Interview by Rachel Gottesman

You're proof that perseverance pays off. How's it feel to be a living legend?

It feels pretty amazing to have won. It still crazy that out of all of my submissions, the one that took the least amount of thought and time to complete scored so well and was chosen for print. Then again, who doesn’t like frozen treats... and with summer just around the corner, the timing was just right.

You know, sometimes it's the things we don't over think that turn out best.

So tell me, in comical detail, what your reaction was when you found out you had your design chosen for print. Did you shoot milk out your nose?

Not just any milk, but strawberry milk! ...And a whole lot of it too. If you threw a handful of cereal on my desk and grabbed a spoon you'd be good to go.

Seriously though, I got all shakey. I refreshed the page a few times, just to see “Congratulations” email reappear. I never expected to actually win... Submitting designs to Threadless was always just fun and something to do. It’s awesome to know that people all over the world will be wearing my artwork on their chest. I will probably flip out when I see someone on campus or around town wearing one of the shirts.





Do you think that Threadless has pushed you to become a better designer, or was that all art school?

I wouldn’t say that it has pushed me to become better, but being exposed to so many other artists work, Threadless has definitely become a great reference tool and source for inspiration. Browsing the /all page and the thousands of good and bad submissions has helped eliminate an “artist block” a few times.

How's life as a design student treating you? Are you almost ready to go out into the world and conquer it... etc?

Its crazy... Time has gone by so fast. Ill be a junior at Ringling this Fall.

The college has a pretty demanding workload, but there’s so much to learn and for the most part the assignments are fun to work on. Knowing that ill be out in the “real world” in about 2 years is really exciting and a bit intimidating at the same time.



Go to your web browser. What's the last website you've been to?

adverbox.com

It’s basically a huge collection of ad campaigns used by small businesses and massive corporations scattered throughout the world. I've always been interested in ad design. That’s the area that id like to get involved with once I'm out of college.

What color are your socks and what do you think that says about you as a person?

For the longest time I would only wear low-cut black socks. I’m not exactly sure why though... But they were always hard to find and expensive.



I only wear low-cut white ones now... I obsess over certain things. I inherited the need for structure and schedule from my grandfather. When I get into a routine, it’s hard to get out of it.

Thanks a bunch!

Interview by Rachel Gottesman

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