Creative Romance: November 2017– Itoya Topdrawer Corp.

Our team is always on the hunt for inspiration to bring to what we do, whether we’re designing a new store layout, collaborating on social media campaigns, or sending products around the world.

Sometimes, inspiration strikes us when we least expect it. Other times, we seek it out. Creative Romance is an ongoing series highlighting the people, places, and things that push us to keep going, and give us the courage to bring our ideas to life.

Paul Solem

Product Designer

Kim Jung Gi is an extremely talented artist that draws in pen and marker with a special focus on perspective drawing. The timelapses you’ll find on his Instagram page shows you his process and although they almost make his work seem like it’s done without planning, his content ranges from individual portraits to insane and complex scenarios with 50-plus characters. I try to bring this creativity to the products we design at Kolo, and the other projects I manage, like posters we have in-store that represent our brand through content, color, and structure.

There’s also Scott Robertson, an amazing industrial designer and concept art designer who inspired me to get better at drawing products. He doesn’t specifically draw or create what I am focusing on currently at Topdrawer, but his devotion to his craft and the level of design is something I try to recreate in my own work.

Scott Robertson originals done with Copic marker and Zebra ballpoint pen for Inktober, a global challenge tasking artists to develop positive drawing habits by doing one ink drawing a day for the entire month of October.

Jean Chen

Operations Analyst

While working through a school assignment recently, some suggested reading stood out. I came across it in the NIST Handbook, which is a guide designed to help scientists and engineers incorporate statistical methods into their work as efficiently as possible.

The topic I’m focusing both in school and here at Kolo-Topdrawer is data analysis, which is also a big trend in the business world. While reading, I found this section to be particularly interesting for its ability to highlight various regression models which can lead to the discovery of significant causes and variables, while eliminating excess factors or variables that do not have significant effect on what we are trying to predict. In turn, it allows us to build a more accurate linear model from the data we’re given, which can be applied to all kinds of analysis.

Mairead Kelly

Writer

Nina Corcoran is a Boston-based music journalist whose bylines span Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, NPR, Esquire, Stereogum, among many, many others. It’s an impressive list for sure, but even more admirable is her commitment to fostering the art scene of the city we both call home. As an Associate Music Editor at DigBoston, she works tirelessly to shed as inclusive a light as possible on an ever expanding collection of local and visiting artists, from punk bands of color, to queer rappers, non-binary experimental acts, and femme folk raconteurs. Thanks in part to Nina, work that speaks to a variety of intersectional identities and issues is playing a part of Boston’s evolving artistic vernacular. As a writer, advocate, and friend, she’s a massive inspiration to bring inclusivity and awareness to my own work, no matter how different our creative focus may be. Some added perks? She’s an expert pun generator with an insane sweet tooth, and is always down to join me for an aimless walk around the neighborhood.

Left: The October issue of DigBoston, Boston’s only weekly alternative newspaper. Right: Nina Corcoran, photo by Laura Knapp

Lauren O’Neil

Graphic Designer

Kelli Kikcio is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and producer from Toronto, Canada, who’s based at Welcome Home Studio in Brooklyn, New York. When getting my first piece from Kelli, I realized that she’s not just a tattoo artist, but one that pursues every hands-on creative discipline you could imagine, including pattern making, garment construction, design, and illustration.

As a creative, I know the feeling of of constantly wanting to push yourself and learn as much as possible, and the kind of FOMO that can come from seeing the incredible work of others. Anything that Kelli wants to try artistically, she jumps into head first, and she encourages us to do the same. Some of her favorite pieces have been rough drafts or practice attempts. When faced with creative failure, she acknowledges it and moves on.

I think it's easy for any creative to do what others in their skillset are doing, or copy others’ work instead of using those ideas to gain inspiration for their own unique take. To me, Kelli speaks to the notion of using creative influence to forge your own path.

I have two tattoos from Kelli now. I'm proud to have her artwork on me for their beauty, and also for what she stands for as an artist. She embraces all sorts of mediums, and takes leaps to see what can happen when you push the envelope.

Left: An original Kelli Kikcio hand-poked tattoo done for Lauren in October, 2017. Right: Limited edition Kelli Kikcio Black ‘Herbs & Extras’ Canvas tote, featuring herbs and other greens on 4 ox black cotton twill.

David Mei

Industrial Designer

As an Industrial Designer, I’m always thinking, researching, creating and learning. I’m always asking, "what if?" One of the pages that I follow on Instagram is straightnarrowdesignco. They share and repost work from other creatives, particularly industrial designers from around the world. I love looking and appreciating ideas from fellow designers and I take away many lessons from their work.

I also recently found ModernNotoriety, a website run out of Chicago that focuses on a topic I’m really passionate about: sneakers. They keep me updated on what releases are coming out and gives me a window into the world of street fashion.

Nike Air Max 97s from the Virgil Abloh x Nike “The Ten” collection

BAGS & PACKS

BENTO

EVERYDAY CARRY

EYEWEAR

HOUSE SHOES

PAPER

PENS

KEY BRANDS