We Think Freely

What made you want to create your blog , Tee Shot Me :

Well I came up with the name ‘Tee Shot Me’ as a sort of satire on ‘Kanye Taught me’; I just made it my own. I created my blog because I wanted to be able to post freely without creating clutter on my portfolio website.

Explain photography’s significance in your daily life :

I actually think in burst of images. When people speak to me their words are automatically transferred into images in my brain. I see the world in photographs. So I couldn’t really say explain the significance of photography in my daily life because it surpasses that. It is my daily life.

Who or what inspires you the most :

I can’t give a who, but people in general inspire me. I tend to work off the feelings of others. There’s so many different emotions that people express in this world, those are what drive my creativity. Feelings are only temporary. They can change in the blink of an eye. As long as people continue to express them any way they know how, it will continue to inspire me.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years :

I honestly can’t even tell you were I see myself 1 year from now. If I had to be optimistic I’d say Creative Director for several different magazines. There isn’t many predominate female African-American photographers on the scene. I just hope I become one of them by then.

Anyone that you would like to photograph in the future :

Tracee Ellis Ross, Tyler The Creator, Annie Leibovitz, Patrick Demarchelier, Danny Brown, Allan Kingdom, She’s Ryan and a bunch of up & coming artist.

Give your interpretation of what a “photographer” is :

There’s amateur photographers and then there’s professional photographers. I feel like amateur photographers have no desire to learn the technical aspect of photography, they just want to capture moments in time that interest them. Professional photographers crave the knowledge of how to capture a moment in time and compose it in a way that it will appeal to more than just self. Professional photographers want the viewers to construct a story from their images, not just look and compliment.

You actually don’t use the traditional SLR cameras. Explain what it’s like to work with film vs digital :

I love shooting in film. I love the challenge of it and I love the textures. I have 27-35 frames rather than 525, so that means I have to capture the image I see correctly on the first try because my frames are limited and film is not cheap. It give’s minimal room for mistakes. With digital I tend to over shoot everything, which makes process of elimination harder. I also never do much post processing to my film work, maybe some slight color corrections. With my digital work I can be in post processing mode for hours.

Could you imagine your life w/o photography being a huge part of it :

Well photography is my life, so without it I’d probably be a depressed broke college student.

Any advice you want to give to aspiring photographers out there :

Don’t look at the work of others and allow yourself to become discouraged. No one’s vision is the same, just focus on perfecting yours.

http://sephkamikaze.blogspot.com/

Sep 4

Deeper Into Blogging w/ Seph Kamikaze

22
Joseph White a.k.a Seph Kamikaze
Washington, D.C
BLOGGER

Blog : http://sephkamikaze.blogspot.com/
Twitter : Seph_
Tumblr : http://bulletsanddrills.tumblr.com/
Lookbook : http://lookbook.nu/sephkamikaze

What is the name of your blog and how did you come up with it :
Bullets & Drills is my blog title. I was listening to a song and they didn’t exactly say that but I replaced hammers with bullets.

What do you tend to feature on your blog site :
I feature up and coming artist, designers, and my own personal style. Artist in the DMV area are very underground and need an extra push to get there material known to the world. I attend shows they have and talk more with them about what it is they’re doing; same with designers. My own personal style is just to show people the outfits I wear and cool ideas.

Where do you see yourself in five years :
In 5 years I see myself working for a magazine or as a editor for a hip arts and cultural website, living in Stockholm, Sweden.

Who or what influences you the most :
Movies influence. That may be weird but movies that show the geeks or the underdogs like “Scott Pilgrim vs The World” ,”Nick and Norahs Infinite Playlist”. Indie looking films. Like my perfect setting would be living in a underground Japan.

Where can people access your blog site and/or contact you directly :
People can see my website at http://sephkamikaze.blogspot.com/ I’m almost always on twitter @Seph_Rabbies

http://sephkamikaze.blogspot.com/

Explain the importance of bloggers and blogs in general to underground talents :
Artist remind me of the little engine that could as far as trying to make it big in their genre. It’s like they keep promoting and doing shows then us bloggers come into full force and we’re like yeah fuck it! This is how it is : get hip or go home!! Blogs are a voice for you to be heard and you’ll be surprised at who is into the same things that you like. For all artist I’m pretty sure someone has blogged about them to help them get a career push.

You can tell a lot about a person by the music they listen to . Give me five artists that you listen to daily :
I listen to so much music. The most recent woud be Santigold, Flat Bush Zombies, Joey Bada$$, VeraEmerge and the song “Masquerade” by Nicki Minaj is very inspirational.

http://sephkamikaze.blogspot.com/

Any advice you can give to those who might be interested in becoming a blogger :
My only advice to future bloggers is never let someone or thing stop you from doing what it is you wanna do. It’s your life, not theirs.

Aug 2

Deeper Into Urban Relaxation Brand

Website : Shop.TheUrbanRelaxation.com

Tumblr : http://theurbanrelaxation.com/

Twitter : @UrbanRelaxation

How does fashion inlfuence your daily life :

It influences me on my outfit selection for the day.

Talk about how much life has changed since you started Urban Relaxation :

I started to get well known across the world.

How did the name for the brand come about :

Got high & made it up one day.

Who or what are your biggest influences :

I’m influenced by moguls. Bosses, successful gangsters, people like that. . . . .

Any plans on expanding on the Urban Relaxation brand at all ?

Working On A Store Now.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years to come :

I see myself somewhere in Europe or Japan, running an Urban Relaxation store.

Shop.TheUrbanRelaxation.com

Where can people access your clothing :

How important is creativity to you as an individual :

It’s whatever to me, it’s something natural.

Any adivice that you can give to those budding lines one the rise right now similar to yourself :

Just Be Yourself & Try Something New.

May 4

Deeper Into Happen Clothing w/ VJ

“My name is VJ and I’m 20. I suffer from an identity crisis, being from California, living in Japan for a couple of years, and coming to San Francisco for college. The thought of Happen has been around for a couple of years, but it came into being January of 2012. I just wanna do what I wanna do and put on for my family and friends. Shoutout to Ontaskfamily. “

Website : Happenclothing.com

Twitter : @happenclothing

How does fashion influence your daily life :

Well, the way I see it, the shirt is the most fundamental piece of clothing you can have. It can be a canvas for whatever you choose or just a white tee for a simple look. As cheesy as it sounds, fashion is a means of self-expression.

Who are your biggest influences:

To be honest, I don’t have any specific influences. My family and friends keep me going. My teachers at art school have instilled different ways of thinking that apply to art, my work, and everything else I encounter. Everything around me influences me.

What is the hardest part about coming up with designs :

The most difficult part about coming up with designs is convincing yourself that you’re not the first to do it. What I’ve learned is that as hard as we try to be original, we can’t be, because it’s been done before. The most we can do is put a bit of ourselves into it.

Where can people access your products :

People can get access to my products through a number of ways. First and foremost, there’s happenclothing.com. All the links are there, the blog, lookbook, and the shop. I would say that the next best way is to get at me directly. A lot of times, I’ll be at events here in the bay area slanging my wares. I‘m a pretty accessible person in general.

How can people contact you directly :

People can contact me directly through twitter and the e-mail that’s provided on the site. Like I said, I’m accessible; I’m everywhere on the internet.

Are there any people you would like to collab or work with in the future :

I do have a few people in mind for collaboration. A few homies from school… I mean, I do go to an art school, I might as well. As far as anybody else, I’m open to working together, no guarantees though.

Where do you see yourself in five years :

In five years, I see myself living comfortably, doing what I want to do.

Any advice that you can give to aspiring designers out there :

My advice to aspiring designers also applies to what I said earlier about nothing being original. Keep on creating regardless of that. Also, take initiative. You can do whatever you want on your own, you can be the boss, you can wear all the hats. Finally, it’s important to put in work, make connections, and most importantly, BE OF VALUE.

How did you come up with the name for your brand :

The brand as whole as been something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. The name is just one word, Happen, which has several meanings, one is, to come into being. I thought this was appropriate because the project (I try to avoid brand), manifested through my initiative and even the impatience that I felt when the thought of waiting came to mind.

Apr 29

Deeper Into SHRWLTH ( Share Wealth ) w/ Calvin & Anton

SHRWLTH stands for Share Wealth. An idea, a movement, a way of life. This apparel company based in Brisbane consists of two young men: Calvin and Anton, from two different ends of the spectrum. A fusion of music, design, sport, sneakers and fashion cultivates the essence of their own personal style. It’s this diversity of interests and cultural differences that makes SHRWLTH so unique. Also donating a small portion of each tee sold to charity, SHRWLTH works to give as much back to the community as possible. Based around the quote from Pharrell Williams “Wealth is of the heart and mind, not of the pocket.”

For our first season we have eight limited edition designs in black and white. There are 25 tees of each design. Our sizes are small, medium, large and extra large. You can purchase our tees from shrwlth.bigcartel.com or message us at shrwlth@hotmail.com.

If you have any questions or need more information please feel free to contact us!

LINKS:

Facebook.com/shrwlth

Youtube.com/shrwlth

Shrwlth.tumblr.com

Shrwlth.bigcartel.com

How does fashion influence your daily life :

ANTON: I see fashion as a way to express my self and my personality. Depending on how I feel when I wake up is what I wear, I rarely set out clothes for the following day the night before. I think it’s important to be an individual and let your personality come through.

CAL: I guess it kind of decides the type of swagger you decide to use each day. In the morning your look creates your confidence and at night you dress to your mood. It definitely influences how you feel but your character determines how you wear your clothes.

Who are your biggest influences :

ANTON: Hip hop and sneaker culture influence me greatly. My homepage is a sneaker blog and I always look at recent flicks of artists like Pharrell, Game and T.I. to see what is going on. I think I fuse that with influences from my day-to-day life to create my own unique look.

CAL: Our biggest influences would have to be predominantly hip-hop stars. We really look up to people like Pharrell, Game and Kanye but I guess it is because they are all multi-talented. Yeah they started off in the music industry but they have all gone into other avenues through fashion and their own clothing lines.

What is the hardest part about coming up with designs :

ANTON: I think the hardest part about coming up with designs is differentiation from other labels. Calvin and I may think we have created something original and then a couple of days later we see a similar style on a blog, it’s such a saturated market and there is so much going on. We just try to do SHRWLTH and not be influenced by other brands or trends, so our own personal style is reflected through each design.

CAL: To me honestly I don’t find it difficult in coming up with designs. I’m constantly coming up with new ideas and combinations of images. The real challenge is being able to portray them on print and hoping they will be interesting enough for someone to want to buy.

Where can people access your products :

ANTON: You can find SHRWLTH at shrwlth.bigcartel.com and on Facebook. We are also stocked at Rabbit Hole Cafe in West End, Brisbane which is just a dope place to hang out.

CAL: We are based in Brisbane, Australia and we are stocked in a couple of places in West End and the Valley. The easiest place to find our tees is our online store – shrwlth.bigcartel.com – we ship locally and internationally.

How can people contact you directly :

ANTON: Anyone can contact us through facebook and email. I personally love getting messages from randoms asking what’s going on so don’t hesitate.

www.facebook.com/shrwlth

Shrwlth@hotmail.com

CAL: We can be contacted on our email – shrwlth@hotmail.com, through our blog – shrwlth.tumblr.com and our Facebook – facebook.com/shrwlth

Are there any people you would like to collab or work with in the future :

ANTON: We actually collab with some dope local businesses ATM – rabbit hole cafe, dragonfly nightclub, zigzag foundation, ambition family to name a few. It would be CRAZY to designs shirts for GOOD Music or Black Wall Street records. Or maybe even a Nike X SHRWLTH collab in the future!!

CAL: There are hundreds of people we would LOVE to work with in the future. Our brand being SHRWLTH (Share Wealth), our whole concept is collaboration. Cross promoting with as many businesses in as many industries as possible. We believe that it is the only true way of creating success in 2012 because the market is filled with other designers and clothing labels it becomes almost impossible to become big. Personally I would love to work with more local musicians and artists to help get our names out!

Where do you see yourself in five years :

ANTON: In 5 years I see myself sitting next to Calvin discussing our next season in a studio in NY maybe haha. Dream big!

CAL: Five years is a long time – which means plenty of long days doing hard work! But I see this brand being global. Having stores in Europe, America, Asia and the Pacific. Cross promoting and collaborating with businesses and industries all over the world and helping charities wherever we can. Plus living in a penthouse apartment throwing parties every second night!

Any advice that you can give to aspiring designers out there :

ANTON: Just be yourself, don’t try to copy something that’s been done before just do you and don’t worry about what people think. Love your haters. You made them!

CAL: WORK HARD – really focus and stay focused. If this is your dream and you are passionate about doing design then really work for it. I mean it’s cool to party and relax now and then but make sure you put in the hard yards because nothing is easy. And yeah be yourself don’t conform to what people think is ‘cool’

How did you come up with the name for your brand :

ANTON: Calvin came up with it, we where tossing ideas about using wealth and when he suggested it that was it. We knew that we where going to be SHRWLTH!

CAL: I can’t even remember the first other names we came up with haha. I was thinking money – green, cash, dollars, wealth – then being able to share it? One answer – SHARE WEALTH but I decided to remove the vowels to keep it interesting and abstract – SHRWLTH

Apr 28

Deeper Into MINT. w/ Ian

Name : Ian

Website : http://www.thatsmint.bigcartel.com

Brand : MINT.

How does fashion influence your daily life :

Fashion influences every aspect of my daily life. People may say they don’t care what people think of them, but let’s face it… we all secretly do. The way you dress is the way you present yourself. It’s the way everyone sees you, and first impressions mean everything!

Who are your biggest influences :

My biggest influence is definitely graphic designer, Chuck Anderson. I love his work.

What is the hardest part about coming up with designs :

The hardest part about coming up with designs is trying to make something that no one has seen before. Sure, I can make a design that looks flawless and amazing, but is it anything new?Probably not.

Where can people access your products :

People who wish to browse my products can check out my clothing website at http://www.thatsmint.bigcartel.com. If they want to purchase prints, they can go to http://www.deviantart.com/ianaubry. If they wanted to get a custom design, order a print, or have any other questions they can tweet me at @heyitsian or e-mail me at

ianraymond@live.com

How can people contact you directly :

Tweet me @heyitsian or e-mail me at ianraymond@live.com

Are there any people you would like to collab or work with in the future :

I would like to design merchandise for artists such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Kanye West, or DEV.

Where do you see yourself in five years :

I would love to see myself opening up an actual store, preferably in NYC or Miami!

Any advice for aspiring designers out there :

Make sure you’re completely confident with your designs. If you’re not confident with it, how are people going to trust you ?

How did you come up with the name for your brand :

I came up with the name “Mint” because it just sounds refreshing. Sorta like something new, a refreshing clothing line with tees you actually like!

Apr 2

Deeper Into Burger And Friends w/ Autin Tinius

Austin Tinius

Austin, TX

“For some seriously succulent style, look no further than Burger and Friends, the Austin, Texas-based t-shirt and accessories line smothered in mouth-watering colors and neo pop-inspired illustrations – the eye candy to please any palette. Sci-fi meets 80s fab meets fast food? It works. The common theme running through sexy space-themed wallets, fry-shaped cardholders, and glam-geek wristbands with zipper pouches for loose change is refreshingly simple: fun. Founded in 2006 by designer Austin Tinius, the kooky collection continues to satiate every fashionista’s childhood craving for a carb-loaded couture confections. “

Words by Jeremy Allen

Website : burgerandfriends.com

boguspublishing.com

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burger-Friends/126392562505

Instagram : @austinius

www.etsy.com/shop/MostAdventurous (sister vintage store)

How does fashion influence your daily life :

Fashion tip: if you get a stain on your shirt, flip it inside out and it’s good for another wear!

Who are your biggest influences :

Batman, Pizza Hut

What is the hardest part about coming up with designs :

Coming up with puns is hard work. I let my team of “Pun-ishers” come up with the t-shirt slogans: Jane Ortiz & Robert Salinas.

Where can people access your products :

Online at burgerandfriends.com, or tell your local retailer to stock BAF

austin@burgerandfriends.com

How can people contact you directly :

or on instagram @austinius

Are there any people you would like to collab or work with in the future :

I‘d love to get a deal with Pizza Hut. Say what you will about P.H., but their pizzas rule. When Papa John’s got rid of their square pan pizzas I wrote them off. And Domino’s got way too garlicy. Covering your crust in garlic doesn’t make it a good pizza Domino’s. I mean, c’mon.

Where do you see yourself in five years :

Texas forever, Street.

Any advice that you can give to aspiring designers out there :

More so to screen-printers: invest in quality equipment. You’ll pay it off in no time. Steer clear of home made screen presses on ebay. I know from experience.

How did you come up with the name for your brand :

Hamburgers seemed like a good idea back in 2006. Everyone still calls it burger and fries, which I’m fine with. But doesn’t help me any when you tag your tumblr post #burgerandfries