Irish Gangland Designs

Two new designs!!!

These two are inspired by two different Irish gangs that were active in the Eastern United States during the 19th Century. The Dead Rabbits and the Molly Maguires.

SHOP FOR ALL APPAREL WITH THESE DESIGNS!

DEAD RABBITS                   MOLLY MAGUIRES

The Dead Rabbits

The Dead Rabbits were a notorious Irish gang that dominated the nefarious Five Points neighborhood of New York City during the mid to late 1800’s. The Dead Rabbits became part of popular culture when they were portrayed in Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film “Gangs of New York” with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the fictional leader of the well known gang.

The Dead Rabbits Gang was easily identified by the red striped shirts they wore to show their affiliation with the gang. This design incorporates the red stripes that look almost like blood or paint smears across the background of the image of a rabbit’s skull, and some Celtic Knots to reflect the Irish culture associated with the Dead Rabbits gang.

Also, The words “Dead Rabbits” and a reference to the historical and notorious Five Points neighborhood surround the rabbit skull in a vintage biker club style. This was done to tie in the old with the new to create a truly original design.

Original Dead Rabbits Design by Celtic Hammer Club

The Molly Maguires

The Molly Maguires were a secret society of Irishmen that were active in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania during the late 19th century, and by active I mean they used physical violence to fight back against the coal bosses whose treatment of their workers were nothing short of oppressive. In fact, some consider the Mollies to be a direct precursor to organized labor in the United States.

The design is done in a vintage “chalk board” style which fits perfectly for the Molly Maguires design since the style is a throw back to the 19th century saloon signs. If you look closely at all the different text on the design, you’ll see references to Molly Maguire history. The “coffin notes”, a quote from a Molly Maguire, and the legendary hand print of Alexander Campbell is imprinted on the shamrock in the middle.

Original Molly Maguires Design by Celtic Hammer Club

If you like these designs, but you would rather have them as a poster, coffee mug, travel mug, sticker, phone case, etc. ALL of those items and MORE are now available!!! Click the link to check out everything that is available.

Merry Krampus!

SHOP THE CELTIC HAMMER CLUB COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL KRAMPUS GEAR!

Krampus. Oh that damned Krampus! Rattling his chains, slurping his grotesque tongue, whipping all the bad boys and girls with his birch branch! AAAAGGHHH!

SHOP THE FULL LINE OF APPAREL WITH THIS DESIGN HERE!

I actually never heard of Krampus until about a year ago, but once I looked into the tradition I was hooked! The lore of Krampus originates with the Germanic peoples of Europe and stretches back to pre-Christian times. However, as Christianity took over Europe, Krampus was incorporated as a kind of counter balance to St. Nicholas. While good ol' St. Nick was going around rewarding good little boys and girls with presents, Krampus was out there beating the hell out of the bad ones! Krampus would also rattle his rusty chains to scare bad children. If you were an especially rotten little boy or girl, Krampus would actually KIDNAP you and carry you away in his sack to his lair! Ohhhhhhhhh, that's Krampus for ya!

How horrifying! A lot more scary than getting coal in your stocking. That is for sure! Apparently, German fathers used to get drunk, dress up as Krampus, and scare the bejeezus out of their children! Quite a departure from the contemporary image of the father dressing up as Santa Claus. I can't help but laugh at this since the idea of scaring your beloved child half to death on a day that is associated with joy and happiness just seems extreme to the point of silliness.

Now a days, Krampus is a source of tongue in cheek humor, and since Celtic Hammer Club is a fan of both humor and ancient traditions, we have a line of items to celebrate Krampus, the Christmas demon!

Only at Celtic Hammer Club

Gruss Vom Krampus Apparel

"Gruss Vom Krampus" translates to "Greetings from the Krampus"
This saying adorns most of the Krampus postcards exchanged
during the holiday season.

This design is based on the tradition of exchanging post cards with different images of Krampus during the holidays. Traditionally, the cards are red with black lettering that says "Gruss Vom Krampus". This apparel is a reflection of that tradition.

Keltic Krampus Apparel

An ominous looking "Keltic" style Krampus

This is an original design done in a "Keltic" style. It is meant to look like an ancient Krampus artifact that was just dug up by an archaeologist somewhere. It has a kind of ominous look to it.

and don't forget that there are limited edition Krampus greeting cards available!

Merry Krampus to all! Be good!

-CHC-

Hammer of Thor (Mjölnir) Graphic Tee Design. NEW!

New "Hammer of Thor (Mjölnir)" Series

Out with the old and in with the new! We were running a "Hammer of Thor" tee for a while, but I felt the need to totally revamp the design. I'm really happy with the end result. Check it out below:

SHOP THE FULL LINE OF APPAREL HERE!

For those of you who don't already know, Mjölnir is the name of the weapon used by the Norse god of thunder, Thor. The symbol at the center of this design is based on Mjölnir amulets worn around the necks of Vikings during the Middle Ages. It is meant to symbolize strength and protection.

Take some time to look at the details in and around the hammer. Anyone interested in Viking history, or in Celtic art would appreciate it.

Check out all of the Celtic Hammer Club apparel featuring this design in the shop! It would make a perfect gift for all of you mead drinking heathens out there!

Karin Kaos Wolters making the women's Mjölnir tank look bad ass!

Hammer of Thor Men's Tee

Hammer of Thor Women's Scoop

Don't forget to check out all of the other cool accessories available with the Mjölnir design on it. Maybe a coffee mug for those ungodly hours between drinking sessions, or maybe a poster or framed print for your Viking themed man-cave!

"CHC Logo Distressed" NEW DESIGN!

Buy Men's and Women's apparel in the CHC Store!

Back again with a new design!

The Celtic Hammer Club (CHC) logo has a lot of history and meaning behind it. 

Mjolnir Amulaet as worn by Vikings of the Middle Ages

One, the hammer shape at its center is styled after Mjolnir, the name of the war hammer wielded by Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Mjolnir amulets were worn by Vikings of the Middle Ages, and thousands have been recovered by archaeologists in the British Isles.. It represents strength. 

The Book of Kells Showing extensive Celtic artwork

Second, the insular style knot work and spirals that decorate the hammer were popular in both Celtic and Germanic cultures, but has become synonymous with Celtic culture. Basically, it serves as a visual cue to the Celtic themes and artwork on CHC apparel. 

A drawing of a tattooed or painted Celtic warrior
The blue Cirlce around the CHC logo represents this 
element of Celtic history/culture

Finally, the blue circle that surrounds the hammer that looks like a paint smear. It ties the whole thing together into a neat circular logo, but I chose to use the color blue after the blue war paint that some Celtic tribes wore when going into battle. Again, its just another little representation of Celtic history and culture.

This particular version of the CHC logo is "distressed". It gives it a vintage look, and makes it look almost like a shield that's been through a war. Even if you don't have ancestors from Northern Europe, it's still a pretty cool image to rock on a shirt, and definitely unique. Check out both men's and women's apparel in the shop.

CHC Logo "Distressed"

Samhain (Halloween)

SEE THE FULL RANGE OF ORIGINAL SAMHAIN DESIGNS AND APPAREL HERE!

Samhain (Halloween) Apparel

 I absolutely love October. It finally cools off enough that I can feel comfortable again. I love the look of the leaves as they change color. I love all the pumpkin ales and Oktoberfest beers that are out, and I love Halloween.

What I didn't realize until adulthood was that all the Halloween traditions that I grew up with had its roots in pre-Christian, Pagan, Gaelic Ireland and Scotland. Everything from witches to pumpkin carving to dressing in costumes and trick or treating comes from the ancient Celtic cultures. They called the holiday Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"), and it was a day that marked the end of the summer harvest season, and the start of the "darker" part of the year; the start of the winter. Celtic tradition held that the doorway between the living and the dead was open during the night of Samhain, and that both the dead and faeries known as the Aos Si roamed the land freely on the night of Samhain.

Creepy stuff, but the similarities to today's Halloween traditions are obvious.When I started to learn about Samhain I was as thrilled as Miley Cyrus riding a wrecking ball to find out that my love of Celtic history and my love of Halloween went together like potatoes and whiskey!

So i was inspired to create a special Jack O'Lantern design in honor of the Samhain holiday.

TO BEGIN..... I started with a sketch of our favorite Irishman. Mr. Jack O'Lantern (I know, that joke is unforgivable. I'm sorry. I couldn't resist.) I wanted him to look sort of cartoony, but still really bad-ass and scary looking. I also wanted his vines to twist into Celtic knots underneath him to make sure this particular Jack O'Lantern had a very Irish/Celtic look to him. I also really exaggerated the flames coming out of the top of him just to add more edge to the whole image:

Sketch

THEN... Colored him in:

Colored Version

AND FINALLY... created the rest of the text and other decorative items to create the final image for the Celtic Hammer Club Apparel:

Final Image

It's got kind of a vintage "chalkboard" look to it, but, as always with Celtic Hammer Club designs, the text on the shirt has historical significance and the artwork is edgy.

I will be leaving this shirt available for purchase year round just in case some of you miss out this year (I know that's unthinkable, but there are always a few...). It's never too early to prepare for the next Halloween.

-CHC

New Northern Alliance Promo Image

The Northern Alliance scenario paintball team has released a new promotional image that will be part of their upcoming "calendar-for-kids" charity project. The calendar will feature eye candy from around the world, and if you manage to see past the lovely lady in the image below, you'll notice the "Odin vs Thor" hammer!

For more information about the calendar, reach out to the Northern Alliance on their Facebook page, or email them at northernalliancepb@gmail.com

The "Odin vs Thor" hammer was an idea I had a few years ago when I was really into using the Medieval Viking Mjolnir (Thor's Hammer) symbol decorated with human faces and/or human figures that were twisted into knots. Inspiration for the human figures came mostly from Medieval Celtic books such as the Book of Darrow and the Book of Kells.

I was always intrigued by the human characters in these books because their bodies and facial features were always overly simplified, and almost cartoonish looking. However, the knots that the hair or limbs were twisted into were very complicated. To me, the simplicity of the human figures created a very unique and ancient look. Also, the faces always had a very blank look on them; devoid of emotion. I found this to add an eerie element to the Celtic artwork. It was almost like it was from another world. In a way, it really was.

Anyhow, I was really into combining the Mjolnir symbol with the eerie looking human figures to create a single image that would contain a lot of history and meaning behind it. This was one of the designs I came up with:

"Odin vs Thor" Hammer

As mentioned before, the faces and limbs are basic, and not very detailed. However, the symmetry and detail of the knotwork creates an overall image that is both simple, and complicated at the same time. The Mjolnir symbol itself combined with Odin (Identified by his eye patch. Odin sacrificed his one eye to attain wisdom) and Thor (identified by his iconic hammer) makes for a single image that is full of history and meaning.

"Why are they fighting", you might ask? Basically, I found that it was a good way to have them facing each other in a symmetrical way. I also feel that it brings action to an otherwise still image.

You can check out more Viking/Thor's Hammer/Mjolnir artwork here.

And, as always, we have clothing featuring the "Odin vs Thor" hammer in the shop!

NEW! Celtic Cross Graphic Tee Design

The next installment into the "graphic tee series" is this new "Celtic Cross" design. 

The Celtic Hammer Club Celtic Cross design combines the traditional image of the High Cross with some additional ornamentation to create a very cool, modern-looking, and stylish design that is perfect for apparel. As always, this is original artwork, and is only available at celtichammerclub.com

Now Available in the Celtic Hammer Club Store

The Celtic Cross or High Cross is one of the most recognized symbols of Celtic Culture. In Ireland, it is a popular legend that the Celtic Christian cross was introduced by Saint Patrick or possibly Saint Declan during his time converting the pagan Irish, though there are no examples from this early period. It has often been claimed that Patrick combined the symbol of Christianity with the sun cross, to give pagan followers an idea of the importance of the cross by linking it with the idea of the life-giving properties of the sun.

"Brothers" Graphic Tee Design

Now available in the shop!

"Brothers" Graphic Tee

I'm really excited to release this design. This marks the beginning of a new line that I am in the process of developing. I've had the idea for a while to create some shirts that could fit in with the graphic tees that are so popular now-a-days. I love rocking shirts with Celtic/Norse inspired artwork on it, but most of the apparel I've seen have big, bright screen printed designs. That's all fine and good, but maybe I want something more subtle. Something a little more classy. That's what inspired this design. It's fashionable. It could appeal to anyone. It's modern, but still has a traditional Celtic flair to it.

The "Brothers" theme is meant to reflect the important and especially strong bond between brothers. The writing on the shirt is meant to describe the meaning of the "Brothers" Celtic design that accompanies it.

Brothers.
Intertwined as they are in life;
Each watches the others back;
True and loyal companions;
They are

Brothers.

 I've been working hard on other designs. More to come!

-CHC-

Celtic Hammer Club Store

New Promotional Images!

We created some new promotional images that i think came out AWESOME! I'm very happy with them. I can't decide if I prefer the color version (which I like because you can see some more detail in the plaid Donegal cap), or the sepia version which I think is very, very cool.

The shirts featured in these promo images are, from left to right, the "Brothers" Raglan tee, the CHC Logo tee, and the CHC "Badge Logo" tee. Women's apparel also available with these designs as well as a large variety of sizes and colors.


On a side note, the "talent" was very diffic--*cough*-- I mean... just a delight to work with ;) haha

Color Version

Sepia with Colored Logo

I'm sure we will use both images, but sound off in the comments below to tell us which image you like, and why.

The Northern Alliance is Coming!

The Northern Alliance is a coalition of scenario paintball teams that gather to compete in missions that are intended to reflect real-world tactical situations. They have gained recognition as one of the largest, most well organized paintball teams in all of Europe. As you can see from the pictures below, these guys are intense. These aren't your run of the mill paintball games. These guys use real world tactical equipment and techniques to play out predetermined missions and challenges. Northern Alliance competes in a HUGE paintball tournament known as the Euro Big Game that gathers teams from all over the world.

The Northern Alliance is comprised of smaller paintball groups hailing from Sweden, Scotland, and the Netherlands (hence the "Northern Alliance" moniker). This year they were looking for promotional images to use that would reflect their collective cultural heritage. Celtic Hammer Club is proud to collaborate with Northern Alliance to bring them some bad ass hammers that are representative of what their team is all about.

The Northern Alliance crew are a group of solid guys that also know how to have a great time. Look forward to seeing more collaboration between Celtic Hammer Club and the Northern Alliance in the future!

"Badge Logo" Raglan Tee

This is one of my personal favorites. Why? Because, one, I LOVE Raglan style t-shirts (also known as "baseball" t-shirts). Two, I LOVE the CHC "Badge Logo" design, and this product has BOTH!!

This design is the CHC's version of a classic "badge logo". Badge logos serve as almost a coat of arms for whatever the logo represents. It's like a signature, but in the form of an image. They style is usually simple and symmetrical; often a circle. It is appealing to the eye. I love the CHC badge because it has that classic badge look, but also stands apart because of the unique Celtic Hammer emblem at its center. You can show off your cultural swag while also looking very stylish.

Slap this badge logo on a Raglan, and it's all class.

Get the Celtic Hammer Club "Badge Logo" Raglan tee in the online shop! 

"VIKING HAMMER" - Featured Design

Our current feature is the CHC "Viking Hammer" design.

I love this design. You have the classic "Thor Hammer" or "Mjolnir" shape front and center. Odin's face can be seen in the handle of the hammer. The style of the face hearkens back to a more ancient, medieval style, but still maintains an edge that could also be interpreted as a more modern style. Odin's whiskers are twisted into very detailed and symmetrical Celtic knots that adorn the head of the Hammer.

The "Viking Hammer" text in a Viking style font makes the whole piece very "in your face". 100% original. You can't find this anywhere, but Celtic Hammer Club. Check out all the apparel with this design in the online store.

Introducing the CHC "Get Hammered!" Vintage badge logo

Hey CHC members! We have a new design that just came out in the shop! Its a traditional looking "badge" style logo that features the "Get Hammered!" slogan prominently in the center in a really cool looking Celtic font that works perfectly for the design.

The logo is also textured or "distressed" which gives it that weathered, vintage look. This design accomplishes that modern, stylish look, while also maintaining a unique Celtic "flavor" to it. It would great with a kilt, in a pub, on a motorcycle, at a concert, anywhere really. Check out the full assortment of products featuring the "Get Hammered!" badge logo in the

Celtic Hammer Club store.