Our newest Creative to move in and make is mark is Warren Ellison of Studio Misfits. Warren moved in February of this year and equally impresses us with his talent, accent, and ability to always see the glass half full. He is definitely the type of guy that you're gravitated to and seems to embody that joie de vivre we all are looking for. We took the opportunity to sit down and find out more about what makes this creative tick.
How long have you lived in Laguna?
12 years this Summer! I moved here from Durban South Africa in the Summer of 2003. I'd heard so much about this place but had never visited. At the time, I was playing in a band and wanted to chase dreams, so I thought bugger it, I'm going to sell all of my stuff, kiss everyone goodbye and head to California. Like so many have done before me! It took over 2 years and it wasn't easy, but in my experience making big changes seldom are.
What does your business consist of?
We offer creative design services, and for the larger part of the last 12 years, the bulk of that has been spent servicing the apparel industry. We are able to fulfill most of the design needs of an apparel brand, from designing and developing the actual clothing itself, to building lookbooks, ads, catalogs, branding etc. I started out in the action sports space, and then about 6 or 7 years ago started working with more contemporary brands, people who were selling Nordstroms and Bloomingdales and stores like that.
Interestingly enough though, over the last couple years, we have been getting more and requests for websites which I just love doing. It's funny because thats actually how I got my start. I had a business back home in South Africa building websites 15 years ago, and when I moved here I transitioned almost immediately into apparel. I love clothing, some of my family is in the apparel business and so many brands are based out of Laguna, Irvine and Costa Mesa that it was a natural progression for me. Now though, I find myself once again drifting in the opposite direction, back to web design!
What current projects are you working on that your most excited about?
I just relaunched my website StudioMisfits which I'm stoked on. I'm always the last guy to get any of my graphic design needs met because I'm so busy making sure everyone else is taken care of so it feels good to cross that one off the list. In fact its the first time in my career I've had a portfolio of my work available for anyone to see! In the past I've always relied on word of mouth, and its kept me busy, but I felt like it was time for me to join the world and show everyone what I've been up to the last couple years.
Other projects I'm excited about - Hmmm a few! I recently developed a bunch of poster artwork for the Ripple Effect films for Red Bull with my friend Peter Hamblin, who is an incredibly talented filmmaker. There may be more of that coming down the pipeline, so I'm interested in seeing how that unfolds!
I also co-own an Athletic Brand called "Harvest" which makes killer eco-friendly yogawear, and we recently found an Italian fabric which is as soft as you can imagine, and its super functional. The best part about it though is that it's made from recycled fishing nets! So I'm excited to use that for sure. Also, the Summer line is coming out soon so looking forward to seeing how that does. We are in Yogaworks and Corepower and a bunch of other yoga studios so you can find it there, or online at HarvestActive.com
Probably the biggest thing though is my wife and I just had a baby - She's 4 weeks old and she kills us with cuteness every day. Literally, nothing compares to her. So life is interesting, and really really good. I mean how can it not be in paradise right?
