i.bondi - a waggish small business borne from life in lockdown in the neighbourhood
Davor & Paul on a roadtrip to the centre they made together pre-COVID back in 2019
i.bondi is a partnership between long-time buddies Davor Pavlovic & Paul McNeil. Both Davor, a Bondi resident and Paul the ex “Mayor of Bondi” who recently moved to Tasmania are fans of t-shirts, art and Bondi, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch when they decided to combine the three things together to create their Bondi-centric t-shirt biz.
During lockdown a lot of people were hitting the bottle a little more than usual trying to navigate, on what we can all agree was a particularly strange time. In Bondi, the beachside peeps decided it made perfect sense to balance one’s mental health by combining day drinking and exercising. This led to what was locally known as the “Margarita Trail”, a walk/stagger from one end of Bondi to the other stopping in at the multitude of cafe’s now offering coffee AND alcohol. Like a lot of things in Bondi, it was both absurd and really funny.
This wasn’t lost on Paul and Davor and from this came their first t-shirt “I survived the Bondi Margarita Trail" which was created as one part joke and one part opportunity to engage in a lockdown distraction. They sold the tees through the venues that were on the so called “trail” and were overwhelmed by the response! The sporty/tipsy people of the east loved them!
[Paul McNeil in i.bondi Muscle Beach tee]
When lockdown ended and social gatherings were allowed again, immediately the people of Bondi went ballistic and held unorganised parties that numbered in the thousands at the Northern end of Bondi on what’s locally known as the “Grassy Knoll”. Again, Paul and Davor, celebrating this freedom, created their second t-shirt, The “I Climbed the Grassy Knoll”.
Having a shared history of over 60 plus years in Bondi and a friendship that has run parallel throughout that time, the two decided to continue on the path they were on, just to see where it led them. They decided that the business should be called ibondi as that reflects their view of Bondi. It’s their Bondi, how they see it and how it’s been throughout the time they have lived there.
The M.O. is simple - make it fun.
“We are just doing our own thing and want to have fun doing it” says Davor also adding “there is no shortage of inspiration around here. Paul and I regularly have conversations where we just laugh our asses off at the hilarious things that people get up to and before you know it, we have another design.”
[Davor Pavlovic in i.bondi Death by Soft Sand tee with Bondi Baggy Tote]
Their T-shirts pay homage to everything Bondi, from local icons such as “The North Bondi Sewerage Treatment Plant” to the activities that people take part in daily, like soft sand running with their “Death by Soft Sand” T-shirt. They tip their hat at the lawlessness of being a Bondi surfer with the “Bondi Drop In” tee or simply highlight their favourite end of the beach with their “South Bondi “shirt. The “BOONDI” T-shirt is an acknowledgement to the traditional custodians of the land. Boondi being one of the Aboriginal names for Bondi, hence its name today. The profits of sales from this shirt are being donated to The Healing Foundation.
The T-shirts are bright and funny. “We’ve all been through enough dreary shit over the last couple of years, so we decided to make the tees bright.” says McNeil who is a well-recognised Australian (NZ too) artist who was one of the original MAMBO artists (the other Bondi T shirt label). The two mates are enjoying the organic growth of the brand and how well it has been received by both locals and visitors alike. “It’s not high fashion. It’s t-shirts. We are (new) Bondi locals with a sense of humour from this amazing place and we want to share that .”
