The Dutch brand The Loose Company presents a special mini collection, in collaboration with the famous Czech evening club Pat a Mat. Now you can also find it in our POPNAME store. The Loose Company is a traditional DIY skater-founded and operating brand from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The man behind the creation of this brand is the famous illustrator Thijmen Brinkman. The idea and the first pieces were born in his garage. To be more precise, it all started in 2016, when Thijmen attended the Willem de Kooning Art Academy in Rotterdam. Inspired by art and skateboarding, he began creating the first pieces, which he sold from the trunk of his car in local skateparks. He himself says about the collection:
" Pat & Mat was one of the first things that came to mind when we were looking for a parallel collaboration. A show about two friends who just seem to have put all the obstacles in their lives behind them and are focused on solving the problem at hand. Armed only with their endless positive attitude and boundless creativity. They embody the "DIY - Do It Yourself" mentality more than anyone else. Their way of thinking reminds me of skateboarding and describes the true nature of skateboarding better than any skate photo or video."
The pilot episode for the series …and that's it!, was created in 1976. Lubomír Beneš, an artist and director, was inspired by his jokes, which he invented and drew for the magazine, with two handymen, Mr. Ouholíček and Mr. Sedlec. He invited dramaturge Jiří Kubíček and artist Vladimír Jiránek to collaborate and together they created the film "Kuťáci".
Since 1979, the creators have been filming the series “…and it’s true!” in Short Film Prague for Slovak Television Bratislava. In the series “…and it’s true!”, the dogs changed their shirts and received a radio and a beanie.
After a short break, filming of the series "...and that's it!" continued in 1985 directly for Krátký film Praha. At that time, the handymen were given their names Pat and Mat.
When searching for names, Lubomír Beneš was inspired by the wishes of children with whom he discussed his films in the programs - The Magic World of Pictures and The Alphabet of Animated Film. Children asked for the names of their favorite heroes. Children can now substitute names such as Patlal and Matlal, or expressions they know from chess. Pat and Mat sometimes play really interesting chess games, figuratively speaking.
The main inspiration for their stories is manual clumsiness. However, it is not only fun that is important, but also Pat and Mat's optimistic attitude towards life. Even when all is lost, they never give up and in the end they are always satisfied with their solution. Which they also show us with the famous gesture "...and that's it!"
