*Firstly a disclaimer on a very large noticeable error in this video on my part!
I’m not particualy well versed in making these types of video, but thought I was very  clever in flipping the Black Country flag over , so that when filmed it would look the right way in the recording…Obviously that didn’t work & so throughout the filming , Gracies flag is actually hung the wrong way round. Quite the faux par in the company of Black Country royalty, but there you go. Full apologies.

Gracie Sheppard designed the Black Country Flag aged 12 in 2013.

She came to visit the Black Country T Shirt shop in the summer of 2019 to gain some work experience.
We thought we’d take that opportunity to catch up with Gracie & get her thoughts on the Black Country flag reflecting back.

Including it’s immense popularity & controversy that surrounded it.

Please enjoy.

The video is loosely transcribed below, paraphrasing to omit all my ums ah’s & waffle. All with Gracies approval.

gracie sheppard interview.mp4

Steve , BCT [00:00:00] BIT OF INTRO –  so here we are at black country T-shirts. We got a very special guest with us today. Gracie Shepard, although she’s actually been with us for the past three weeks doing some work experience.  For those of you who don’t know Gracie , she  is the young woman behind the Black Country flag . She was 12 years old when she designed the Black Country flag back in 2013 when she entered a competition to design the a Flag for the Black Country..

[00:01:42] In 2015 it was the largest selling flag after the St George’s cross, showing how rich a culture we have  in the black country .

[00:01:58] Gracie’s been working with us now to get some experience in the workplace , now she’s reached the grand old age of 19.

[00:02:06] You’re currently studying Psychology degree in Warwick university right. ?

Gracie Sheppard [00:02:10] Yeah.

Steve , BCT [00:02:14] How is that working out for you?

Gracie Sheppard [00:02:15] Really enjoy doing psychology it’s good.

Steve , BCT [00:02:26] Are you constantly now analysing everyone you speak to , looking at body movements & such as practice?

Gracie Sheppard [00:02:26] haha no , I’m not that good yet.. but that’s what everyone now thinks!

Steve , BCT [00:02:41] So how did you hear about the Museum’s competition to design the flag?

Gracie Sheppard [00:02:50] We heard about it in our school when I was in year 7 at Red Hill Secondary School in Stourbridge. They announced the contest to us in art class. So we just started to get some ideas from there. And also we went on a trip to the Black Country museum about where they spoke to us more about it.

Steve , BCT [00:03:13] So the whole class entered?

Steve , BCT [00:03:26] Did you start then to create ideas on the trip?

Gracie Sheppard [00:03:26] We had some talks at the museum. To give us some ideas.

Steve , BCT [00:03:31] What sort of prompting did they give you?

Gracie Sheppard [00:03:34] They just gave us a bit of light history and such..

Steve , BCT [00:03:45] I See , talking to you about the Black by day, red by night culture etc?.

Steve , BCT [00:03:46] So there wasn’t a moment where you decided to enter the competition… it was kinda forced on you haha?

Gracie Sheppard [00:03:46] (laughs) Yeah, there were some people in class who really did try to design a flag , while others knew they didn’t ‘have’ to if they didn’t want to. So there were varying levels of entry.

Steve , BCT [00:04:17] (just gives a brief description of the flag for viewers).  So Gracie’s design has the black by day Red by night theme running through it. Which was based on the American industrialist Elihu Burrits (yes I googled & ‘remembered his name afterwards!) comments about the Black Country. Which was  that the Black Country was Black by day, describing the abundant the coal seams in the ground & red by night through the glow of the furnaces that were constantly at work.  And the white shape through the middle is the shape of the Glasshouse cone as glass making was huge around the Stourbridge area (where Gracie grew up) area particularly in pockets of Walsall also & the chains running through were a again a main item manufactured in the Black Country.

Steve , BCT [00:05:27] Gracie, Did you have an immediate idea of what you were going to design or did it evolve?

Gracie Sheppard [00:05:46] I didn’t have an immediate idea . I just kind of like googled quite a lot & I tried to research a bit. I think originally the concept of the chain, I knew I wanted to incorporate it somehow and then I came across across the ‘black by day, red by night quote  & just sort of Oh that’s what I’ll use as my colour scheme. So from there I started to piece it together.

Steve , BCT [00:06:13] So you kind of researched a lot of history before even put any pen to paper. It wasn’t like you have something  in your mind or you started to draw random shapes.  Did you do any l prior versions that didn’t make the final cut?

Gracie Sheppard [00:06:26] Yeah. a few but they weren’t very good (laughs) it was literally just chains and stuff. I can’t remember everything else I did.

Steve , BCT [00:06:43] What did you do it on?. Did you do on paper or just on the computer.

Gracie Sheppard [00:06:47] I I did a bit on pen pen and paper but then did try to do it on computer afterwards.

Steve , BCT [00:06:55] So the artwork you submitted, was it exactly like the flag looks now? OR was it refined afterwards?.

Gracie Sheppard [00:07:03] No,  it was pretty much like it is now when I handed it in on paper.

Steve , BCT [00:07:24] Can you remember any other designs  from the class ? Was  it like a first second or third?

Gracie Sheppard [00:07:33] I think  it was the final six. in the newspaper. And then people could just vote for their favourite, So it was a public vote.  All the final six went to the Black Museum where they like announced the winner.

Steve , BCT [00:08:00] Can you remember the runner up designs?

Gracie Sheppard [00:08:03] I can’t remember them exactly but a lot of them did include the chains but I think it was quite varied   colour wise. I think there was a yellow one &  a light one with green or something but  It was quite varied.

Steve , BCT [00:08:26] So what did you win ?

Gracie Sheppard [00:08:29]  I won  200 pounds and free entry into the Black Country museum.

Steve , BCT [00:08:48] How do you now feel about seeing businesses like ours that have developed an industry almost on the back of your design?

Gracie Sheppard [00:08:58] So I think it’s very good. First it was just quite strange to see it so much at the start because obviously when we were designing the flag you didn’t expect it to become such a big thing. But it is really nice to see it everywhere.

Steve , BCT [00:09:14] What did you actually think the significance of winning the competition would be?

Gracie Sheppard [00:09:27] I definitely didn’t realize like how big it would be. I thought it was just ooh that’s nice for a day, then not really think of it again.

Steve , BCT [00:09:30] Was there a moment then when you did realise that actually this is a lot bigger and a lot more  culturally important?

Gracie Sheppard [00:09:49] Probably when there was times  when. I came into dudley and met the Mayor & when loads of people came together to celebrate Black Country Day,  that was when it really hit. &  Also just seeing it around everywhere too.

Steve , BCT [00:10:11] What was the weirdest situation you  found yourself in because of the flag?

Gracie Sheppard [00:11:06] Probably when I was just at home and I got a phone call and someone said oh Gracie’ s been  mentioned on question time.  Which was not the best circumstances but that was just as weird to find that I was bought into that.

Steve , BCT [00:11:31] Yeah, so just to give a bit of history to that, in 2015/16 the MP for Wolverhampton, Eleanor Smith spoke out against the Black Country Flag, as she felt the chains were too close to representing slavery & didn’t think it was appropriate for the Black Country to use an image that could cause offence that way.

Steve , BCT [00:12:01] Did you feel hurt or offended by those comments?

Gracie Sheppard [00:12:07] I think originally I did because obviously I was still quite young at that point as well. And when I designed it  that thought  just completely didn’t cross my mind. So I felt like that’s quite a bad thing to say I had done. Which wasn’t my intention at all. But. then I just thought that most of the other designers had like chains on as well and it was a public vote. So obviously that’s one person’s opinion of a lot of people & alot of people also use it on everything.

Steve , BCT [00:12:49] It’s ad that it did offend you in that way. Hopefully in hindsight the ironic thing about it to me was that it actually ended up having a positive legacy and a  beautiful moment for the Black Country because one persons negative comment made so many people way  more aware of the flag itself. It mean so many more people um defend it and defend its history and defend you.  Actually what happened was is that those comments had a much bigger impact also in terms of promoting the flag and enhanced culture. Far more than anything I think we done um initially beforehand in a positive light. . It almost paraphrased the flag itself using the chain to link people together,  to chain  the community back together to unite to unite behind it and create something much more meaningful & powerful.

Steve , BCT [00:14:51] So Gracie, we have some people on Facebook .

Steve , BCT [00:15:41]  Ian Smith says would you change your design if you could. It is so iconic now?

Gracie Sheppard [00:15:59] I don’t think so.  I don’t think about to come up with anything else to be fair (laughs). I. It’s got to go.

Steve , BCT [00:16:08] Question from Andrew Bragg.: Did you think of using any other black country features before using the cone design in the middle?.

Gracie Sheppard [00:16:28] Not really , because the cone is quite close to where I live. So that was always at the forefront of my mind. When I was like really small it was something that I’d regularly visit with my parents. So seemed natural to me.

Steve , BCT [00:17:07] This time a  message from Elke Wallace to say  please thank and praise Gracie for designing this special amazing flag for our area.

Gracie Sheppard [00:17:18] Thank you.

Steve , BCT [00:17:26]  Where’s the weirdest place you’ve seen the flag?

Gracie Sheppard [00:17:41] . Um probably when my sister went travelling when she went to Madagascar and took a photo with it there!

Steve , BCT [00:18:23] Jennie  says. what have you been doing since she won the competition?

Gracie Sheppard [00:18:35] Well I finished I finished college in 2018 & have now just finished my 1st year at Warwick University doing Physcology & will just see where that takes me.

Steve , BCT [00:18:23] Thanks for your time Gracie.

Gracie Sheppard [00:19:01] Thank you too.

You can buy Black Country Flags & see other items with it on HERE

New Black Country Firm ‘Futile’ are delving into the cutting edge & often controversial field of producing designer pets, with the world’s first ‘Cat-Bats’.

Futile hopes to make The Black Country world famous for innovative but stupid ideas.

So far, the prototypes only include holding a cat strategically in front of some plain card for photo opportunities.

However Jed Ayitt, head of the research department  at Futile said the firm plan to invest in genetic fusion technologies to make the vampire pussys a reality & already  plan to binge watch popular 80’s movie ‘The Fly’ over the weekend for further research.

Should the project be a success (!)  Jed & partner Tara Bitt already have plans for further hybrid pets to bring joy to rich idiots & further disgrace on mankind, including:

The Polar-Puppy
Banana-Fish
Gerbil Lion
& The Panther Llama.

1. The Black Country Living Museum-Dudley

What a brilliant place to start! I myself have fond memories of going for days and nights out at the Black Country living museum.

There are plenty of activities for all the family and all ages.

Located just outside of Dudley town centre, the Black Country living museum is a step back in time.

Walk down the cobbled streets and take in the atmosphere of a era gone by, brimming with history and moments ready to be experienced.

The creative team have faithfully re-created genuine Victorian era shops, homes, businesses and even a school!

There are tours via a genuine tram, which goes through the entire museum and along the way, costumed characters will describe and bring to life what is going on around you.

There are also places to stop off for a bite to eat (the famous Hobbs’ fish & chip shop) and a place to drink (The Bottle & Glass Inn).

A lot of people also enjoy taking in the live demonstration of the forge work, really showing and bringing to life the hard work that people endured way back when in the Black Country.
There’s also the underground mine exploration, which shows the terrible conditions workers had to endure. Also, eagle eyed fans of the BBC’s ‘Peaky Blinders’, will notice that scenes from the show have been filmed on site at the museum.

I think the main thing people take away with them after a visit to the Black Country Living museum is how proud we are of the region and all of its accomplishments over the years and it’s obvious from talking to people that they feel the same way too.

Visit the Black Country Museum

2. The Red House Glass Cone-Stourbridge

With a heritage of over 200 years of glass making experience, the Red House Glass Cone is a must visit attraction if you’re interested in the art of glass blowing, making jewellery or viewing the museum of glass, then this is right up your street.

They also offer workshop courses on jewellery and pottery. Living within the heart of the Black Country, the Red House Glass Cone is an easy to reach attraction, in an attractive part of the region.

Visit The Red House Glass Cone

3. Leather Museum-Walsall

Walsall was the capital of leather manufacture in the United Kingdom. The museum houses exhibitions, with examples of the fine leather work they create as well as the history of leather making in the area. There are also work shops where you can see skilled workers create these pieces and even have a go yourself.

The museum is situated inside a renovated Victorian factory building that was one of the original factories from over 200 years ago. A trip to the leather museum is an experience and an educational trip in of itself.

Visit The Walsall Leather Museum

4. Sandwell Valley Country Park-West Bromwich

The 1,800 acre site is an area of local beauty within the Black Country. There’s plenty to do here, including bike trails, walking routes and bird watching.

There’s also the working Victorian farm that houses a number of rare breeds of animals, as well as the award winning tea rooms.

For the kids, there’s an adventure playground with climbing nets, a rope bridge, an 8m high tower with a slide, swings, a double zip wire, a suspension bridge, a play tractor and trailer and timber sculptures.

There is also an aerial rope adventure for bigger kids, suspended 13 meters off the ground; It has a climbing tower, a high wire winding around obstacles including wobbly logs, bridges and hanging vines and a high-speed zip wire for the trip back down to the ground.

All in all Sandwell Valley Country park is great fun for a family that like to embrace and reach out to great outdoors.

Visit Sandwell Valley Park

5. Zoo And Castle Grounds-Dudley

Picture Courtesy Of Express & Star

One of the most famous landmarks in the Black Country, Dudley Zoo and Castle has been a family favourite for many, many years. It has some of the rarest species of animals including, Tigers, Tapiers, Black bears, Camels, Bats and Kangaroos!

All housed within the grounds of the 11^th century castle, which can be seen for miles around.

One of the best ways to explore the castle is to climb up the main tower or take a ride in the country’s only working vintage chairlift and see the brilliant views for yourself.

As well as viewing the animals and all the brilliant conservation work they do at the zoo, they also offer people the experience to be a keeper for the day, preparing the feed, grooming the animals also helping with the animal’s natural behavior through educating play.

They also offer animal adoptions, which make a great gift for a loved one or friend, as well as the extensive gift shop, with something for everyone. This is again, another place that I have fond memories of, both growing up and re-visiting as an adult.

Visit Dudley Castle & Zoo

Why not leave a reply below with your favourite places to visit in the Black Country & give others some inspiration on how best to spend their time here:)

There is something extremely satisfying about pulling on a t-shirt which you know is going to make you laugh.
Why be a walking billboard, advertising whatever company you happened to spend too much money buying your clothes from when you can spread a little happiness in the world?
It is easy with a comical t-shirt.

What is the purpose of a branded t-shirt other than to attract attention?
The quality of the material and manufacture is generally no better if the shirt is from Primark or GAP, so the extra expense of the latter over the former is certainly not going on construction costs. Generally speaking, you will be paying for the logo.

What does that logo say about you?
There are several creative interpretations and initialisations of GAP, but the countless others available from countless other high street stores all transmit the same basic message:
‘here is a person who has slightly more money than sense and who is extremely conscious of what total strangers think of them.
They want you to know that they can afford to and choose to shop at high street stores.’

Most of these shirts pass on this message extremely quietly, though.
Branded clothing is now so common that its impact has been significantly negated.
The message being transmitted now is even more basic: ‘sheeple.’

Wearing a t-shirt with a message which is slightly more complex than a three letter word also used to describe a void or empty space between two objects, will be noticed.
Wearing one with a message which is witty and comical will get the people around you smiling.
A really good one will leave people in your wake laughing out loud.
This added impact even comes at a lower cost than the sheeple costume will and demonstrates your ability to think beyond the ancient concept that wearing something inexplicably expensive proves you are somehow better than everyone around you.
The smug sensation of demonstrating wealth is nothing compared to the satisfaction of spreading joy.

You can find a wide range of witty t-shirts online, from those featuring or further developing popular memes, to simple but ever enjoyable puns or plays on words.
They can vary in the crudeness of their humour, from those which might make you a little self-conscious to step outside wearing,
to those that are universally safe and child-friendly, including plenty in between which are just plain funny without causing offence.

If you can’t find the joke you’re really after, it is very easy to make one yourself.
You can have a go at our online custom t shirt designer here or email us an enquiry for making an idea for you..
Modifying and personalising can be particularly good for hen and stag parties – after all, it is very important that the lucky individual be very easy to spot!
However, there are plenty of other applications for a customised t-shirt.
In fact, do you really need a reason, other than to make someone laugh?

At Black Country T Shirts.com we have a wide range of humorous T shirts available and you can even design your own.
Take a look around our website to see some of the fun and downright crazy t shirts that are becoming so popular in this day and age!

The Black Country.
A Myth

I bet you have a questioning look in your eyes as you reading the heading.

Yes that’s right, a myth.

A myth can be defined as an invented story, concept or idea and that exactly describes what the Black Country is.

Ask someone from Walsall where the Black Country is and then ask the same question to an Albion fan from West Bromwich and their answers will more than likely conflict.

The reason behind this is because no one officially knows where the Black Country starts or ends, from either side or top to bottom.

This is the wonderful enigmatic mythology of the Black Country, passed down generation to generation through Chinese whispers and hearsay until we have what we have today. Consisting of the four boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Walsall, the Black Country has been continually evolving, with major transformation from the 1960’s to the present.

Each separate borough has its own distinctive towns, popularized by its industry, markets or even its local football team.

Separately there is a huge division with Wolverhampton and West Bromwich due to its very famous football teams, but what binds them together is the Black Country and its proud residents. A bind that’s as strong as the iron ore that formed the Working Man Statue that graces the Cinder Bank Island in Dudley.

The Borough of Dudley, South West of the Black Country, is nationally known for its famous castle and zoo and often referred to as the capital of the Black Country.

Walsall is the third borough of the Black Country and the area is closely associated with its leather saddles and buckle industry, with many buildings such as the Saddlers Centre retaining the local heritage by name.
Although modernization of Walsall seems to be an ongoing trend of the borough since the 1970’s and now the inclusion of the recent art gallery in 2000, Walsall has remained firmly grounded. It’s a very accessible borough, with the M6 motorway entwined into Walsall and its intricate bus station spreading the populous to other parts of the Black Country and further beyond.

The fourth but certainly not the least borough is Sandwell. This borough itself is the baby of the bunch, being formed in 1974 after the Warley borough was altered and by 1986 it was a unitary authority in its own right after the collapse of the West Midland County Council. Closely bordering Birmingham and its region, Sandwell’s industry has declined and like the three other boroughs its modernization would make it unrecognizable to the 1900’s.

The images in this blog are courtesy of Black Country Genealogy and Family History

CLICK HERE to see some of our funny gifts based around the Black Country culture.

We print on random things

At Black Country T Shirts we can print any slogan, logo or design onto T-Shirts, mugs, bags, canvas, banners, hoodies, and sweatshirts as long as there are no copyright issues or messages that are deemed extremely offensive. However, sometimes it’s the items to be printed that become somewhat interesting.

In the Black Country shop on Castle Street in Dudley we’ve had requests to print on random items such as shoes, ambulance vans, knickers, ties, drum kits, sheets of cloth, pillow cases, dog jackets, horse riding coats, motor cross tops, curtains, dressing gowns, suitcases, amplifiers but it was on the run up to Christmas 2012 when we had a very thoughtful and loving printing job which was to print onto a supplied patchwork quilt which was a special gift for someone.

The customer wanted several collages of their family members all over the quilt with messages of love surrounding these pictures. It was for a grandmother on her death bed and it was printed so that she could be close to her family and feel warm at her time of need. The story touched all the staff at TeeT Shirts and we made it our duty to do an excellent job for the grandmother to cherish in her last days. The quilt was left with a little space for future messages to be added at a later date.

Another random job we had recently was some supplied cloth for a talent show at the Withymoor Primary School. They needed a backdrop for the show which included very young comedians, musicians, dancers, singers and even a magic act for good measure.  It’s satisfying to be involved in such shows in the community; hopefully the finished banner gave the show a touch of professionalism.

In summary, we can print on almost anything whether it’s for the young or old so please don’t hesitate to call us on 01384 639392 or email us on admin@blackcountryshirts.com with your ideas and we can then advise on whether your supplied random item is printable.