Interview with shop partner mika from Finland – Finnish street art on shirts

Tell us something about you!
 
Hey, my name is Mika and I’m 24 years old. I live in southern Finland, with the Eskimos and polar bears. I’m just another punk from the lower middle class projects, looking to get by during these oppressing times. I have a lot of hobbies, most of them have something to do with arts, more or less. I’ve been drawing all my life but I’m also very interested in music, sports and a lot of other things. So yeah you could say I got my hands full of it, and I like it!
 
What do you do when you aren’t selling shirts?
 
I’m currently working at a local workshop, doing all kinds of odd jobs basically. I’ve also done tattoos for some years now as an independent artist! A lot of my spare time goes to my hobbies and spending time with those who are dear to me.

What about the Finnish street art scene?

Somehow I feel there’s been a major transformation in the Finnish street art scene (mainly graffiti) within the last, say five to ten years or so. A lot of the old school artists have retired and the whole political and social environment has gone through a significant change. A lot of the old abandoned sweet spots have been replaced by shopping malls, parks and buildings and the streets are filled with cameras and civilian heroes. The atmosphere breathes “obedience” like a dragon and if you’re not scared of it, you’ll be done with.

From another perspective I’d like to say, I’ve seen street styles develop a lot within the last some years, people seem innovative and inspired to spread their deviousness for everyone to see. I just wish the political few who basically run our lives would see it fit to loosen the leash just a bit to give the street artists more possibilities to work their magic….. Oh sorry, think I was dreaming! Naw don’t take my babble too seriously *wink*

When did you open your Spreadshirt Shop, and what made you start it?

I started running my Spreadshop about a year ago. I’ve been customizing my own shirts and clothing for years now and when I found out how Spreadshirt works, I was amazed and wanted to get designing stuff right away!

What do you want to achieve with your shop – conquering the world, making a few bob or finding an outlet for creativity?

Well I could say I want to achieve world peace and end famine with my shop but then again, I try to keep my feet on the ground. Besides, those who could actually affect such things ain’t doing nothing about it. I’d love to be able to find new opportunities for designing through running my shop. I love change so basically I just hope me running my shop would change something, for better or for worse!

What’s your favourite design, and how did you find the inspiration for it?

I like “Le Pierre”. I was inspired to design it, by Pierre himself. Pierre is a tiny teddy bear with huge attitude, he swears more than sailors and idolizes gangsters! He has an interesting personality…
 
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
 
My inspiration comes from random daily things, I just start doing something and the result varies. I find classic comics, old Nintendo games and old school art in general very inspiring. I love grim and gothic medieval themes with dull colours and dark ambiences.
 
Who do you think your customers are?
 
I think my customers are mostly young adults with enough boldness to represent colourful and majestic designs on their clothing. Young, determined and daring people who know what they’re doing.

Have you ever seen anybody wearing your t-shirt – anybody you didn’t know? And in case ‘yes’ – did you say hello?

Ha, not yet! But I’m looking forward to the day when I bump in to someone with my sh*t on them. Don’t know how I’ll react to that!

How do you market your shop?

I’ve marketed my shop through various internet mediums!

Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about your shop, maybe you can impart a piece of hot news?

Well my shop will ever keep developing and basically the more demand there is for my stuff, the more I can pay attention to developing my shop and products! I just had a non-profit campaign during which I sold everything in my shop with 0% profit margins. Next up I guess there’s gonna be a stack of new designs available once I get them done. You can follow my news updates in my Spreadshirt shop!

How do we find you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest?

I don’t have a Facebook profile for my brand but you can still find me in Twitter. I haven’t really used Pinterest but I still have a profile there. The best way to really contact me virtually, is through my email.

Thanks, Mika, for your answers and these interesting insights into the finnish street art scene

Find Mika’s shop here: https://kataztrov.spreadshirt.fi/ – don’t worry, the shop language is English and by the way: the voucher code BUSYSANTA is valid in all Spreadshirt shops by 2nd December 2012 😉