Ines Bartl had never really set out to become a tour manager, but that’s exactly what happened. Born in East Germany, she bounced around several places growing up before settling back in her home country. It wasn’t until her teen years that she stumbled across bands like Hole, NOFX, & Rage Against the Machine, and her fate was sealed. She was hooked.
Her love of punk rock took her to Punk Rock Bowling, an annual outdoor festival that takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was there that she met Linh Le of Bad Cop/Bad Cop. The two hit it off, and as the band was gearing up to tour Europe they reached out and asked if she’d TM, and she said yes.
Aside from being a tour manager, Ines also runs TMom Merchandise, a European online store that houses bands such as Bad Cop/Bad Cop, MakeWar, The Last Gang, and The Venomous Pinks. An advocate for environmental and political issues, she preaches the need for fair, sustainable, and locally produced merchandise. Her core values are fair working conditions for everyone, fair wages, and environmentally friendly and resource saving productions and distribution. Her products are made from 100% organic cotton and are vegan and sustainable. Her mission is to teach other bands and companies to implement the same values into their merch to reduce their environmental footprint.
In this episode of Grrrl Talk, we sit down with Ines to discuss feminism, representation within the punk scene in the US vs. Europe, and how bands can implement fair and sustainable resources into their merch in an effort to help save the environment.
Check it out!
Follow Ines Bartl and TMom Merchandise on Instagram at @inesvondenbergen / @tmom.merch and TMom Merchandise on Facebook. You can purchase from her store here.
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