Interview by Rachel Gottesman

Hello Julia, welcome to your brand new interview!

Thanks! I'm excited to do this thang.

How did you get your start in design?

I've been drawing for a long, long time. At one point, evidently my Dad thought my drawings were cool, so he'd take them to the neighborhood Kroger, photocopy them, and send them to all our relatives. I think that's when I started realizing that maybe I was doing something worthwhile.

I drew lots of anime as a teenager (Sailor Moon changed my life), and then was a layout designer for our high school's newspaper my senior year. This is when I really started getting into graphic design and its related computer programs and nerder. I was into designers like Graphic Havoc, 504destruct, and the graffiti aesthetic in general. It was around this time (2003-ish) that I first discovered Threadless.

I read on a blog somewhere once that you are "The Queen of Threadless". Are you aware of this? How does it feel to have such a royal title?

Haha, I've seen that. I think I am but a pawn, though I do own a crown. It's just made out of cardstock and says "Medieval Times" on it, however.



You've been printed here at Threadless a whole bunch of times. What do you think your winning formula is?

I'm suuuper grateful to have had such luck here! It seems like some designers have luck just doing their own style all the time, but I think trying out different styles works for me, and it keeps it more interesting.

My personal style is not really much more than superfluous doodling, which I think could become stagnant and boring after a while.

I know that you are one of the most talented doodlers around. Do you prefer to create more "finished" pieces, or do you prefer to doodle without knowing the outcome of the piece ahead of time?

Thank you!! I like doing both things. I like doodling because it's less of an obligation: I can end it whenever, because I have no set rules for what it should be. I'm really bad at committing myself to one event or project for a certain length of time (I'm bad at watching movies for this reason).



However, I do like making "finished" pieces, because I think they're more substantial, and good portfolio pieces. They also force me to think and problem solve and learn new techniques, and knowledge = power.

A while ago we partnered up with Timbuk2 to release a series of messenger bags with some Select shirt designs on them. How did it feel to be chosen for that, and tell us how you came up with the design that was used.

That was such a cool project to work with!! I had no idea how the designs were supposed to fit to the final bag, so I just tried to design for something that could (maybe) be easily manipulated. It's still super neat to have this really substantial, near bomb-proof bag with my art on it. It's our designated travel beer bag, because that's what you need to survive after the apocalypse, right? Just kidding?



For my select, I wanted it to be like a time capsule of the art I was doing at that point in time. I was really into the aesthetics of masonic symbolism, space, geometry, native decoration, and animals. Some of that I'm still continuing in my work, but some I've since decided to temporarily retire.

You're currently participating in the "100 pieces of artwork" project, where eventually all 100 pieces of work will be hung in a gallery. Did you know what you were getting yourself into when you signed up for the project? Do you think that drawing 100 pieces of artwork (or at least one drawing a day) is helping your mind expand as an artist?

Unfortunately, the original event that the "100 pieces of artwork" was created for fell through, but I do still intend to create the work for myself. It's a daunting task. When I first started, I was churning out one or two new pieces everyday, and was like, I'll be done in two months! Five months later . . . I'm at #14. Ha! It's a great reason to fall back to my traditional media roots, however. I've been way too dependent on digital illustration programs and tools in the past. There is no Command + Z in real life.



You are also one of the members of the awesome Black Rock Collective. What's your favorite part about being in this group of many talented artists?

The hazing of new members. We've actually invited about 20 new members in the past month, but none have made it past the wrath of Blair Sayer.

Please tell me how "Zonmi" came about. How many alter-ego Sonmi's are out there, and which one is your favorite?

It was just a stupid (ztupid) inside joke my boyfriend and I and a few of our friends had a few years ago. We replaced S's with Z's in whatever words we could. The rest is self-explanatory. I started that account to submit designs that I thought would never be picked to be printed, but I was still relatively proud of. It's pretty much all a joke!



There are way too many alter-egos. And I have no idea who the majority of them are!! I'm pretty fond of "minniemi", mainly because her URL is www.disneyworld.com. That just makes my day.

What would the world's most perfect friendship bracelet look like?

It'd probably have some mood rings embedded in it, and the mood would always be dark blue, because you're happy that you have a friend! Uhh . . .



If there's anything you'd like to add, go right ahead.

Chout = chill out. Spread the word!

Thanks for chatting!

It was fun!

Interview by Rachel Gottesman

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