Paul Frank Sunich

Paul Frank Sunich (born August 29, 1967 ) is an American artist and fashion designer . His creations include clothes and accessories. He also invented a few characters, one of the most famous of them being Julius the monkey.

biography

Paul Frank studied art at Orange Coast College during the 1990s. In order to carry out small projects - such as sewing self-made fabric badges onto sweaters - he bought a sewing machine. After some of his friends saw a wallet he made from a single piece of orange plastic and became interested in other accessories, he began making other items such as guitar straps and backpacks.

To meet the demand for his products, Paul Frank founded Paul Frank Industries a few years later. During the day he had a regular job, in his free time he sewed and sold his products. After his friend Ryan Heuser borrowed $ 5,000, the two acquired a business license. They are currently based in Costa Mesa , CA. On the North American continent, the company has stores in Southern California, San Francisco, New York City, Dallas, Las Vegas and Chicago. Worldwide there are shops in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Athens, Seoul, Bangkok and Japan. Business in the United Arab Emirates (Doha, Qatar, Dubai) are planned.

In 1999 Paul Frank teamed up for a joint project with the music group The Aquabats . Since then, the designer has worked with bands like Bad Religion , Radiohead , The Vandals , Alkaline Trio , Tool and Pretty Girls Make Graves . Other musical collaborative projects include the Coachella Festival , Lollapalooza and the KROQ radio station in Los Angeles.

Paul Frank has also worked with various artists and companies, such as Mattel , Oscar Mayer , The Elvis Presley Foundation, Wahoo's Fish Tacos, John Deere , Nirve Bicycles , Obey Giant , ProKeds, Mark Ryden , Thomas Campbell, Hello Kitty and Lego .

After being kicked out of the partnership-run company, Frank filed a lawsuit against his former business partner in 2006 because he was no longer allowed to use his own name for further design projects. With Treestitch Design Paul Frank is currently running a new design studio where he works on clothing and textile designs for large companies. He also donates art to charity events, exhibitions, and museums.

Influences

In 1972 Paul Frank attended Sun View Elementary School in Huntington Beach , California. The building, which was painted in the bright colors of rust red, light blue and golden yellow, influenced Frank's later work. He also says he was inspired by industrial designers: "... whoever designs schools, desks, chairs, office furniture, bicycles, cars, mixers, toasters from the 1940s to 1960s - things like public buildings." Frank explains that a lot of his style grew out of his love for music like The Who , The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground .

characters

Well-known Paul Frank characters include Julius, Skurvy, Clancy, and Worry Bear. His works have appeared in numerous films, including in the third part of the Austin Powers series.

Some of the characters from Paul Frank

• Julius, a monkey
• Clancy, a little giraffe
• Cornelius (Clancy's older brother), a slightly larger giraffe
• Vic, a snail
• Worry Bear
• Sheree L. Bandit, a raccoon
• Todd Spicoli, a hamster
• Elaine, a deer
• Ellie, an elephant
• Bunny Girl, a girl who wears a rabbit costume
• Skurvy, a skull
• Mr. Owl, an owl
• Shaka Brah Yeti, a yeti
• Devil Julius, Julius' bad cousin
• Marshmallows, the hot cocoa rapids riders
• Missy and J, the Siamese cats
• Arthur, a flamingo
• Hulius, a Hawaiian version of Julius
• Brace Face, a monkey with braces
• Will, a little mouse
• Cha Cha, a koala

Private life

In 2003, Paul Frank met his current wife, Susan Wang, a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, with an arts degree. The couple married on June 18, 2005 and currently reside in Southern California.

Web links

• paulfrank.com

Individual evidence

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