We Want to Buy Everything From Amberella’s Collaboration With This Popular Yoga Brand
The local mixed-media artist has partnered with Spiritual Gangster to take her empowering heart motif from the streets to your new favorite shirt.
If you’ve ever walked the streets of Philly (and we all have — how do people find a parking spot in this town?!), you’ve probably come across a large black heart decal with an inspiring phrase pasted on a wall. There’s “You Are Resilient” at the Reading Viaduct, “Be Brave” outside the Betsy Ross House, “You Are Beautiful” at Broad and Locust streets, and more.
These uplifting takes on conversation hearts are the brainchildren of Amberella, née Amber Lynn Thompson, a street artist whose “Goth Hearts” and “Power Hearts” series have captivated both locals and the Instagram world. (She even helped a guy propose!) But they aren’t just cute phrases designed for the ‘gram. “Basically every heart that’s ever hit the streets is coming from something that I’m going through,” Amberella says. “When I put one up that said, ‘You Are Resilient,’ it was because I was getting bullied so bad online that I was in therapy three days a week. Of course they’re really universal messages, so people would have these moments when they needed that hope or love and they got very popular quickly.”
Now we can add another fan to that list: Spiritual Gangster, a yoga-inspired clothing line that’s based in LA. Over the past year or so, the celeb-approved brand has worked with Amberella to design and produce three styles — a tank, a T-shirt, and a hoodie — featuring the artist’s trademark hearts. The message this time? “UR ALL U NEED.” “Getting to have that on a shirt with them is really special because I feel like my heart is on someone else’s heart,” Amberella says. “It sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s true.”
Of course Spiritual Gangster released the capsule collection on January 29, just in time for Valentine’s Day when you might need a little extra self-love. Prices range from $48 to $98, and you can buy the pieces here (tank), here (sweatshirt), and here (the T-shirt — our favorite!).