Forward Collective » Paul Frank

Package from Kelly

Kevin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:05:01 +0000

I got a package from my good pal and fellow art/design nerd, Kelly Thacker. I met Kelly at Paul Frank years ago. She still works there and makes awesome stuff.

A couple weeks ago I was at Urban Outfitters and I came across a wallet Kelly had designed for the oh-so-cool Toddland (also an ex pf comrade). I was so excited to see her fun wallet that I took these pics in the store:

I’d mentioned to her I was in need of a laptop sleeve AND that I REALLY liked her wallet and she was nice enough to send me a huge package including both of those things and more!! I even got a note from one of my favorite people/artists ever, Parker Jacobs! You may not know this but most of my style is ripped off from… I mean, “influenced” by Parker.

There was also a sweet zine, put together by PF Art Director, Mike Smith, from an art show that Kelly was in that her co-worker Alex Funderburk curated. Here are a few of my favorite pages:

Mike Smith

Kelly Thacker

Alex Funderburk

Talented bunch eh? Thanks so much Kelly!! Way too kind of you.

sighting

Giselle — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:32:19 +0000

i recently went to the ridiculously great toy joy to buy an accordion for our buddy otis when i was greeted by a paul frank shirt that was designed by kevin years ago. glad they brought it back and so good to see it here in austin. if you haven’t already please visit toy joy. they have toys and gifts that will please everyone of all ages and they carry lots of classics. when you’re done shopping step next door to dhaba joy for some super delicious vegan treats such as oat scream and creative baked goods like lavender cookies among other delectables.

Stuffed Bear Love

Kevin — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:04:02 +0000

Recently MySpace featured a metal-core band from Orange County named Thrice on their home page. I sometimes stumble onto these bands’ MySpace profiles. If this happens I’ll check their pictures for any Paul Frank tees that I might have created. I do this because if you are in a successful hardcore band in Orange County then chances are you would visit PFI and leave with large amounts of oh-so-hip Paul Frank clothing and accessories. And sure enough there in one of Thrice’s photo albums was a picture of a band member wearing the home-wrecking bears tee. This is one of my favorite shirts I worked on during my 2-year PF stint. This was a collaborative piece done by my friends Ariel, Juan, and myself. I like this shirt because it was an underdog, it was never meant to print. It clung on through rounds of half approvals, revisions, confused reactions, and in the end it’s randomness and absurdity wasn’t enough to take it off the production list. From what I recall this shirt was not a “successful” shirt. MAYBE 300 sold, which is nothing when one monkey design might sell about 30,000 units in the same season.

I was so into this shirt that I got both colorways that were available.