Subway Sales (2013 Documentation)

I was printing all my posters right from home on my wide-format Brother printer in my illegal basement. Yes, I only say illegal basement because it makes the story THAT much more New York. It wasn’t some polished studio with “creative loft” lighting and a smiling assistant handing me coffee. It was underground. Literally. Ink in the air, concrete walls, the faint soundtrack of pipes knocking and neighbors living above me like a stacked-up Jenga tower of hustle.

My wide format Brother printer was putting in work. I was running that thing like it was part of the MTA, just constant output. Poster after poster. Early designs, a small portfolio of designs, but good enough to start with & monetize from the jump. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was honest. You could feel the momentum in the room, even if the room was technically not supposed to be lived in.

For the clothing, I was using a used heat press that a Dominican barbershop sold to me in the summer. That’s New York commerce right there. One day it’s in the corner of the shop next to hair clippers and aftershave… next day it’s in my basement helping build a clothing line.

At that point, I wasn’t waiting for opportunity to arrive neatly packaged. I was taking whatever tools I could get, wherever I could get them, and turning them into a business. It wasn’t “manufacturing.” It was alchemizing.

 

Pops^