Feature
Not Quite 20 Questions with Someone from Someone Clothing
Someone Clothing is a Portland-based company which recently opened a shop and art gallery at 2718 SW Kelly Ave. Hiram discusses art, clothing, and the homeless with Someone (Matt Kenitzer).
HL: Can you tell us how Someone Clothing started?
Someone: It started while I was working at a skate and snowboard shop.
A good friend of mine had wanted to start a clothing company and
so did I. He had $500 and kind of the business side of things and I
had the vision and artwork. Once we had decided to do it he made a
one-color, homemade press and we got some essential supplies and
shirts. We then started printing out of his house and my apartment
and sold our shirts through the shop we worked in.
HL: When did you open the gallery and studio?
Someone: We opened the gallery and clothing shop at the end of June 2009. The studios were finished this past January and are run by Zebulon Dak and Prince.
HL: How do t-shirt patterns come about?
Someone: They come from many different places. They have ties to my
family and friends, the homeless, original paintings of mine, my
thoughts about different parts of society, ideas from my partner, and
much more.
HL: Are they designed by one person?
Someone: All but two that we’ve put out have been designed by myself.
When I started the company I wanted to put out everything myself
and then when it got established and out there more I wanted
to integrate different artists that I thought were really talented and
had a different look that would enhance the company’s diversity. I’m
really excited about some of the people we are going to be working
with so people should stay tuned for that.
HL: Who are some of the artists that you've worked with in the
gallery?
Someone: We’ve worked with CORO, who has done all of Sleep’s album
art, Transformer movie concept art, Upper Playground designs, and
more. Klutch, who is a nationally known artist that happens to live
in Portland. I got to meet him a while back, had loved his work, and
had always wanted to work with him on some level. It’s really dope
that we are doing that now. World renown glass blowers Merck,
Eusheen, and Abe-a-tron. They did a live glass blowing event at our
spot for our New Year’s party and it was amazing. Arian Stevens,
who is a local photographer with an incredible eye. He worked with
the Grouch and Eligh a bunch, shot at a ton of shows with legendary
performers, and will be doing a lot of our company photography.
Jessamyn, who blows me away with her crazy detailed drawings. She was born with a talent that should and hopefully will
take her very far. We have also worked with Jon MF Wall, Forest
Stearns, Shaun Gilhuly, the Doodle Monsters, and Roman.
HL: Are the artists mostly local to the NW?
Someone: It’s been about half and half. We try to do both equally so we
can join them together showcasing on many levels.
HL: What influences your artwork?
Someone: It might sound cliché, but life. Everything around me has
influenced my work one way or another. Whether it be how I view
society, the homeless, funny ideas that come to mind and how I put
them together, going back to when I was young having fun looking
for figures in the clouds, iconic figures and subjects that can appeal
to a wide variety of people, the ups and downs of relationships, other
artists I look up to, and more.
HL: How do you come up with the designs used?
Someone: I don’t really know to be honest. With my stencils, a lot of the
time I come up with a concept, work it all together and eventually it
comes together and I like it. My character drawings and cloud forms
style came from a mess up with a stencil that I just got fed up and
doodled over. That style has taken on some different forms. My
dripping lifeforms come when I stare at my painting for hours and
draw what pops out.
HL: You have a wide array of works, including shirts, painted
records, and larger pieces. Do you have a favorite medium to work in
or is it all open to whatever is at hand?
Someone: That’s hard! They all are my favorite. They are all so different
and still they all intertwine so closely together. If I had to choose I
would say my larger works, cuz I’m so free to do whatever and am
free to fall into imperfections that, most of the time, lead into a
whole new style.
HL: Sleep has put out a couple of solo albums and you have a list of
sponsored artists on your site, so who are some of the hip hop acts
that Someone Clothing has a connection with?
Someone: We have a big music team that is loaded with talent. We have Awol One, Prince Po of Organized Konfusion, Adeem, Maker, Grayskul,
Zavala, Tash of tha Alkaholiks, Black Silver of the Analog Brothers,
Pip Skid, Josh Martinez, Egadz, Kiew Nikon, Living Proof, and more.
Plus we have Sebo Walker who is an amazing skateboarder, Wyatt
Caldwell, a top pro snowboarder, and more.
HL: "They Only See Me When I Make a Scene" is a book from Someone, right? What's that all about?
Someone: When I worked at that skate shop I wrote a poem about a bum
one day 'cause it was super slow in the shop. That poem turned into a
bigger idea and a book. It’s a book about a homeless man
throughout a month of his life. The reader follows all that he sees,
feels, thinks, and more. It’s a poetic story that has an emphasis on
the reader not knowing this guy's name until the end when somebody
actually takes the time to talk to him and meet him. I think a lot of
people pass by the homeless not seeing them as real people. You
never know that maybe giving them a sandwich or helping them in
some way may change their lives.
HL: Does Someone Clothing/Gallery have any big events coming up?
Someone: We do actually. We have just become the clothing sponsor of a
popular nightclub in Portland called Barracuda. At first I was kind of
skeptical 'cause I’m really not a nightclub guy, but after meeting with
the general manager of Barracuda I got really excited. It really fit
well 'cause he was wanting to make the 15,000 sq ft spot more of a
music venue and we were really wanting to put on our own
events. This summer we will be starting to do these events so people
have really got to stay tuned to our website. They will not be just
music concerts either. They will be something to definitely check out.
HL: Any parting shots that you'd like to give the readers?
Someone: Just a huge thanks for people’s support and love and that we
love to build relationships with the people that support our clothing
company; people that we print clothes for whether it be schools,
businesses, musicians, and other clothing companies; people that sell
our brand in their stores; and everyone else.
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