About Subhustle — a love letter to house music, in design form

DESIGN MEETS BEATS

Subhustle is a one-person independent studio creating house music t-shirts, sweatshirts, posters and pin badges. Every design is rooted in a real love of the music — Chicago house, acid house, balearic, deep house, and everything that came out of the UK club scene from the late 80s onwards. This is the story of why it exists, who's behind it, and how things are made.


How Subhustle started

House music has shaped my life. The sights, the sounds, the smiley faces, the family that comes together under a groove. Before Subhustle existed as a brand, it existed as forty years of obsession.

It started in the mid-eighties. I was a kid discovering new electronic music — these strange and brilliant sounds built on looping beats, drum machines and synthesised basslines. The Roland TR-808 and TR-909 were doing things to music nobody had heard before. The early house sounds coming out of Chicago and New York — Frankie Knuckles at the Warehouse, Marshall Jefferson, Ron Hardy at the Music Box — opened my ears to a whole new world.

The UK scene wasn't far behind. By the time the second summer of love hit in '88, things had properly kicked off here too. I was too young for the clubs and the illegal raves at that point, but the next best thing was mixtapes shared between mates. Those tapes introduced me to my new heroes. DJs replaced pop stars in my head: Andrew Weatherall, Justin Robertson, Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold. Critical listening, all of it.

Alongside the music, I was getting obsessed with the artwork. Record covers, club flyers, magazine spreads, fanzines — there was a whole visual world growing alongside the sound, and I wanted to be part of it. Like a lot of house-obsessed teenagers, I had dreams of becoming a superstar DJ. Instead I swapped the Technics 1210s for an Apple Mac and set off on what would become a lifelong career in graphic design.

The work of Tomato (especially Underworld's Dubnobasswithmyheadman), Designer's Republic, Neville Brody and David Carson — particularly his run at Raygun Magazine — taught me everything I needed to know about graphic design done with attitude. Add in the steady diet of DJ Mag, Mixmag, i-D and The Face, and that was my education.

 

Why I started Subhustle

After more than 25 years working as a graphic designer for a mix of agencies and clients, I wanted to make something that was just for me. Something that brought together the two things I'd been obsessed with my whole life: house music, and graphic design done properly.

Subhustle launched in 2021. The idea was simple: make the kind of t-shirts, posters and pins I'd want to own myself. Things that don't shout. Things that carry a reference, a lyric, a moment that meant something. Things designed by someone who actually gives a shit about the music, not someone who's spotted a trend.

Every Subhustle design starts with a track, a DJ, a club night, or a feeling — and gets worked into something you can wear or hang on a wall. Some of them are obvious. Some of them are deep cuts that only the right people will catch. That's the way it should be.

 

What makes Subhustle different

Designed by a fan, not a brand

There's a lot of house music apparel out there. Most of it is made by people who've seen the smiley face and worked backwards from there. Subhustle works the other way around. Every design comes out of forty years of being in the scene — listening to it, watching it change, buying the records, going to the clubs. The references are real because they came from somewhere real.

Made in small numbers, made in the UK

T-shirts and sweatshirts are screen-printed in small batches in the UK. Pin badges are produced in small quantities by a trusted UK manufacturer. Posters are printed on demand, which means nothing goes to waste — no warehouses full of unsold stock. The whole operation is deliberately small, because doing it any other way would change what Subhustle is.

Every design comes with a DJ mix

This is the thing that makes Subhustle different from every other indie clothing brand in the niche. Each design is paired with an exclusive guest mix, recorded by a DJ who connects with what the design is about. The mixes live on Mixcloud, free to listen to, and they're as much a part of Subhustle as the products. Listen to the mixes →

 

How the products are made

T-shirts and sweatshirts

Every Subhustle tee and sweatshirt is screen-printed in the UK. I use high-quality blank garments — heavyweight cotton, properly cut, designed to last and to soften with wear rather than fall apart. Each design is printed in small batches, which keeps things small-scale and gives every piece a bit of soul.

Pin badges

Subhustle pin badges are hard-enamel, produced in small quantities by a UK manufacturer I trust to get the details right. Crisp lines, proper metal, the kind of pin that holds up on a denim jacket for years.

Posters

Posters are digitally printed on demand and shipped worldwide. Print-on-demand means I can offer a wide range of designs without holding warehouse stock, which keeps the operation lean and waste low. Quality is high — proper paper, sharp colours, ready to frame.

 

About me

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm a graphic designer with over 25 years in the industry, based in Edinburgh, UK. By day I do commercial design work. By night, I run Subhustle.

If you want to talk about a design, ask about an order, or just say hi, the best ways to reach me are through the contact page or on Instagram at @subhustle.

 

Questions people ask

Where are Subhustle products made?

T-shirts and sweatshirts are screen-printed in the UK. Pin badges are produced in small batches by a UK manufacturer. Posters are printed on demand, which keeps waste low and lets me offer a wide range of designs. Everything is shipped from the UK.

Are the designs limited editions?

T-shirts and sweatshirts are produced in small batches, but I don't put hard caps on numbers — if a design sells well, I'll print more. Pin badges are also made in small quantities. The deliberate small-batch approach is what keeps Subhustle feeling independent.

What's the deal with the DJ mixes?

Every Subhustle design is paired with a free exclusive guest mix on Mixcloud. The mixes are recorded specifically to match the spirit of each design — and there's no purchase required, you can listen to them whether you buy something or not. Browse the mixes →

Do you ship worldwide?

Yes. UK delivery is free on every order. International shipping is available too — pricing is calculated at checkout based on where you are.

How do I find out about new designs?

The newsletter is the best way — subscribers hear about new drops and DJ mixes before they go public. You can also follow @subhustle on Instagram for design previews and behind-the-scenes stuff.

 

Have a look around

Thanks for reading this far. If you fancy having a dig through what Subhustle's about, here's where to start:

If you've bought something already — thank you. Properly. Subhustle exists because a small but loud family of people decided to give one of these designs a home. Every order matters.

Scott (Subhustle)