New Yorkers can show their support of this great city while looking stylish and contributing to some excellent causes with the Black Helmet 9/11 Tribute Tees. Black Helmet creates high quality clothing, accessories and equipment for firefighters. The Tribute Tees aren't just for firefighters - they've been spotted on A-list celebrities coast to coast.
Founded by third-generation firefighter James Love, all the designs are hand drawn and unique. "You'll find no clip art and no cheesy sayings, just images that relay the fearless, but frightening side of our job," says Love.
In addition to the original line of firefighter-inspired clothing, Love recently launched the line of 9/11 Tribute Tees to honor the 343 firefighters who lost their lives that tragic day, with a portion of all revenue generated from sales of the Tribute Tees donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Black Helmet also supports several other charities, including the FDNY Foundation and The September 11th Families' Association.
Love launched blackhelmetapparel.com and sold the first shirt in June 2008. The company had just six designs at the time - four of which are still available in its Black Helmet Classics collection. In November 2008 the company launched its Facebook page, which now boasts over 130,000 fans.
In June 2009, with the help of Ray Tylutki of 1stonScene, Love and associates attended their first conference, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs conference in Verona, NY. "This was our first time getting to meet customers in this environment and hearing their feedback in person. We now attend a couple of conference each year," Love says.
In January 2011 Black Helmet launched a separate line of products - System Protocols - for EMS professionals.
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