FRIENDS.

This weekend marks the end of one of Rotter and Friend's nearest and dearest stores, i Heart, who had a stellar 5-year run. The shop on 262 Mott street in Nolita was headed by our bud Jill Bradshaw, who was the first to bring in the GRAND "out of the box" overseas hero streetwear brands like PAM, Tonite, Zakee Shariff, Silas, and Birdie. The i Heart crew has supported my work since day 1. In 2007, we collaborated on the best party ever during CMJ and the first set of Moontunes was shown as an exhibition in-store. We really appreciate and raise our coffee cup to all the sweet memories and guts this store have given NYC. Thanks to Jill + Toni for recognizing some ballsy brands, great art, and throwing some memorable events (like Morgan falling down the stairs at my opening). Celebrate the mayhem with my favorite live band out there right now CHILDREN this Saturday at Shangra-La in Brooklyn. That band gives me owl-eyes, a must see!

I also wanted to share some pieces from the first line I worked as the "artist in residence" on called Birdie (which i Heart always stocked) as I am harping the memory vibes today. Birdie was started in 2001 by my GREAT friend Nick Wakeman in London. After selling handmade stickers in Nick's Supra Girls shop in Notting Hill, we got in touch and started collaborating for the next 6 years on each collection.

The line holds a huge place in my heart, Nick's blend of smart fits and crazy cuts are still unmatched. I miss it dearly. I would travel to London twice a year and have tea, listen to oldies c/o Steve Wright in The Afternoon on BBC radio 2, and just draw up some really fun ideas. We were even sent to Tokyo in 2003 for a Birdie/Rotter exhibition that had my paintings placed next to our collections-really magical time. Here is some of the fun we had, for more check out the Birdie section on my portfolio site here.


xx