circle and in my way, take part in the monumential 20th Anniversary Celebration. I will not be attending the convention and will not personally be able to meet and greet with the stars and creators, but knowing that my artwork will be there is enough.
If anyone out there that is reading this and is going to attend “The Leap Back,” I would love to hear about your experience and whatever comments anyone involved with the show had to say about my design. If you wanna send me any photos from the convention of Scott, Dean, or Donald wearing or simply you wearing the shirt with them, I’d appreciate and love it. I’d post a follow-up story and post your photos detailing your experience. Also…if you feel compelled and wanna send me an Autographed Photo by any of the individuals attending the convention…that would be super. Hey, you can’t blame a fan for trying.
I hope you enjoy the design and hope to hear back from you.
