Lone Star Brewing is “unleashing the armadillo” for Texas Independence Day (March 2) to celebrate its beloved home state. An ode to its popular mascot from the Cosmic Cowboy era, Lone Star will be celebrating by unleashing the armadillo with a limited edition merchandise collaboration with Texas artist Matt Tumlinson as well as a Tumilson mural in San Antonio facilitated by San Antonio Street Art Initiative.
During the cosmic cowboy era of the brand (1960’s – 1970’s), Lone Star brought on Armadillo World Headquarters house artist Jim Franklin to create branded posters and Franklin insisted they would feature armadillos. Franklin had a love for armadillos, and his Lone Star armadillo depictions grew so popular that in 1971 the UT student senate voted to replace Bevo with the armadillo as the school mascot.
“We are excited to use this cultural moment to give independent Texas artists a platform to show off their work. The goal here was to celebrate Texas with a fun nod to our brand’s heritage. From merch and murals, our friendly mascot is popping up in multiple forms for y’alls enjoyment,” said Lone Star Senior Brand Manager Daniel Crawford.
Lone Star is launching a limited-edition merchandise collaboration with artist Matt Tumlinson. Based in San Antonio, TX, Tumlinson is a multifaceted artist and his work has been showcased in fine art galleries throughout the country. For the project with Lone Star, Tumlinson took inspiration from the classic Lone Star armadillo work. The “Rodeo ‘Dillo” merchandise capsule includes a limited one-time print t-shirt, hats, and bandana, all available online now until it sells out. All of the merchandise was produced in Texas with the help of Morgan Mercantile in Fort Worth.
Additionally, Lone Star partnered with the San Antonio Street Art Initiative (SASAI) – an artist-run, independent, nonprofit charity that focuses on education in career development and mural art programming – to create a mural by Matt Tumlinson that boasts his artist interpretation of Texas Pride inspired by vintage Lone Star memorabilia. The mural will be available for viewing starting on March 2 at 620 E Dewey Pl, San Antonio, TX 78212, and will be the newest mural in THE LARGEST OUTDOOR GALLERY IN TEXAS™.
For more information, visit Lone Star’s website.
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