Chopsticks

Happy Black Friday everyone! Thanks to all those who placed orders in the shop earlier today, I always appreciate the love and support from my friends, family and fans etc. Big hugs and high fives!! All orders will ship out Monday.

I realize everyone is being bombarded on their social media and email accounts with various brands/companies advertising the greatest deals/specials/discounts all day, hell all weekend, pretty much this will be the normal until the holidays are over. Yes I am guilty as charged but hype is good to some extent, sure this debatable.

Ok so we have been down a similar road like this before, in case you are new then here are a couple old blog entries so please read STAY VICIOUS, GET BARRELED and GET BARRELED 2.  First and foremost I am an artist and I am a designer. This is why I started Cavotu and this why I still devote time/energy/money towards this passion project. Yes I am inspired by everything around me and I do have a lot heroes and idols in this BIG fashion game so this particular subject matter always makes me smile.

One of my SDSU advertising class professors (circa 2000) would often remind us that "everything has already been done" so we should always design with an open mind, never copy/plagiarize yet always create what our minds envision etc. I am not quoting him directly but the overall concept is there...and speaking of quotes this cliche phrase is a good one too:
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. To imitate someone is to pay the person a genuine compliment — often an unintended compliment. 

I have admired Johnny Cupcakes and his empire for quite some time now. I have blogged about him a few times and even attended one of his special lecture/talks at Whittier College about 9 years ago. I still remember this day when I took my son, Sterling to the LA shop on Melrose Ave on 9/28/2008. I definitely put some miles on that Baby Bjorn...ahh memories. Johnny is great, love his story and his passion/drive...although I must admit that I have never purchased any of his actual products.

So earlier today I came across the new Johnny Cupcakes shirt called Chopsticks while I was scrolling through my Instagram feed. 

Now in 2007, I was working on a very similar design, YES I said 2007...So ONE DECADE AGO I was designing "Chopsticks"- this idea of a hand holding chopsticks and picking up the Cavotu logo. I had several different rough draft ideas, as any designer knows that the process from start to end has many stages, it often feels endless. Chopsticks was one of those designs where I couldn't quite get it right. I tried everything from small centered design to large front graphic as well as large back graphic but none of the shirt placements worked in my eyes. I even had a soup bowl, a plate, a bowl of Cavotu logos, and several other ideas. My friend who was helping me screen print was always telling me that I need to be realistic with my shirt placements because this was not a cut n sew type of garment, I was printing on an actual tee shirt and so I had to factor in all the angles, seams and/or how the shirt drapes when being worn etc. I had worked on this Chopsticks design for several weeks, back and forth with this and that but I was never was satisfied. This was the last saved version on my computer- March 21, 2007! And I never touched the design again. I gave up on the idea...

I was shocked to see the Chopsticks design today for sale in the Johnny Cupcakes webstore. I had to do a double/triple take. I couldn't believe that the Chopsticks idea was finally a reality. I literally did an LOL at work today. I am just imagining the graphic design team and how they pitched the idea to Johnny and/or the story behind this shirt or maybe there is no story at all and the guy/girl came up with the design in 5 minutes- BAM- print it- on to the next idea.

The story behind the Cavotu Chopsticks design was based off a memory of mine when I was living in Singapore as an exchange student in 2001. It was one of my first days in the country when I was eating alone at a local hawker stand (their version of a food court) and an older Chinese man came over to my table and pointed to me (6'3 blond hair blue eye California boy) using my chopsticks and he smiled as he said "you are doing it RIGHT!" I just laughed and said thank you.

Life is all about timing. The Cavotu Chopsticks design was never meant to be for one reason or another. If anything this Johnny version has inspired me to dig into the archives of Cavotu artwork that never made the final cut. Maybe something will inspire an idea, a spark...always dreaming...always creating...and never give up!!!