Kuppermann: Accept What You Don’t Know to Understand

1

Andrew Kuppermann in the new Esoteric Empyre t-shirt shop on Cottage Street in Easthampton--more than just t-shirts!
Andrew Kuppermann in the new Esoteric Empyre t-shirt shop on Cottage Street in Easthampton–more than just t-shirts!
One of the many geometric images designed by Christopher Harman in the shop, called Perpetual.
One of the many geometric images designed by Christopher Harman in the shop, called Perpetual.

I worked in the t-shirt and embroidery business for a decade. But all of the shirts we sold were printed on old-fashioned presses using different colored inks with large numbers required for each run.

A new store opened up in Easthampton by Christopher Harman and Andrew Kuppermann takes a different, simpler route.  They’ve purchased an Epson direct-to-garment printer, that lets people print whatever image they want on the tee shirt instantly, without all of the expensive screens, set-up time and the requirement to run dozens of the same design to save money.

Esoteric Empyre is more than a tee-shirt shop, said Kuppermann, who invested in the business when his friend Harman told him about it. It’s about ancient knowledge, life’s biggest questions, and a mix of the Bible and other spirituality-related topics.

Andrew Kuppermann said it best. “When you accept that there are things we don’t understand, you’ll start to understand Esoteric Empyre.”

Andrew Kuppermann said that the Epson direct to garment printer makes it easy to print single tee shirts using any design you can imagine.
Andrew Kuppermann said that the Epson direct to garment printer makes it easy to print single tee shirts using any design you can imagine.

The shop opened in June at 26 Cottage Street in bustling downtown Easthampton. The pair said they can print any custom design on a single shirt for between $25 and $30, and they offer logo designs for businesses.

But as a profile in the Daily Hampshire Gazette said, “there’s a little more to the shop than t-shirts.”

Visitors to the shop will hear about ancient wisdom, spirituality, and especially, how sacred geometry and the Golden Ratio figure into the lives of humans. “The Golden Ratio is a geometrical spiral pattern seen throughout nature, including in the spiral nautilus shell, the eye of a sunflower, and even human DNA,” the Gazette article stated.

Over the past months, Harman created a Facebook page called Esoteric Empyre where he would share quotes, wisdom, and some of the geometric patterns he creates. Today there are a whopping 311,000 followers of the page!  The pair is certainly on to something that people are wild about!

The pair is certainly on to something that people are wild about! The Gazette story by Caitlin Ashworth. told how the pair met.

“Harman met Kuppermann when he inquired about selling furniture at a flea market Kuppermann was setting up in Wilbraham. Kuppermann, a former Assistant Vice President for MassMutual Financial Group, invested in Harman’s idea to make custom t-shirts.  Kuppermann said he is amazed by Harman’s talents. “I think the universe is sending ideas for the images to him, but I’m not sure,” Kuppermann said.

Christopher Harman said that Andrew Kuppermann and designer Tyler Craig are partners in the endeavor. They are thinking of adding a laser woodcutting feature to their business which would allow a new line of custom jewelry and other creations to spring from Harman’s fertile mind.