CYBER MONDAY – NoCo Fest Merch

The Novelty Collective Music & Arts Festival 2025 is over, but you can still get your hands on these awesome shirts & hoodies, designed by Pittsburgh illustrator Gloom & Glory. Black Friday is your last chance to get a discount when you purchase a shirt plus a hoodie, & as an added bonus, every order comes with this free holographic sticker!

All proceeds help fund our mission to make art accessible, to illuminate the value of art, & to empower artists to create in community. There will be limited quantities available, so place your order as soon as you can. 

If you are located in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, we will be in touch about when & where you will receive your order (local pickup or personal delivery). If you would like to receive your order by mail, please message [email protected] before you complete this form so we can work out the shipping details with you.

Keep reading to find out more about the story behind the design!

Tees:  Screen-printed on Bella + Canvas 3001 Unisex Jersey Short Sleeve Tee
•  Airlume combed & ring-spun cotton
•  Side-seamed for a flattering fit
•  Made under ethical working conditions in facilities certified by W.R.A.P.
•  Dyed primarily with bluesign® approved dyes, minimizing the use of hazardous chemicals & environmentally harmful substances

Hoodies:  Screen-printed on Gildan Heavy Blend Full-Zip Hoodie
•  50/50 Cotton-Polyester blended fleece fabric
•  Metal YKK zipper gives it a smooth
•  Rib-knit hem band & sleeve cuffs with double-needle stitching
•  Soft brushed fleece interior & true-to-size, standard fit

The Bronze Serpent

Inspiration for the design:

• John 3:14-15, Numbers 21:4-9, II Corinthians 5:21
• DOOM (1993) video game cover art, designed by Don Ivan Punchatz
• Various pen & ink fantasy illustrations, including works by artists Luke Eidenschink, Frank Frazzetta, & Larry Elmore

The story behind the artwork:

As the Israelites wandered through the desert following their Exodus from slavery in Egypt, they grew weary & impatient, constantly complaining about their circumstances despite the miraculous provision of God that ensured their survival. In their anger, the people cursed Yahweh & Moses for driving them into the wilderness to die & thus brought a curse down upon themselves. A plague of venomous serpents claimed the lives of many Israelites, & so they cried out to Moses for a reprieve. Moses brought the petition of his people before Yahweh, who then instructed Moses to craft a bronze serpent & set it on a pole, saying “…everyone who sees it, when he is bitten, shall live.”

Six centuries later, in the Gospel of John, Jesus prophesies to a Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus concerning His own imminent death by crucifixion & the coming Kingdom of God. He says, “as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

The world is full of evil, & we live under a curse. Suffering & disaster inevitably lead to death & destruction. There is no escape from the consequence of the sin that separates us from Yahweh & binds us from living in the fulness of our created purpose—except through one man, Jesus Christ. While the serpent still bites, & the venom still stings, we have only but to lift our eyes for salvation. God condescended from His throne to take on the weakness of our flesh, spill his own blood, & become the very embodiment of our curse so that we might live & not die. The Apostle Paul elegantly states that “for our sake, (God) made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”