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Sewing at first, was very frustrating to say the least. Forgetting to put the ‘foot’ down, then realizing after you’ve sewn a long line your f*ucked. BUT, practice, practice, f*ck up, practice…and you’ve begun to master an awesome tool. I have been experimenting with my sewing machine’s settings, different stitch patterns, lengths etc. I am really digging the the closer stitch zig-zag pattern. I am now using that stitch to sew on my BKNY labels as well as some funky add-ons (pictured above).

This shirt was made for my buddy Headhoods (happy bday cvg!). I’m thinking I may do this on all the Scissors tees, but we’ll see, I may also just wait for a new BKNY design to pimp.
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Well, I decided to get crafty with an old raggety Nike t-shirt, a soft blank t-tshirt, a sewing machine and a couple of labels. I have a couple of un-wearable t-shirts I want to try and creatively reclaim, Mr. Nike was first up on the chopping block. My sewing isn’t perfect, but it was fun (and frustrating!) piecing together a one-of-a-kind garment all by hand. I can’t wait to rock my new creation around town.
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→BUY IT HERE


→BUY IT HERE
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As you can see from above, BKNY’s new scissors design is hand-printed by me at FLEAHEART’s studio. I can safely say I didn’t blow anything up or mess up any blanks, all-in-all a good first print run.

Also, (only fair) I made sure to print on a blank that I know the ladies dig (AA’s Tri-Blend Deep-V). Both designs came out great and interact well with the V’ed necks of both shirts.
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Well, it finally happened. With the iconic Mac mail ‘ding’, BKNY received its first order! Pictures above are of my poster prep for mailing. Hadn’t really thought about mailing labels, but I quickly threw one together, a little ink-jet hand stamp combo. They look great on the kraft tubes.

I have a feeling the word spread after giving a wayfarer print set to a certain bday girl (thanks Lauren!). But anyhow, it’s a great feeling knowing that someone will be enjoying my art on their apt walls. Not to mention, BKNY is on the map (as I tape up a dollar to my bedroom wall).

As for updates, I have been really concentrating on photography for my products. Can’t say how many times I have been switching pictures around but I’m getting more efficient as I become more familiar with my camera. I’m planning on printing (yes you heard it right, me and my hands!) my new design Friday. So expect it to be up for sale this weekend. I also came up with a real dope pillow case idea while napping (go figure). I’m thinking that will be my next thing to move on once my new shirts are up and running…one thing at a time.
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Filmed by Chris
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Yesterday at my ‘internship’, the guys at Fleaheart let me jump on the 4-color and print some tees. I’ve printed before, but am still a beginner in terms of experience. I did pretty well (I only messed up one shirt…;). Eventually (what I’m interning for), I will be able to print my own stuff at the studio (when the shop is closed). Reclaiming, coating, paint mixing, heater temps, pffft! It’s really only printing and burning I need to work on (being more consistent with squeegee pressure and figuring out this whole registration from light table to press thing).

All in all, my internship has been awesome. I love hands-on learning. It’s only a mtter of time until I have access to a fully operational silkscreen shop (look out world, let the experimenting begin), even if it means being a shop hand on Mondays.
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A big thanks goes out to my good buddy Erica for letting me borrow her Singer sewing machine. From the photos above you can see that things at BKNY are starting to come together. It started with sewing my labels on my pillow cases (ugh, that was a learning experience), but now I am sewing like a semi-pro (if I don’t forget to put the foot down…).

I plan on finishing all of my shirts this weekend (cases are done!) so I can start to really think about how I want to market my products (besides on Facebook). I have a couple of blogs I am going to send stuff, as well as some t-shirt sites as well.

Going forward, I have a really tight design currently in the works. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet, but it’s going to be printed on v-necks and deep-vs (for chicks!). Be excited ladies, I am keeping you in mind on this one.
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Above is a picture I snapped of Miso at Transmitter Park the other day. My new (refurbished) Canon EOS Rebel XS has become a permanent fixture hanging from my neck. I have been taking it everywhere I go trying to familiarize myself with its settings etc. Having a nice digital camera is totally worth it. I was a dummy for not having bought one sooner.

This morning (after realizing I needed a Camera RAW plugin for CS3), I finally had the chance to shoot and process RAW pictures. Above is the picture I am now using as my background on BKNY’s shop homepage (check it!). To put it simply, shooting RAW is the sh*t! Levels, cures, saturation…pffft! Using Camera Raw is ridiculous.

Lastly (above), my BKNY labels have finally arrived! The people over at Stadri hooked it up. They came out great! All BKNY products going forward will have one of these sewn in/on them.

Along with learning the in and outs of my camera, I am also going to have to learn how to sew. Luckily for me, my blank wholesaler is able to re-label for me so I will just be left with the pillowcases and anything other than shirts.
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Woke up this morning to a really exciting email from Threadless about my competition design winner, Pirate Infested Waters. At first I thought it was about re-printing my design (something I had been hoping for for the longest time because of the monetary reward), but this email was even better. Threadless is now partnering with Dell to create products like laptops with Threadless designs on them (woah!). The email stated that my design is being considered be chosen and if in fact it is, I win another monetary reward!

This all from an original design my old job in CA thought was dumb and didn’t want to produce…pffft! This (hopefully) will mark the 3rd usage of my graphic. Even though its sold out currently, my design was for sale on Threadless (vote to get it reprinted!). -↓-

Even though the monetary reward was nice, the experience of winning on Threadless was awesome due mostly to the degree of difficulty (especially nowadays). It didn’t end their. Right when I was coming down from that high, I got an email from them saying that Blik wanted to include my design as part of their Threadless wall graphic series (buy it for your room!). Again…I got paid, but more than that (especially if you look at their site now), to be considered amongst the ‘awesomeness’ they are producing felt really good. -↓-

There you have it. The full evolution of one simple idea I never lost faith in. Cross your fingers for me!
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I have said this before, sell sheets are always the coolest projects to work on because you basically get to do whatever you want! Pretty much angles, bright colors, multiplied gradients, grids and knock out copy are all a few of my favorite things.

Hey Yanina, your old sell sheet just got ’served’.
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Movie trailer

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5 minute sneak peak!

Banksy’s film “Exit Through The Gift Shop” premieres in NYC this Friday (4/16) at Sunshine Cinema and I couldn’t be more excited. After reading this, I straight-away bought 2 tickets to Friday’s show SOLD OUT show. It’s going to be awesome. Not to mention, if it’s anything like his L.A. premiere, I’m pretty much guaranteed to see my first Banksy street piece (I have seen his gallery stuff).

The messages of Banksy’s work is what I dig the most. I love street art, but could never justify scribbling your ugly tag on random walls…for me its all about the visual impact (and for artist like Banksy, the message). I still have a ways to go ;).
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