Imanuel is the artist behind some of the prints you may have seen on some of our clothing ( and he’s my 17 year old!) . When the pandemic hit, I was all about seeing how to be creative at home and support our kids future dreams.
Imanuel has been drawing creatures and doing art since he was a toddler. We've always shared creative ideas at home, and the kids have always been a part of my design journey.
So the collab began. I made the hoodies in Vancouver in a small batch and we had his first branded hoodies made, named Maniacs.
Here's a little Q & A to get to know a bit more about Imanuel and where his ideas come from, and what might be up next for him!
Q: When did you start drawing these characters or come up with these ideas of Maniacs alter-reality world?
A: I initially just started drawing whatever came to my head, based on artists I was fond of, cartoons and comics, and especially what I saw around me as a kid and teenager. Eventually my art style developed characteristics, and these characteristics became characters that were based on real emotions I had been feeling.
Q: Do you have a favourite artist/ person that you look up to or are inspired by?
A: many cartoonists, abstract artists and movies
Q: How would you describe this world, and does it shed light on anything in our reality?
A: The Maniac world is a lot different but also very similar to ours, everything is made out of a clay that surrounds the planets surface, and the ocean and land form a yin and Yang symbol if your were to look at it from space. The world of the Maniacs is basically a representation of our world from my perspective, but I’ll leave it at that so I don’t spoil anything…
Q: You've been spending a lot of time in the past year and over covid years trying out different mediums as a young artist, including painting, photography , and writing a book. Do you have a favourite outlet for your creativity? If so which one and why?
A: my personal favourite has to be thick and thin sharpies. It has become my most used medium, mostly because I love the contrast of plain white and black on paper, it could be a symbol for how my art expresses negative and positive energy.
Q: What are your future dreams and plans for Maniacs?
A: My priority for Maniacs is to produce high quality and affordable clothing that has never been seen before, and also to write a graphic novel series based around the world I have created. I am close to finishing the first draft of my first book, called “the beginning”.
Q: how did you come up with your brand name/ What does it mean to you?
A: It was first used because I felt crazy like a maniac at the time and I also found it was not used very often for brands. Now the meaning of the name is much deeper, some of the most important creatures in my story are called Maniacs, and they play a big role in it.
Stay tuned for more of his work on the shop and on our Instagram!
photo 1: Imanuel in the “Fear” Maniacs Hoodie
photo 2&3 : “Clamshell” Maniacs Art on Venus Tee
Model @aquabruhwiler
Photographer @melissarenwick
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