Benjie Escobar put me in touch with PJ of Laundry, a creative studio with an impressive output including graphics, illustration, and motion graphics. The motion graphics they produce range from music videos to commercials to graphics for websites and much, much more. Their design/illustration clients include the likes of The Cool Kids, Nike, Stüssy, and The Hundreds. To learn more about Laundry, and what makes PJ tick, read on…

Where are you today? Today I am at the studio in sunny Hollywood, California. I hear a dude honking his lowrider and Michelle Obama just drove by to get a pinks hotdog before the Lakers game. I can hear a few ghetto birds zipping around.

What are you working on? We are starting on a Levi’s commercial this week, and I’m finishing up some bottle art for Hennessey. We just finished a commercial for Pac Sun that came out a bit less cheesy than you might imagine, and just wrapped up editing and animation on an Uffie (Ed Banger records) and Pharrell (N.E.R.D.) music video.

What does Laundry! do, how many of you are there, and what is your role there? Laundry is a design, animation and live action production studio. We work mostly with advertising agencies and other production companies on music videos, commercials, TV network graphics and sometimes clothes and print. Currently there are an average of about 8 of us, sometimes more depending on the workload. I am the co-owner and co-creative director with my studio partner Tony Liu. What that means is we both talk to clients on calls a lot, deal with boring shit like bills and what to spend and not spend company money on, while also still designing, animating, and directing projects.

Are you formally educated in a creative field? I studied under J. Abbott Miller of pentagram and his wife design intellectual Ellen Lupton at the Maryland Institute College of Art. I studied graphic design for print there, but modified it my last year to do motion graphics.

How did you get into motion graphics/video/animation/web design/design and illustration? My homey Scott Grubb in school turned me onto after effects and that was it. I had also played with 3D studio max in a furniture design class and really just got going on stuff moving. I liked computers as well so it was a natural progression interest wise. I saw the se7en film titles and was like that is what I wanted to do. I didn’t know how to articulate it then but I was attracted to how sound, music and moving image pieced together to create very specific and often dramatic emotion I wanted to create.

Once I graduated, I sent my portfolio to a bunch of places. My dream was to work at Imaginary Forces doing film titles, but they weren’t feeling it, but I did land a job at Fuel, which was a popular motion graphics company in the late 90s. I worked there a few years, as well as just about every other motion graphics company in LA at some point, and settled down again at another rad company called Stardust. Eventually the entrepreneurial bug got me, and I started Laundry! with my longtime homey.

When I got to LA, my tastes changed partly cuz of the guys I worked with. I found myself much more interested in 2D graphics and more painterly approaches, as well as pseudo-Japanese-inspired character works and hand-drawn stuff. The 2^nd day I got here I went to an art show of a friend of a friend, and that show happened to be Geoff McFetridge’s first art show ever. It turned my art life upside down inspirationally, straight up.

Of all those areas, do you have a particular favorite? I love designing stuff. I’m actually not the most technical person ever, though I know my way around 3D, after effects and compositing, but I simply like making designed images and illustration. I don’t fancy a single style, though I go through phases. Right now hand-drawn stuff seems to come to me pretty easily but I enjoy figuring out what’s most important for the job and working with the clients to figure that out visually. It’s trite, but I like solving the problem more than disseminating a specific style over and over.

What are some of your favorite recent projects, and why? I liked the Uffie video we did last year because we got the chance to try a bunch of different visual techniques in one video and I enjoyed the song even though it was old. Also, I really enjoyed making the Kaws/Kanye proposal animation last year, it was basically a fan piece I made for Kaws, to try and bring some of his characters, that were my absolute favorite, to life in motion. I had always pictured them moving but he just hasn’t taken it there, so I took the initiative. Though he seemed to like the piece a lot it never went any further but was a great process to deconstruct art into animation nonetheless.

Where do you find inspiration? What other artists in your field have been inspirational? I find inspiration everywhere. My roots nod to the legends of design like Paul Rand and especially Saul Bass, but with technology as advanced as it is now I find historic work a bit minimal. Progressive inspirations of late have been streetwear brands like The Hundreds, who I find extremely playful and good vibed (whattup Benjie!). My album art guilty pleasure inspiration has to be So-Me’s work for Ed Banger records. It feels comparable to liking the National Enquirer in how the work never changes but the humor and graphic quality of their albums is awesome. On the motion and film side I really like Anthony Mandler’s music videos, a lot of Spike Jonze and Chris Cunningham’s stuff still gets me going as well. I really like what Roman Gavras is doing with videos too, adding an anger against the system that feels very on point right now. Who else, Emory Douglas and a lot of the ‘70s labor art. The Seventh Letter dudes here in LA on the graf tip keep me pumped about street art stuff, I don’t like any one brand but high fashion designers I like for the extravagance and sort of the elitism esp. in this day in age where everything’s so accessible. Man, I could go on there is so much. I find inspiration on blogs, Hennessey and Ingalls bookstore in LA, and most importantly friends and well intentioned people. I cannot tell you how many times an ok project got pushed to a much farther place because everyone involved was cool and stoked.

You do quite a lot of illustration for fashion labels, have you considered launching your own clothing brand? You know, I followed that progression consciously in hopes of making my own brand one day. I did a tonnnnnn of design work for Stussy, and it ultimately became about emulating the Stussy brand, which got tiring, but the glamour of it all was extremely addicting especially for a classic brand like them. I did a shirt for The Hundreds, which was really fun, I found those dudes to be a bit more lighthearted and open-minded, but it never evolved a ton from there. I had the itch to build my own brand and started to with a site called pkin.tv designing a set of custom skateboards. What I discovered was that it is a shiiiiiiitload of work to do it right, it’s like a dog you have to keep on feeding for years before it would do anything. I found it difficult to juggle that and my Laundry responsibilities company-wise, and basically fell back to building Laundry just about 100% at this time.

So, what’s on the horizon for Laundry!? No plan, it just ends up stressing us out and putting even more pressure on our business that’s already a lot of work. We are getting our Floyd Merriweather on though, and just trying to knock out our competitors and win jobs with style and pizzazz, while cashing in and having as much creative fun as possible. We do go on kicks though, and our current one is to pursue a more photographic direction with our work. We also have been on this other kick to go completely open source with everything we do, showing every step of every project on our blog that we have time to post, and sharing everything we do with everyone. Beyond that we are keeping it simple and focusing on the projects that we will enjoy the most creatively. Everything else will fall into place after that I think.

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I got to know Ronnie a bit a couple of years back, when Digital Gravel helped launch his then-new brand The Shadow Conspiracy. Ronnie B has been a mainstay in the BMX industry for decades, and it seems like everything he touches turns into something far more solid than gold. Gold is for wimps, when compared to the products Ronnie’s stable of brands puts out. And “stable” is no exaggeration either; he helms The Shadow Conspiracy, Subrosa, Sputnic BMX, and Sparky’s Distribution. Read on to find out more about his impressive creative output, what motivates him, and how he manages to get it all done…

Where are you today? I am currently in Taichung, Taiwan for 3 weeks.

What are you working on? We are working on the 2011 product ranges for The Shadow Conspiracy, Sputnic BMX, and Subrosa.

What is your favorite recent design/product/project? I love making things and this is my first passion and my main reason for starting all of this. I have been that way since I was kid, I love dreaming of ideas and then waking and making them happen, this is so gratifying!

Where have you been finding inspiration lately? Old magazines, bygone eras, simpler times, the times that phones were phones, DYI ethos, B movie horror flicks art, and good old fashioned shit-talking with your crew!

How long have you been into BMX? I got into BMX when I was 10 years old, so 29 years and I am still as stoked today on BMX as I was the day I started!

And how long have you been involved in the BMX industry? 24 years since I started my first brand. That’s crazy, hells yeah!

The clothing industry seems to be hurting a bit these days, but from what I can see, BMX seems to be going strong? Well that happens when something is built on hype rather than substance. The one thing about BMX is no matter what happens to the industry, BMX is always going to be around in some form. I have seen BMX in the mid ’80s boom to the mid ’90s bust, and BMX has never been better and or more real than it is today. From the riding, the art, and the people involved, it’s raw, real and that’s why I think it has grown in popularity. Besides all that BMX is fun as fuck, the essence of just jumping a curb will never get old!

Can you give us a bit of history about how the The Shadow Conspiracy started and how is the brand different than others on the market? When we started Shadow it was at a time that most brands in BMX were corporate owned and bland.  I felt we had ideas that represented a group of riders world wide and we wanted to share this with them. At the time I was really influenced by Alfred Hitchcock’s style of movie-making where you show the knife and then the blood, but never the stabbing. This style always leads you on a journey and never spells out the obvious. This is what brought about the name and the graphic styling.

We wanted to create a brand that either you loved it or hated it. We didn’t want a project that everybody and their brother liked, as once that happens, you are two steps from your grave. We do things we want to and we do it for people that are liked-minded. Meaning we are not trying to take over the world, just do our own thing!

This art concept also lead us into our product design. As I have always believed the simplest path to the function is the correct path. Meaning don’t over do things, always start with the function and figure out how to make it clean and classic with your own twist. Our fans see our details, effort, and attention to quality and at the end of the day that is what matters to us. Overall, we are in our 8th year of Shadow and I believe that no matter what you are looking at from Shadow, being an ad, shirts, and or our hardgoods, you know it is Shadow. That is super important to us that we are always, doing us!

What is your role at The Shadow Conspiracy? I am the creative director.

There seems to be an equal emphasis on the clothing and on the parts, which is unusual…We have always felt that apparel is an important part of our brands, as it helps tell our story. Beyond that we are really into apparel. It’s super fun to make and I like geeking out on all the details with apparel and accessories. I personally really like designing accessories and bags.

How do you go about developing all your great original parts, like the patent pending Interlock chain? Pretty simple, find a need or problem and solve it. I wish it was that easy, ha ha. As for the the Interlock chain, Byron Anderson (our Solid Works designer) had the idea for it and he and I worked on it for almost a year and over the course, we found a way to create a chain with super strong tensile strength, while still maintaining a light weight design. So many people are copying our chain now, but none are nearly as strong as The Shadow Interlock chain. If you like your teeth, you better be running a Shadow chain, ha ha.

But in general, for product development coming up with ideas for parts is a cross between all the knowledge in our office and mix that with an amazing team that knows how they want their bikes to handle. We are pretty lucky to have such an amazing crew behind us that is always wanting to push the boundaries and improve our products!

You also run Subrosa? Can you explain what Subrosa is about and how the two brands are different? Ryan Sher and I started Subrosa 4 years ago. Ryan was and is a pro on Shadow, so when hanging out on road trips, we would always talk about wanting to do a project together. During a trip, in LA I brought up the idea of doing a bike brand. We joked and then the ball started rolling a few months later; we decided to go for it.

Subrosa is a really cool brand that is not afraid to be what and how it wants to be. Ryan Sher is the brand manger of Subrosa and has great taste in design and ideas. Subrosa has amazing quality and details and also it has a no holds barred design ethos. Pretty stoked as Ryan and I work together amazingly well and the Subrosa team is so down for Subrosa that it’s perfect in every way! This is the 4th year, I believe, of Subrosa so its just getting started and just wait till this year’s Interbike and see all the new products about to hit the streets!

And on top of all that you run Sparkys, a distribution company for your three brands and several others, how has this been key? We started Sparky’s back in the mid nineties so we had an outlet for any creative projects we wanted to work on.  We joke and call it an opportunity center rather than distribution center as all the brands or projects here pretty much have been born out of our friendships with riders. Currently we are distributing the following brands:  The Shadow Conspiracy, Subrosa, Mutiny Bikes, Sputnic BMX,  The Make,  Banned,  Trip,  Tempered BMX, and Bone Deth!

Do you play a major role at each of these four brands or have you handed some of the responsibility off to other people? My job is to be the captain of this ship, I have to be involved in every aspect of what goes on here at Sparky’s and our brands. But I have an amazing crew of people behind me taking charge of their part of Sparkys and our brands. It would be impossible to do what we do at this level without each of them!

Big shout outs to Mike Johnson, Greg Lanthorne, Dave Erecitano, Chip Riggs, Ryan Sher, John Paul Rogers, Ben Hucke, Byron Anderson, Mark Folz, Jerrod Fox, Brien Kielb, Billy Richardson, Eddie Osler, Tracie May Miller, Ashley Cunningham, Courtney Bonner, Mrb, Arnaud Mauler, and Austin Bonner!

Being the boss is not something I set out for in life. But as I joke all the time I wanted a custom designed lifestyle, and to have this you have to take charge. So being the boss is really just a means to my ends, which is the love of making stuff and having a crew like this makes it possible for me to live this dream and then share with everyone.

How on Earth do you find the time? I get to work around 6:30 am. I don’t mind it, I love what I do!

It seems like you’re always traveling for work, is that something you enjoy? Besides being able to make stuff, my second reason for starting all of this is to travel. When I was a kid, I didn’t really have any clue that you could travel and see foreign countries. Once I figured that out, it has been on! I lost count to how many countries I have been to.

Although just managing your four companies seems like a massive undertaking, do you have anything else new on the horizon? Always ha ha, I am a workholic, so there is always some thing new on the horizon. I just can’t speak of it right now…

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Above is probably best known for his epic international art tours, going from city to city, and country to country, leaving a slew of arrows, stencils, and murals in his wake. I got to work closely with him back in about 2003, when we developed and produced a small collection of T-shirts for Digital Gravel featuring his art. At the time he was mostly focused on his arrow murals and stencils, and since then he’s added a lot of messages into his work, along with some huge murals and a lot of conceptual stencil art. If you’ve been paying attention like I have, you’ve probably noticed that he’s kept things pretty low profile over the years. He rarely does interviews and generally chooses not to commodify his work other than the occasional print here and there. Indeed, having worked in the streets for 12 years, his show which opens this evening at White Walls Gallery in San Francisco is his first ever gallery exhibit, and it will feature his work alongside French stencil pioneer Blek le Rat. I managed to talk Above into taking a break from skating outside the gallery during the prep for the show, to answer some of my silly questions.

Where are you today? White walls gallery San Francisco, USA.

What are you working on? Landing this big 180 ollie outside in the street. Tenderloin heads keep getting in my way.

What inspired you to become an active street artist? The streets themselves and the raw energy involved in that.

How long have you been working as Above? 12 years.

Where have your travels taken you so far? New York City, Sao Paulo, Paris, London, Berlin, San Francisco, Mexico City, Lima, Peru, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Barcelona, Lisbon, Helsinki, Warsaw, Milan, Seattle, Los Angeles, Vienna, Oslo, Copenhagen, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Santiago Chile, Panama City, Guatemala, etc…

Initially it seemed like you were on a mission to cover the world with arrows, what’s your main objective these days? Same intensity but different applications, mediums, statements, colors, and assertion.

You’ve been arrested many time in the pursuit of getting your art up, does it ever make you wonder if it’s all worth it? Never! Going to jail for what you believe in is the most rewarding factor. Thats what life is about for me. Believing in something and standing up for it, regardless of law or adversity.

How does it feel to finally bring your artwork into a gallery from the streets? Great. I was dealt a wonderful hand and offer from Blek and WhiteWalls so I’m playing this one.

And there will be special gift packs for the first 150 people who ask for one? Yep, It’s a little token of gratitude for those that come out and check out the works. 150, signed and embossed + goodies inside.

What are some of the themes you’re exploring? Some of the themes I’m exploring are transitioning the outdoor wordplays to indoor tongue in cheek word plays on large wood panels. I love doing collage style pieces with different textures, patterns, and most of all colors. I love sharp lines and hard contrasts and its apparent in many of my wood wordplay pieces. Now that I have a captive indoor audience I can get witty with the wordplays where in the streets sometimes in different countries people don’t understand the joke or point. When I was in Lima, Peru, I painted “KNOW YOUR BLOWS THEN BLOW YOUR NOSE,” commenting on the insane amount of cocaine that is produced and exported in that country. People on the street had no idea what it meant so it got lost in translation. Now, indoor, especially here in America with the English language, I can do a similar piece and people can read between the lines and understand the commentary. Aside from the wordplays I did several in-situ stencils and arrow installations. I’m very happy with the works and look forward to working more on balancing 6-months outdoors doing street works and 6-months inside making indoor works.

Do you plan to do more gallery exhibits? No.

Will you still be traveling the world making public art too? That’s’ a silly question.

Which other artist’s work do you dig? Too many. Lots of great stuff going on now.

What’s next? Going out and landing that frontside 180 ollie in the street.

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Patrick Martinez is an exceedingly talented Angeleno whose creative skills encompass an astounding range of media including: his iconic paintings, inventive foam prints, T-shirt design, album covers, book layout, toy/figure design, and even neon signs. He’s a master at taking elements from street life and exploring them in his artwork. And while his work is heavily influenced by both hip-hop and graffiti, it refuses to be pigeon-holed by either of those labels. Patrick was kind enough to take the time to share some of his thoughts and his work with me for this interview.

Where are you today? I’m at my studio right outside of downtown Los Angeles in Lincoln Heights.

What are you working on? A couple pieces I’m finishing off. One is a mixed media piece on paper “Fuck a Patrick Martinez,” the other is a painting on acrylic plex laced with neon elements which is titled “fresh produce”. I’m also starting a new 36″ x 36″ painting on panel as well as starting a life size sculpture that I will cast into a finished statue, but that’s down the line.

You’re LA born & raised, right? Have you ever considered leaving? I was born and raised in Pasadena, which is like 10-15 minutes from downtown Los Angeles. You know, I have been a few places in the world but never felt like I wanted to trade in L.A. for any one of them, well Montego Bay is really nice…probably a cool place to live but nah, wouldn’t trade it in for L.A., this is my home.

You’re formally trained in illustration. Do you do a lot of illustration these days or does it just inform your fine art overall? I was trained in the field of illustration and I did do some illustration work for magazines when they were around, but the print game is almost dead. I know it sucks to say but it’s true, I love magazines! But the internet has taken over. The game has changed and you have to use your imagination to create work for yourself. I did those magazine illustrations just to keep my skills up as well as my money so I could eat, I knew however I didn’t want to be a “illustrator” I wanted to create art for myself and from the gut. Illustration isn’t something I do anymore but sometimes my work is used in that context. I just use my creative thinking and technical skill to tackle commercial work. I would have to say though, my fine art work does take up most of my time and efforts.

When did you decide to make a career out of your fine art? Good question. I knew art was something I wanted to do at a young age, but the idea of fine art as a career was something I decided on when I was doing graffiti. I was looking at guys like Basquiat and Keith Haring, I was blown away with the success of the greatness they where putting out. Personal expression, wow to make a living off of that…shit that would never get old. That’s what I was thinking at 17. On top of that, what drew me to fine art was the ability to grow with the art. I don’t think you can do that truly when working for a commercial company. I was tempted a few times to join up with big companies and produce work for them 9-5 because I was hurting for money.  The fine art road is a very tough road to take, lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

What themes are you exploring in your art? The day-to-day. Everything from food and diet in the city, to hustling to get by, all the way down to love.

Based on some of the themes you seem to touch upon, it seems like you’re very aware of social issues. Do you have solutions to the problems of the day? I like to observe, so I am aware of things. I don’t think I have all the solutions, but sometimes I like to bring to light issues that trouble me. Right off the top of my head I wouldn’t make graffiti a felony (Free Midzt!). I would send police officers to the local art museums as well as the local concert hall and make them attend community events where they would help out in more ways than just enforcing the law. I think this way they get a better sense of community and are more sensitive to what is going on around them.

Do you enjoy trying out new media and doing going above and beyond fine art? Sure. Some people say its all different. But to me its all creative you know? Its your aesthetic and creative vision that will shine through wether its an ad for a company or t-shirt. I think its all definitely connected. I have art directed: magazines, books, ad campaigns, music packaging, movie posters, 12″ records and on and on…

How much time do you spend on your fine art versus doing other work? I would say more than half of my day is dedicated to my fine art and the rest I can dedicate to other projects. It’s important for me to draw and paint everyday. It’s like visual exercising for me. I gotta do it or I feel guilty!

Why do you say that selling out is the new keeping it real? I think artists in the past would look at artists of today and question them, I could already hear them, “Why are working with Nike on a shoe? That’s selling out, you’re a sell out.” But if you are an artist and you are doing a collaboration project with Nike, that is looked at like a great thing right now. That was the thinking behind the piece. The game has changed, you don’t have to play basketball to have your own shoe design.

Do you bend the florescent lights for your neon signs yourself? No, I have help. My help comes from my great reliable neon bender Anna from Zepeda’s neon in Los Angeles. I design out all the signs and I work hands-on with her to get the piece just right.

How did you come up with the concept of releasing silkscreened foam as signed “prints”? The concept of the Go Getters “Break Yourself” foam hand piece came first.  Knowing that regular kitschy foam hands are mass produced for fans of certain teams I ran with that idea and thought to release the piece as a print so multiple people could get there hands on it. I did 5 colors, 50 each, for variety and to follow the idea of different teams. I think people got the idea, if not oh well?

Which artists have been influential on your career? Basquiat, Keith Haring, Wayne Thiebaud, Jeff Koons, Murakami, Lucian Freud, Espo, Barry Mcgee, Egon Schiele, Robbie Conal, Cartoon and many close artist friends.

Whose work do you enjoy lately? I enjoy checking out photos from my friend Estevan Oriol and his father Eriberto Oriol… they are real assets to Los Angeles Street Culture and art. I just checked out the homie, Retna’s show at New Image art in L.A., which was very cool, I was impressed because he told me he produced all the work at that show in a month. I also enjoy seeing the work of: Grotesk, Kofie, Greg B, Dzine, Rob Abeyta, David Choe and many more.

Do you still pay attention to graffiti and hip-hop? I enjoy listening to hip hop, but not as much as I used too. I do like listening to: J Dilla, Jay Electronica, Jay-Z any rappers name that starts with a “J”  …just kidding. But yes I like the old stuff too: EPMD, Rakim, N.W.A, Ice Cube, Outkast, Public enemy, DJ Quik but I also listen to lots of other music like Arcade Fire, Herb Alpert, Roger and Zapp, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd and the list goes on. In terms of graffiti, I love looking at it when I’m on the streets or driving around. It gets me pumped up. I love seeing Seventh Letter productions, Sh crew productions. Eye one has real clean letters and line work. El Mac and his great portraits around town are always a pleasure to check out also.

Any upcoming shows or projects you want to mention? Lots of stuff in the talks but nothing I can really talk about right now. I do have a group show coming up in August with Norihiko Sakatani, HipHop Chocolate, Jefferson Pinder, Dzine & myself. That show should be a great one, I am excited to be a part of it.

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One day way back  in March of 2007, the creative director of Imaginary Foundation showed up at Digital Gravel with a copy of T-world #02 in hand. I’d heard about the Australian T-shirt culture journal from friends in the industry and was glad to finally get my hands on a copy. I soon emailed Eddie, the founder and creative director of T-world, about getting some copies to sell here in the US. Not too long after that, he accepted some of my writing, letting me interview Mikhail Bortnik of Mishka fame, as well as Sydneysider graf writer DMOTE. Over the years, I’ve continued to work closely with Eddie and have had the opportunity to hang out with him a few times when his travels have brought him to Los Angeles. Now’s your turn to meet the man behind the definitive T-shirt magazine.

Where are you today? It’s about 8pm in Melbourne and I have just had dinner, after clocking off from my day job.

What are you working on? T-world #07. I am gathering content ideas for our luxury edition.

What is your favorite recent project? Our Sesame Street collaboration for sure. About 18 months ago I launched T-world at Boundless in New York. But I wanted to do something a little different in NY whilst I was there. As I was travelling from Melbourne (Australia) you have to make the most of your time overseas. So, a few months before I left I started hounding a local distributor/friend who had some connections at Sesame Workshop. I badly wanted to visit the set of Sesame Street. Who gets to do that? I was literally told it was impossible to do, but I persisted. I am a great believer that there’s always a way! And eventually there was. I pitched a concept I had for T-world to pay a visit and was put through to the licensing company here in Australia. That in turn, led to a lunch with some awesome decision makers at Sesame Workshop. Before I knew it, I was curating a T-shirt collaboration with Sesame Street for T-world. The concept was this: I wanted to choose 8 artists that were known for their T-shirt graphics and who so happen to be parents themselves to interview one of the 8 muppets we chose. Those muppets were all retro characters (so no Elmo) and the idea was based on a celebration to of Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary. The artists were given permission to ask any question they liked. T-world chose the muppets for the artists based on a existing connection. For example, Threadless founder Jake Nickell was chosen to collaborate with (Global) Grover because of Threadless’ travels around the world, and Melbourne designer, Beci Orpin of Tiny Mammoth teamed up with Sesame Street’s pachyderm, Snuffy…

I have also enjoyed getting Rick Klotz involved in a few of the issues. Getting to know Bobby via our 100 questions on The Hundreds several years ago was pretty cool too.

Where have you been finding inspiration lately? Actually I’m inspired by people. I like meeting people who have different views on the world. They don’t need to be designers at all. Everyone has an opinion. I listen to people and take from that what I believe is right. And I try to apply what I get inspired by to the concepts I create.

What prompted you to launch T-world? Easy. T-world is a combination of two great loves of mine; T-shirts (first and foremost) and magazines.

What is your role at T-world and what do you spend the majority of your time working on? I’m the Founder. My role is all-encompassing, but my real focus is gathering fresh content and art direction. It’s where my true passion lies. But someone has to sell the adverts, handle the distribution, do hundreds of emails and pay the bills. That’s me too.

So you’re an avid T-shirt collector? Since when? Absolutely. I have been an avid (initially unknowing) T-shirt collector since the end of the 1980’s. As much as I cringe about it now, my tee collection was a result from old school rave days. One day I was cleaning up my place when I realised, “Damn! I have a lot of tees.” My T-shirts were also brought up a lot in social conversations. Something just clicked and I was addicted.

Is T-world your first magazine? When my Dad died in 2004 I realised that life was brutally short. So I decided to fast forward what I wanted to do. T-world is the first magazine that I have published. But previous to this, I have art directed hundreds and hundreds of magazines across about thirty titles. T-world was never about making money, it was always about pouring something I was passionate about onto paper so people could understand the obsession. After the journal was launched, people often remarked that they wondered how I was going to keep a magazine about T-shirts going. And to me, that’s simply a no-brainer. Passion takes you a long way!

It seems you’ve traveled the world meeting popular designers and the people who run a wide array of clothing labels. How has that experience been and are there any highlights you care to recall for us? We have tracked down all sorts of people in the pursuit of originality. Meeting the likes of Lionel Vivier, Rick Klotz, Matt Revelli, Bobby Hundreds, Shepard Fairey, Brandy Flower, Luca Ionescu, jeffstaple – the list can go on forever, is in some way part of the mission. T-world has allowed doors to be opened and opportunities to happen. I am not sure the artists we have featured would all be regarded as popular though. A lot of artists are undiscovered or there’s an awareness of who they are, without knowing a whole lot about them. T-world finds out more. I really try to pursue artists who share the common passion of T-shirts and T-shirt graphics.

The magazine is expanding – are you finding that it’s taking up more and more of your time? Or is it getting easier? Magazines are not easy. At all. And if they are easy, then there’s something wrong. There’s a lot of mediocre magazines in the marketplace. Those that work the hardest are usually the ones that are the most niche. Take Sneaker Freaker for example. T-world owes a lot of thanks to a magazine like Sneaker Freaker. They paved the way for niche publications to be truly accepted by advertisers, distributors and in the end, readers!

Starting a business is often a labor of love, at the moment do you think the hard work has been paid off by the positive reception and growth of the magazine? Of course. I still haven’t made my money back from my original investment but I don’t care either. T-world has a long way to go but in just six issues, we’ve created a network and a community of like-minded people who have truly made the journey worthwhile.

For each issue there are also a series of events, can you talk about how those? All our launches are amazing events, but also a real pain in the arse. We work hard to launch T-world into selected cities across the globe. So far we have launched T in Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and London. We spoil our readers. If you end up going to a T-launch you usually end up sharing in approximately 1,000 tees give away throughout the night. We like to give tees away to promote the labels that you might not have heard of before, but we also feel it’s our way of giving back to our loyal readers.

Presumably your T-shirt collection has grown exponentially since launching T-world, what are some of your most prized tees? They are the ones that I receive from the artists themselves as limited edition or because they simply thought I’d like them. Paul Frank sent me a bunch of his Park La Fun tees recently and they were cool. I love Sixpack. And I am mad on Johnny Cupcakes especially their appreciation for details. Locally, I am a massive fan of Burn Crew. I have a lot of prized tees though.

Besides T-world, what else are you involved in? I have been a partner in a design agency based in Melbourne, with a second office in Sydney, for the last 13 years.

Anything on the horizon you want to mention? T-shirts. I ride the wave of T-shirts and I’m always looking. Always. Yes, there’s stuff on the horizon and it all entails my favourite canvas in the world. Stay tuned.

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Today I have an interview with the very talented Hannah Stouffer. I’ve featured her work here several times, mostly because I’m an unabashed fan of her stunning personal work, as well as the staggering amount of commercial work she produces. There is so much I like about her work, from the incredible colors, to the detailed illustrations of animals and skeletons, and she has the most amazing typography too. My friends at Foreign Family introduced me to her work a couple of years ago, and then they introduced me to her in person. I’m just glad she could find the time to answer my silly questions.

Where are you today? On my way there….

What are you working on? Reading a book on Magical Arts, keeping a sketchbook and going on a 3 month work sabbatical vision quest to get my head right.

What is your favorite recent exhibit/artwork/project? I love this life.

Where have you been finding inspiration lately? This collection of books I just bought is transforming my work in a whole new direction- I’m completely overwhelmed and engulfed by them. Mystic Places, Psychic Powers, Spirit Summonings, Ancient Wisdom and Secret Sects, Hauntings, Powers of Healing, Search for the Soul, Transformations, Time and Space, Magical Arts, Cosmic Connections, Mind over Matter, Mysterious Creatures, Visions and Prophecies, Occult Sciences, Phantom Encounters and Psychic Voyages.

When did you decide to pursue art as a career? Ever since I was a kid, I could never imagine doing anything else…

Are you formally trained? Actually no, I just kind of make it all up as I go along.

What are some of the themes you’re exploring in your personal work? Some things change, some stay the same, time changes things… I’ve been stuck on the phrase ‘Dust to Dust’ for the past 8 years or so and it keeps re-visiting me. I’m constantly facing dualities and contrasts in my work and have been playing more into fate and emotion, with the ever present themes and ideas of the cycles of existence.

What does Grand Array mean? The basis of it stems from this obsession I had with standard error, human error and accommodating that… Grand Array was actually a name I came up with to describe a gorgeously decadent dining spread, as it was originally intended as a name for a line of over-the-top ornate, baroque inspired house wares that I was interested in creating. Coming up with a nome de plume was never my intention, but my work kind of fell into place with it- now it just kind of makes sense.

I think your artwork is incredible, but I think it’s also true that you produce an astounding amount work for other brands and clients. It’s kind of overwhelming how much cool stuff you do for other people. How do you balance the two? Um… well, thank you. Its all part of the greater plan I guess, and I’ve found a way to make it work, and I’d love to start giving away all my recipes but I think I’m going to keep some of my secrets locked deep inside the vault. Hustle real hard.

Do you enjoy these projects, I’m guessing you do, based on the sheer volume of creative output? I love what I do, on every level. I find just as much satisfaction in the commercial work as I do from the personal- though its entirely different. The ability to create something that turns into a tangible product is so amazing I think- but when I have free creative reign to turn out an entire space or gallery- that is the height of my creative energy and exhaustion- but such a satisfying release.

What are some recent highlights of this kind of outside work that you’ve done? A music video for Ludacris, my own hightop Vans, a line of Nike 6.0 outerwear, a collection of erotica books with Chronicle, an artist series tequila bottle for Jose Cuervo, skis for Atomic and Line, North Face jackets, a handful of snowboards for Rome, GNU, wall graphics with Blik…. um…. I’m hoping to create some gear for lazer tag sometime in the new future, or at least start a band with all of these mini electric guitars that I’ve been collecting…

What’s next in your personal artwork career? Dragonology.

Anything exciting lined up you want to mention? I like to keep some secrets…

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This week I was lucky enough to spend an hour on the phone with George Lois, a veritable legend in the worlds of design, art direction, and advertising. A New Yorker of Greek heritage, in 1959 Lois  worked for the Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency for just a year before branching out to found one of his own (along with partners), and then another in 1967. Along the way, he became a legendary adman, coining the term, “The Big Idea.” He is very well known for his iconic series of covers for Esquire magazine, from 1962 to 1972, which were exhibited at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2008. This was followed by a book on the same topic, released this year. George has also provided logos for an impressive selection of companies, including Nickelodeon, MTV, Jiffy Lube, New York magazine, and many more. The list of design awards and accolades attached to his name is of gargantuan proportions, and he has 9 books to his name too. On top of that, he has no end of interesting stories to share…

Where are you today? Right now, I’m at my home. I usually work with my son at his studio.

What are you working on today? Working on scripts for some kind of a TV special that I’m trying to get produced. I can’t tell you what it is. I get involved in all kinds of strange things.

Yes, I’ve noticed! Where do you find inspiration? God…you know I did a book, a couple of years ago, called George Lois on His Creation of the Big Idea. It was a book I always wanted to do because when you talk to creative people they always say, “It came to me in a bolt of lightning.” I explain in the book, I have a hundred things that I’ve done on the right-hand page, and on the left-hand page, something in my DNA, or something in my scholarship, in my learning about the world, 5000 years of the history of art etcetera, something that somehow inspired what I did on the right-hand page. I could be involved in teaching a class of young people already in business, and I’d ask them, “How many of you have been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art this year?” No hands raised, none, not one hand raised. “How many of you have been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the last five years?” Two people raise their hands. I’m always astounded; there’s so much expression in the city of New York. The culture abounds here, left and right, anything you want; opera, theatre, ballet, movies, Off Broadway, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, etcetera. I’m astounded at the lack of interest and excitement, not just in graphic things for advertising and communications people, but in everything. So if you look at that book, “The Big Idea” comes from your knowledge and your involvement in understanding movies, and going to the movies, and your understanding of sports, and obviously politics. You can be a macho guy and you should still understand the ballet. You should just understand everything there is to understand.

So when you ask where I get my inspiration, specifically, when you talk about the Esquire covers I did, you know I have a new book which just came out which is basically a retrospective of everything at the Museum of Modern Art, and I explain that when I did my first Esquire cover, I did them on the weekends, I squeezed them in, you know? People ask how much experience I had doing covers, and I say I never did a magazine cover in my life. They ask, “How did you know what to do?” Every advertisement, every piece of design communication that you’re about to do, you understand that you have to immediately surprise and, in many times, shock people, and is controversial or thrilling and has to absolutely be memorable. It should be so memorable that if 20 years from now I should mention something, you should say, “Oh I know that, well.” You know? So when I was asked by Harold Hayes [Esquire editor ’from 61-‘73], to show him what kind of covers can be done, the first time I talked to him, he was creating the covers, and five editors sat down with a bunch of the designers and they’d sit there and have a meeting once a month on what topic they should use from the coming issue. Then they’d all go away and come back a couple of days later, and each person would come in with an idea or two, and they’d all listen to the ideas, and 4 or 5 would interest them and…I told him, that’s ridiculous! He said, “Well, how would you do it?” I said, “Obviously you don’t have anybody there who has the passion or understanding of how to do a great cover, because otherwise they’d be running up to you and saying, ‘Why don’t you do this?’ so go outside and find somebody.” And he said, “Like a freelancer? How could anybody possibly understand my magazine who doesn’t work here?” I said, “You get a great graphic designer, and someone who understands politics,” and who understands all the things I was talking about before; 5000 years of the history of art, and understands movies, someone who understands sports, and is literate etcetera. “Then you show what’s coming up in the magazine and let them pluck something out and do a cover for you.” And he thought I was crazy. I started to give him names and he said, “No, George, do me a favor, please, can you do me just one goddamn cover? Just one?” So I said, “Sure, ok, tell me what’s in your next issue.” He said, “The cover’s due next week so I’ll give you the one after that.” I said, “Give me what’s due next week.” I think it was a Thursday, and he needed it on Tuesday. I said, “I’ll deliver a cover to you on Tuesday. Tell me what’s in the issue.” So he went through a whole bunch of things, and he almost didn’t mention it but he said, “Oh, and also, we have a spread where I show a photograph of Sonny Liston.” He was challenging Floyd Patterson for the world heavyweight championship. Floyd was the champion and he was the favorite. So that’s going to be in the issue, a week or so before the fight. I went away, and he thought I was really crazy, and that Tuesday I delivered a cover, and I got a guy who was built like Floyd Patterson, and even though he was a big, big favorite, I’m a sports fan and I know more than the writers, and I knew Sonny Liston was gonna destroy him, I just knew it. So what I did is, I was predicting the fight, and I was predicting the champion would be knocked out, and not only knocked out, but left for dead. In boxing, if you lose, they leave you for dead, but it was also a metaphor for life, you know? In business, or in anything, if you lose, everybody forgets about you, and leaves you for dead.

So I sent him the cover, and we’re on the phone and he says, “George, I’ve never seen a cover like this in my life.” So I said, “Yeah, that’s my job.” And he says, “But George, you’re calling the fight, and you’re calling it contrary to what every sportswriter in America is saying. You’re crazy!” I said, “No, you’re crazy, because you’re gonna run it.” In any case, I found out years later, that he actually showed it to everybody, all his editors and the publishers, and everybody hated it. Everybody laughed at it. Everybody thought it was ridiculous. The only reason it ran was that he threatened to quit if they didn’t run it. When the issue came out, on the publisher’s page, one of the guys who had founded the magazine, a guy by the name of Arnold Gingrich, he literally said, “You see that cover? We had nothing to do with it. We don’t agree with it. A young designer by the name of George Lois did it, and we don’t think he’s right about it.” There was literally a disclaimer. And the issue came out, and as expected, everybody pooh-poohed it, and laughed at it. It was on TV, and sportswriters were holding it up and saying, “Look at this!” Anyway, the fight came on, Liston knocked him down four times in the first round and it was all over. Esquire had the biggest newsstand sales in the history of the magazine. And I found out later they were deeply, deeply in the red. I talked to the editors a few years later and they said they didn’t even expect a paycheck that week, that’s how badly the magazine was in trouble. Harold didn’t tell me any of this. He had started to create a really great magazine, and the covers didn’t let you know that. I was a hotshot art director in advertising and once a month there was a story in the New York Times about me, and that‘s what made him come to me and ask me if I had any advice on how to do a cover. People say to me, “How did you have the balls to do those incredible images?” I say, “It was easy for me to create them, Harold had the balls.”

At the time, in the ’60s, it was still the Jim Crow South. The racism was rampant. It was all over the country, but really down South. Many of the advertisers of Esquire magazine were Southern mills, and Southern accounts. One Christmas, Harold said, “You gotta give ‘em a goddamn Christmas cover!” It was a time of racial tension. I’m kind of a leftwing liberal, you know, so what I did is I got the meanest motherfucker in the world, Sonny Liston, and he was a mean, bad man, and I showed him as the first black Santa. If I had done the cover with the great Joe Louis, who even most whites revered back then, it still would have been a shock. But the real shock was showing the last man white America would want to see come down its chimney, and that was Sonny Liston. And I did that, and I sent it to Harold, and he almost dropped dead, he was so excited. I told him we were going to get into a lot of trouble, and lose a lot of advertisers, and you know what he said? “Yeaaaaah!” He understood what I was doing. He understood that I was just raising hell. I was saying on the covers, that this magazine is hot shit, this magazine is not your usual magazine, and that this magazine was on the edge of the culture, in fact, ahead of the culture. So he understood what I was doing and I understood what he was doing, because he was doing the same thing with his articles. But for the months before I did the covers, you didn’t know it. The only people who knew it were the people who were buying it and there were 480,000, but when I started doing the covers, we went to 2 million. They were deeply in the red when I first started doing the covers and 6-8 months later, they were doing a couple of million dollars a year, which was a big, big thing back then. It was gigantic. So it all comes back to your question about inspiration – it’s all built into my DNA, and my understanding of what’s going on in the world. I never had trouble getting an idea.

Did you ever have a hard time executing the ideas? Such as with The Champ posing as Saint Sebastian? It was a scream with Muhammad. What was great about Harold is, he agreed with me instinctively about politics. After Ali became a Muslim, and he was viciously attacked by everybody, and then he was hated because he refused to fight in that terrible goddamned war, 9 out 10 people in America hated him. I told Harold, “I want to do a cover defending Muhammad Ali, are you with me?” And he said, “Absolutely.” Most editors in America would have said “No way!” He asked me what I wanted to do and told him I wanted to go and talk to Floyd Patterson. What had happened a couple of months before, was Floyd, who was a good Christian, in the best sense of the word, he was caught up in the whole hysteria about Ali and he refused to call him Muhammad Ali. He kept calling him Cassius Clay, and then he really rubbed it in and said he was going to bring the championship back to America, meaning a Muslim should not be the champion of the world. Muhammad was furious, really, really furious. I never saw him mad at a fighter before. Yeah, he gave everybody a hard time with his funny stuff, but he was never that furious. What he did was, in the fight, he probably could have knocked him out in the 2^nd or 3^rd round but instead, when it looked like Floyd could go down, he backed off, going “What’s my name? What’s my name?” and kept him standing for 10 or 11 rounds and finally knocked him out. You know, Floyd was in the hospital for two months. I told Harold I wanted to go to Floyd Patterson and for him to come out in support of Muhammad Ali. Harold said, “Why would Floyd do that?” And I said, “Because I know him, and I know he’s a good guy.” I went to Floyd and talked him into it, without much argument. It was a tremendous controversy. Everybody was shocked because here was the guy who should have the biggest reason in the world to hate him, and he was coming out and defending him.

A year passed and I said to Harold, “I want to do another cover with Ali. I want to show him as Saint Sebastian, as a martyr.” Harold went, “Wowwwww!” Half the covers I did, everybody at Esquire hated them. They were all afraid of the advertisers. Harold and I knew that you don’t create a magazine for the advertisers, and you don’t create a magazine for the readers, you create for yourself. You create a magazine with the passion of what you want to talk about, and if you know what you’re talking about, and do a great job, you’ll get the readers. We were getting millions of young college readers, by the way, the brightest and the best. So anyway, I call up Muhammad, and they took away his title and his license, and he was appearing at colleges, making speeches, so I said, “I wanna shoot you as Saint Sebastian.” So he shows up, he dresses, he puts on his trunks and stuff. I found a painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I showed him the postcard of it, and I said, “Ok, Muhammad, I want you to pose like this.” And he’s looking at the postcard, and he said, “Hey George, this cat’s a Christian!” So I said, “No shit! He’s a saint! But he’s the symbol of martyrdom throughout the world. This image of you is going to be an image that talks about race, religion, and the Vietnam War all at once.” I told him it was gonna be an iconic shot. And he said, “But George, I’m Muslim, I can’t pose as a Christian.” I said, “Oh my God. Who can I talk to? Can I talk to Elijah Muhammad?” He was his leader in the Nation of Islam. He goes, “I guess so.” So he gives me the phone, and I do about 20 minutes with Elijah Muhammad. We’re talking theology, he asked what religion am I, I said Greek Orthodox, he asked if I was a believer and I told him I was, which is a lie, but that’s ok. Finally he said, “Young man, that sounds like a very exciting image, put Muhammad on,” and he told him to go ahead.

Incredible. Can we talk about your logo design? Oh sure. That’s funny, I’m working on a logo book right now. I haven’t gone to a publisher yet, but I’m gonna go to Assouline in another 2-3 months and have it produced for maybe a year from now or so. It’s funny because a lot of people don’t really understand how many logos I’ve done. I started to gather all my logos a month or so ago, and I think I’ve got 135 or so, so far, 135 that I really love. The book’s gonna be the Lois Logo.

A lot of your logos incorporate a hand drawn lettering into them… My logos are human. I don’t do abstractions. I do logos that when you look at them, you get it. One of my logos was a great chain of restaurants, a kind of a German hotdog place, called Zumzum, and the words are made to look like sausages, beautifully designed. You look at it, and you get it. There’s a logo for Jiffy Lube, where you drive in to a station and they change your oil, and what it is, it’s like a directional sign. My logos really let you know what it is. That doesn’t mean that the type isn’t beautiful. I showed a great designer friend of mine Tony Palladino, I showed him my book of logos, and he’s turning page by page, he’s falling down, he’s going “Wowwww.” Because you look at them, and you get it. Most logos, when you look at it, you don’t get it. You only get it if somebody spends $20. $30, $40, $200 million in advertising, then they become known.

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Dan Cassaro is a talented designer and typographer who operates under the moniker YoungJerks. I recently got in touch to see if he’d be interested in doing an interview, and if you read on, you’ll see he’s not a jerk at all, not even a little bit. Far from it. Aside from having an incredible portfolio, which features tons of impressive work for everyone from cable networks to beer breweries to newspapers & magazines, he also has a commercially available typeface, and a strong interest in music. His personal work is amazing. And to top it off, he certainly had some interesting things to say in response to my typically poor questions.

Where are you today? Brooklyn, NY.

What are you working on? Right now I’m working on something very ambitious and nerdy.  It’s a large scale map of New Jersey, based solely on Bruce Springsteen lyrics. Every bit of imagery and type on the map is a direct reference to a Bruce lyric or song. It’s becoming a bit of an obsession, though. I’ll have to cut myself off at some point. Hopefully before “Lucky Town.”

Where have you been finding inspiration lately? It’s hard not to find it when you live in the city. Everywhere. But I think for me it’s important to be surrounded by energetic people who want to make things. My roommate and I call it the “creative musk.” I have a lot of designer friends, but I also live with two writers and I’m dating a scientist. We’ve started meeting once a week and we take turns teaching a lesson in our respective fields or working on a group project. Lots of creative musk there.

When did you decide to pursue freelance design as a career? 22 maybe? Around the time I got tired of waiting tables. I had taken various fine arts undergraduate classes, but never really with any intent or purpose. Graphic design seemed to make sense: it was so open-ended. I liked how design touched everything: movies, books, television, music. For a non-committal person like myself it all seemed very appealing. Of course, I eventually fell in love with letters too.

So why “Young Jerks”? Well, it’s sort of a joke and sort of not. The Young Turks were Ottoman revolutionaries, so it’s kind of a bratty take on that – but I’d be lying if I said the Rod Stewart song didn’t have something to do with it too.

What are some of the themes you’re exploring in your work (or are you just meeting clients’ needs)? Well a huge part of being a designer for hire is solving problems, visual or otherwise. And all elitist artist statements aside, there is something very satisfying about that for me. But, as far as personal work, I’d say it’s about contextualizing our language in new ways through expressive typography. When you put words in print, you make them accountable for themselves. I’m interested in figuring out ways to make words and phrases powerful in uncommon ways. I’m also interested in having an exciting life outside my job so that my work remains fun, inspiring and challenging.

How much of that work is based in typography? All of it. I always try to start with good type. It’s much easier for me to make other things fall in line when I have the voice down pat. Trying to find a typeface to go with something pre-existing always seems a bit disingenuous. It’s like those wanted ads for bands who need lead singers. You’re not really a band if you don’t have a voice yet.

Ha! When it comes to typography specifically, do you have any influences or any typographers you admire? I just took a sign painting class with John Downer at Cooper Union. That was pretty humbling. He has been painting price tickets for 40 years and it definitely shows. I gained a new admiration for the sign painting trade when I realized how bad I was at it.

You offer the McCartney Typeface on your site – is that your first commercially available typeface? Yep. I’m working on another one now though. Slowly. I never really intended for McCartney to be sold or for it to even become an actual typeface. But there it is. I saw someone had used it for a CD cover and that was kind of cool.

Bit of a Beatles fan? Why McCartney? Yes! The Beatles are a special band in that they are always changing for the listener, like some sort of magic prism that shows you where you are at in your life. At least that has been the case for me. Right now I’m in a “Apple rooftop, cold wind blowing through your mutton chops, stomping out chugging 70′s rockers” type of space in my life. I think that speaks volumes. Just kidding. Sort of. But yes, I am the eternal McCartney apologist. People will forever give him a hard time for not hiding inside a beard full of pretension and LSD like some other band members, but those people will never know the joys of listening to Ram on a summer day. I like McCartney because his music is a vessel. It can confirm or expand your own experiences without telling you what those experiences mean or what they should have been.  You’re already in love- you just need a good tune to sing about it in, you know? That makes sense to me in relation to design. We already have the information and the idea. We just need to find a way to examine it or become engaged with it.

Anything on the horizon you want to mention? Hopefully health insurance.

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I met Matzu way back in 2003, at the dream so much 2 group show in Chinatown, NYC. His incredible work was displayed alongside that of Kenji Hirata, James Marshall (DALEK). and Sandro Tchikovani (MISK). The following year, jeffstaple exhibited his work on the walls of The Reed Space, while I was working there. At the time, his work seemed focused primarily on typography, and his distinctive Reluctant Warrior characters, who looked like stressed-out Japanese businessmen. Since then, it seems that Matzu’s profile and his career have only continued to skyrocket, and his art has evolved a lot along the way too. I’ve continued to be a huge fan. I recently got in touch to see if he had the time to answer some of my silly questions, and surprisingly, he did.

Where are you today? New York City.

How long have you been living in NYC now, and how’s it treating you? About 8 years now. It’s always nice to be at the hub of everything.

What are you working on? I just finished a solo show in SF at Frey Norris Gallery. I will be showing works in Hong Kong at Hong Kong international Art Fair. So I’m in production for that at the moment…

What is your favorite recent exhibit/artwork/project? The solo show I just had in SF.

Where have you been finding inspiration lately? From anything and everything, I get so excited to see brilliant works from the past, and new types of art from young artists who deliver unique visions I’ve never seen before, or perhaps just from casual conversation with close friends.

When did you decide to pursue art as a career? Not so sure when, but it wasn’t until I was around 26. Quite late…

Are you formally trained? Yes and no, my bachelor was management, and my graduate program was graphic design. I was never trained to become an artist, or how to paint. What makes my work unique and different is that I was never officially trained so my technique was all self-taught.

Can you talk about the HK and Dubai Art Fairs, and what those experiences were like? Was it your first time in Dubai? It’s really nice to have works exhibited to an audience who never had seen my work, especially when my work is rooted in a cultural base. It’s exciting to see the reaction and how people respond when the place it’s shown has distant connectivity.

It has been amazing seeing your art get more and more recognition, do you have aspirations of taking it anywhere you haven’t been to yet? Yes, of course, that is why I started making sculptures. I know how much a painting can reach, it can say so much but at the end of the day, it’s only in something hung on a wall. I am more interested in extending my vocabulary and speaking more physically. It’s a challenge to build something you’ve never made, or in a scale you’ve never worked under. And in many cases things dont always go as you predicted nor how you wanted to but it’s always a learning process and its important to keep doing new things.

Congratulations on your Medicom Be@rbrick; paintings aside, have you been working on/with any new media like this? Yes, very much, I will have a shoes and jacket release together with this Be@rbrick from NSW (Nike Sports Wear) with the same design. It was a bundle collaboration. I’ve previously relased signature Levi’s Denims, as well as collaboration with Japanese clothing brands like CLS, Cycle, Minotaur, Transport, etc…It’s an important factor for me to do this as an artist, as long as I can output my creativity. Since being Japanese, art in utility has had a great value in Japanese art history, whereas here in the US, it’s the opposite, the more an artist does corporate collaboration it seems they’re degrading their value as a fine art. I think completely differently. I think art applied into objects could still possess artistic value and approach many people…so it’s a exciting challenge for me.

Do you have anything on the horizon for 2010? Yes, there is, though things are still not confirmed to reveal at this time, but I will probably have a busy and creative year…

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Benjamin Escobar, perhaps better known as Benjie Hundreds, is an incredibly talented, largely self-taught designer who heads up the design department at The Hundreds. This means amongst other things, he’s responsible for dozens of graphics each season, as well as working closely with collaborative artists and guest designers of all sorts. I think this job would stress most people out tremendously, but Benjie is one of the nicest, most easy-going dudes I’ve ever worked with, and furthermore, he never seems to mind my mind-blowingly inane Adobe Illustrator questions, such as, “Why can’t I move this object?” To which Benjie says something like, “Because the layer is locked.” And then I say, “Oh.” I also have to thank Benjie for encouraging me to keep this blog moving when I was starting to lose interest a little bit late last year too. Ok, let’s get to it…

Where are you today? Staring off into space from the window of my loft in Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles.

What are you working on? I’m currently trying to figure out what I need to bring with me on an inspiration trip to San francisco. Art wise, I have some 1/2 done canvases, alot of 1/2 sketched concepts, and a whole lotta half baked ideas floating around.

Where have you been finding inspiration lately? Bad movies, thrift stores, random bits of signs/newspapers laying around, revisiting old music and books I had forgotten about. the last couple of things that sparked a good idea have been a mormon thrift store plastic bag, a neighborhood bum dragging a 6 foot long fiberglass cow across an alley, and buffalo wings, so…. I guess anywhere, really?

What is your favorite recent design/graphic/concept/project? The BAPE/Modernica fiberglass side chairs. I wish I could afford one!

When did you live in Japan? How was it? During my DJ hey-days, I was back and forth Southern California and Tokyo for about 4 years in the beginning of 2000. I was in West Tokyo, Hachioji, which is kind of the sticks to people who live smack dab in Shibuya/Harajuku area. I got to meet and work with tons of creative and talented people, eat amazing food, and (half) learn a beautiful language. It was a great life experience on so many levels, I really recommend traveling to anyone who has the means to.

Have you studied design formally? Never actually went to school for it. I had a few classes in illustration at Art Center Pasadena during high school, but that was about it. I learned everything on my own or bugging older people, and I cant count how many trial-by-fire scenarios I had while doing it. I would love to take a few classes once life slows down a bit, but it would be more hand illustration based than computer work for sure.

How did you get into the field? I’ve actually been drawing pretty much for as long as I can remember. As cliche’ as it sounds, it evolved with my involvement in music. My older brother would DJ at random techno/dance events and I would literally raid every flyer/magazine/mix tape he had. In elementary school I would “borrow” my brothers techno mix tapes and draw out horrible “rave” t shirt designs. Later on in high school,  couple of friends and I would sell techno mix tapes, and, out of necessity, we would draw our own covers and print them. Eventually it would lead to a whole lot of flyer design for stores and parties and such, which rolled into designing T shirts. T shirts turned into different projects, and here I am years later doing pretty much the same thing on a whole other evolutionary scale.

What do you do at The Hundreds? I am the Senior Graphic Designer at The Hundreds. i’ve been with the company for over 3 years and have really watched it grow into the monster it is now. It’s pretty much the best job I could ask for, and our design team is really top notch.

Can you tell us a bit about some of your other work? Outside of The Hundreds, I try to keep myself creatively busy with a few projects. I have my spray candles, which are custom made candles molded into the shape of a spray can that I mold myself. I’ve also recently finished building my screen printing set up to start doing small hand pulled runs of prints i’ve been dying to make. I also dabble in photography, but my girlfriend’s much better at it.

What are some of the other brands/companies you’ve worked with? Probably the only thing really in circulation would be things I’ve worked on for GCS. We have an extremely long history, they’re pretty much family to me.

When are you going to start selling those candles? It’s probably the worst thing to say business-wise, but Ive had more fun/luck giving them to friends than selling. I’m actually a bit scared to mass produce, I think it would suck the fun out of it. My kitchen would finally not have wax on it, though.

Have you started screen-printing at home yet? Not yet, but something is in the works!

Anything cool you’ve seen from another artist or designer lately? Anything from Mr.44, Laundry, 123 klan, Johnny Sampson, and a whole slew of others I cant name right now have blown my mind the last few months. Theyre making it real hard to keep up!

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