The turtle on the back of our acid-wash green tee isn't a stock graphic. It came from here.
They nest on these islands
The Andamans are one of the few places in India where sea turtles come ashore to nest. They arrive at night, above the high tide line, and leave before light. If you've never seen the tracks — two dragged lines and a churned patch of sand — you'd walk straight past them.
Why line-art, not a photograph
The obvious move was a realistic turtle. We didn't want it.
A photograph on a tee ages badly — it dates, it cracks, and it turns the wearer into a walking postcard. Line-art holds up. It reads from across a room, it survives a hundred washes, and it doesn't try to be a souvenir. You can wear it in a city where nobody knows what an Andaman is, and it still works.
We drew it open and unfinished on purpose — the shell pattern breaks rather than closes. It should look drawn by a person, because it was.
If you see one, leave it alone
Nesting turtles are easily disturbed. A phone torch or a flash can turn a female back to the sea before she lays. Hatchlings navigate by light on the water, so a bright beach sends them the wrong way.
Keep your distance, keep lights off, don't touch the tracks. It costs you nothing and it's the difference between a nest surviving and not.
What the print is really for
Every time somebody asks about the turtle, it's a chance to say this out loud. That's worth more to us than a nicer-looking graphic.