A local T-shirt company is pulling the plug on a cheeky design after a cease and desist letter from Newfoundland Power.

"I would expect most Newfoundlanders to have a better sense of humour, but obviously they did not see the humour in it," said Kayla Hearn, co-owner of Hard Case Tees.

Launched just two weeks ago, Hard Case Tees makes T-shirts celebrating Newfoundland LGTBQ culture.

This shirt by Hard Case Tees features work by St. John's artist Walter Mackey. (Sarah Smellie/CBC)

"Our thing is basically incorporating modern-day logos with queer paraphernalia … things of the queer vernacular that we can tie in to Newfoundland," said Mark Adams, who owns the business with Hearn.

Last Monday, they released a mock-up of a "Newfoundland Power Bottom" shirt, which combines a play on the Newfoundland Power logo with a slang term for a type of gay male sexual partner.

Forty-eight hours later, said Adams, Newfoundland Power emailed him a cease and desist letter.

Newfoundland Power sent Mark Adams a cease and desist letter within 48 hours of the troublesome shirt being posted. (Submitted by Mark Adams)

"Starting this, I knew we would get cease and desist letters of that nature, but just not so fast," he said.

Adams and Hearn say they took all the pictures of the shirt down from their Facebook and Instagram pages and explained to Newfoundland Power that no shirts had been made or sold, since they work on a pre-order basis and the design was so new.

"But that's the [shirt] we've had the most requests for since it was pulled," said Hearn.

'If you're not causing a fuss, you're not doing it right.'

The pair said they aren't fazed by their experience with Newfoundland Power and that they'll continue to do their thing and respond accordingly to complaints.

"Home Depot didn't come for us," Hearn said, referring to their "Homo Depot" shirt design, which looks a lot like the logo for the North American retail giant.

They also have a shirt that plays with the logo for Caterpillar, the heavy equipment company, and an Outport Lesbian shirt, which throws back to a Codco sketch of the same name.

Outport Lesbian is a well-known sketch by former Newfoundland comedy troupe Codco. (Hard Case Tees/Facebook)

"[That's] my personal favourite, because I am one," said Hearn.

Adams said the name of the company comes from the Newfoundland expression for a troublesome kid, or someone who's "trying to cause a stir."

"We know that we're being a bit controversial, maybe pushing the envelope a bit," Hearn said. "And you know what? If you're not causing a fuss, you're not doing it right."

Newfoundland Power confirmed it "respectfully requested that Hard Case Tees refrain from the unauthorized use of Newfoundland Power's registered trademark," and that Hard Case Tees responded accordingly.