Born out from a personal hobby of collecting football shirts, the Book of Besiktas Shirts project had a personal touch, since it is related to the club that I am a fan of. My initial idea was to engage in a fashion exhibit and a mini booklet that would have accompanied such an event. Several different, and unique ideas followed one another, and the final decision of designing, funding and publishing of this book turned into a reality.
Although there was the presence of third parties for assistance, guidance and for informative purposes, the total process of its design execution, authorship, photography taking as well as image editing, and every other production details such as the die-cuts on the dust jacket was performed meticulously by me.
One of the most important aspects of this project was not the gathering of its initial printing cost by a crowdfunding initiation. It was the profits from all sales and pre-orders that were given to a charity fund that benefits kids with leukemia. Therefore, this was a project that I am very proud to this date, and I believe it may be the one thing that I did in my life that I am sure that made a difference. Even if it did for a single child.
After publishing a limited series of 2000 copies, the official club, Besiktas J. K. of Turkey, was interested in the book for their fan store, "Kartal Yuvası" -literally meaning Eagle's Nest-, and I have given the rights of the book to my beloved club. Towards the end of 2015, It was published in Turkey and a second run was also performed within a couple of months, which showed its success. To this date, there are only few other clubs in the world that has such a unique collection of history compiled in a printed book.
