Buy a T-Shirt, Help Eastern Market

(By Justin Brown)

Eastern Market burned early Monday. Later that day, Capitol Hill residents Linsey Silver and Justin Brown each designed a limited line of T-shirts to benefit the Capitol Hill Community Foundation's "Eastern Market: Keep It Going" fund, which will help relocate merchants into temporary spaces. (Silver's is pictured on this section's cover.)

"I wanted to have a reference to the grand architectural design, so I found that wonderful image of the window and just started sketching," says Silver, 27, a graphic design professor at American University.

Brown, 28, is a firefighter with Engine 18, Truck Company 7, about two blocks from Eastern Market. His shirt, a variation on those worn by the firefighters, features the text above on the back and an "I SUPPORT EASTERN MARKET" logo on the front.

"Nobody likes it when there's a fire, but I think this is something the people in the firehouse felt personally affected by," he says. "We have a real personal interest in making sure the building is restored and the merchants are taken care of."

Silver's shirts are being sold for $20 at stores in the market area (Maggie and Lola, Dawn Price Baby, Groovy dc and Marvelous Market) and at http://www.rebuildeasternmarket.net. Brown's shirts will be sold for $15 at the firehouse (414 Eighth St. SE) and today starting at 9 a.m. during Market Day at Eastern Market.

-- Dan Zak