Interview with the Palmah crew

Words Java Katzur and Liam Stretch. Images provided by Palmah.

Joe Palmer pictured left, Hamish Palmer on the right.

You've probably seen the zany tees before, lil wee monograms on boldly coloured cloth – a staple in the university and festival scenes. We talked to one of the men behind these iconic garments, Joe Palmer. He's half of the duo that make up Palmah, a clothing company which has aimed to go beyond just threads by making a difference through working with charities. 

Brothers Joe and Hamish Palmer started the business back in 2017 and are a self-proclaimed Dunedin start-up through and through, yet the idea came from their time spent across the ditch in Australia at Falls Festival. "I spent a summer over in Byron Bay. It basically just started with me and one of my best mates painting the smiley rainbow designs on some grotty op shop tees which we rocked the whole four days of Falls. For some bizarre reason, people took an interest in the tees, and we got lots of random positive comments throughout the festival," says Joe. 

Somehow, that sparked a little something for Joe as he was flying back home to New Zealand. In his luggage was a little A8 exercise book and some shitty warehouse paint, and of course, some of the doodles that are now the famous Palmah look we all know and love. Joe works together with his brother on all aspects of the business describing it as, "a full snack trail mix filled with choccy bits, vanilla almonds and pretzels, but also the odd dusty raisin floating about." 

It's epic, he says, "we've pretty much become best mates over the last few years, so it's super fun and mostly smooth sailing working together. A little problem we have, though, is that we're both lazy as shit and often rely on the other person to sort things or fix problems, which leads to them taking ages to get sorted or fixed creating mare after mare."

"There's also a constant power struggle with both of us trying to be the big bad boss and order the other one around; neither party ever backs down which leads to some pretty hilarious squabbles”. All in all, though, for Joe, it's been awesome. The two constantly bounce ideas around and help each other out; they’ve developed the perfect balance. "While I'd definitely tell him differently, there's no-one else I'd prefer to be working with. " 

Palmah is centred around all of those who’ve been part of the journey, including, of course, the pair's friends. No doubt that for the two of them, their mates have played a big part in their brand. "The number of times they've had to do involuntary photoshoots, pack orders or getting harassed for opinions on many things would be enough to put them on a full-time salary."

"Palmah would not exist today if it wasn't for our incredible group of friends (mainly in Dunedin, it must be said). The amount of support we received from the beginning until now has been amazing, and we can't thank everyone enough. " For Joe, the thing he's loved the most about creating Palmah is the wide variety of people you meet along the way. For him, it has developed into a melting pot of good humans who stay great mates for good. Palmah also aims to support various organisations. They have teamed up with organisations such as Silverline and a festival we have focused on a before at Yo, Vocal, Tora Bombora, to create clothing for a cause. "Silverline was an easy one as they're bringing awareness and conversation towards mental health which is obviously something we'd be keen to support." 

And when it comes to creating t-shirt designs for Tora Bombora, it was another easy yes." I've known Louis (the creator of Tora Bombora) for a while, and he's always been such a legend, and while I hadn't personally been to Tora Bombora, everyone that I've talked to said it was the sickest little festy so were naturally very happy to get involved with something like that." 

They've also raised money for charities such as the Dunedin Wildlife Centre and the Dunedin Night Shelter. This is definitely more than just a clothing brand. There isn't a particular message they want to spread; they're aware that there are heaps of humans and animals out there that need a boost and the boys are more than willing to try to make a positive difference where they can. 

"With us being super fortunate to have a little bit of a following, it'd be such a waste if we didn't use that voice to speak some good. Plus we can't take the credit really; it's everyone else that's buying the product, donating and supporting, we're just an avenue for people to do it."

Palmah designs are a fun play on often serious topics; the designs are light-hearted and whimsical. For Joe and Hamish, there isn't a particular formula; all concepts come from random ideas that often stem from suggestions. "The poorly sketched, simplistic style comes from our complete inadequacy to draw better than a pre-schooler – which gives it the five-year-old playing with their first set of crayons look."

Hitting the road has been a big player in developing the Palmah following. A further piece of the puzzle is their van, Bongo. Abused and exploited far more than it deserves; getting stolen and having the engine blow up was only one of the series of unfortunate events that befell it. 

"It's also had its entire roof collapse from 12 lads boogying on it during Mardi Gras last year, it's been crashed into barriers, rocks, and other cars as well been broken into and stripped clean. Despite all this, Bongo has served us, and many others incredibly well and still continues to do so. It's been used as a hostel, cocktail lounge, bundy kitchen, rooftop bar, and mini-golf course while serving countless amounts of bodies that have passed through it." 

Bongo holds a very special place in the boys' hearts. "It will be a sad day for many when he stops ticking over."

Bongo and the boys.

As part of Palmah's trail of influence, it has popped up all around the country at markets and festivals, as well as crossing the ditch to Australia. For the pair, RnV, Falls and other festivals of the like are favourites to sell their wares.

"There's just so many plus sides to those events, you get a free ticket to a festival and effectively get paid to drink, boogie, and talk shit. It's also fun and hilarious meeting all kinds of (mostly very intoxicated) characters that come on through, you end up getting more mates, and it's a crack up but effective way to get exposure out to more people." Even during the nationwide level four lockdown, Palmah has been able to get its designs out and about, as well as launching its first pair of pants and socks. This has all added to the exciting whirlwind few years for the duo. 

When prompted for any last words, Joe was clear about how stoked he is that Kiwis up and down the country have come together and supported each other during the lockdown. "[It's] so epic to see everyone band together and look after our communities and one another, the stats so far compared to the rest of the world speak for themselves as to how well we've done, so big ups to everyone."

But they – like most of us – are getting a little cagey; eagerly awaiting the day that they can boogie with everyone sometime soon.