It's safe to say that Canada-based t-shirt line, Brknhome, is every t-shirt line's favorite t-shirt line. While most independent labels emphasize slapstick, profits, and market oversaturation, designer Kenta Goto and illustrator Joshua Pong have quietly been releasing the industry's cleverest and most artistic designs sub-radar. The guys just dropped their newest season, and were gracious enough to give us a few minutes of their time...

So let’s get right to all the boring questions. How long has Brknhome been around, how did it start, and what is the theory behind the line?

Our first line dropped in the Fall of 2002, but we made a few hand-screened tees that Summer. Both of us have full-time day jobs.

We work in a creative field, but use all of our creativity for other companies. So we started brknhome as a weekend project. Something we can get creative with, and just putting it out there... no filter.

Where can we buy the clothes? Seems like you guys focus on a handful of premium shops…

From Union in NYC and LA, to Kicks/HI in Hawaii, we try and focus on selling to one select shop in each major city.

Keep it as tight as possible. We'll have an updated shop list on our website.

So you guys are known for some of the sickest graphics in the game (in our opinion, the greatest). How do you decide what to work on? What inspires the designs?

Thanks. We bounce ideas off each other and see what sticks at the end of the day. Inspiration is so random, so we just go with what we're feeling at the time, then we start on the work and wait to see if it fleshes out in the end.

An idea might get finished but not fit what we wanted for the season. We just try and work on subjects that we're into at the time.

Inspiration comes from current affairs, news, pop culture, music, everything that surrounds us. Basically anything that's worth discussing can turn into a graphic.


Most, if not all, of your graphics share the same "look"... Why do you stick to this style? (as opposed to graphics with simple text, photos..))

That's what we like. We'll mess with photos and typography, we love that shit too, but mainly we like to see clean and bold graphics.

What are the other influences on Brknhome’s work..

There's too much out there to list. Kenta's got a large art / design book collection that's always growing, and I enjoying flipping thru that kinda stuff. I really like old ads from European designers and industrial design from that past, along with contemporary work.

Graphic design's alot like music sampling, you can take influence from any medium and fit it into your work.

 
Are we gonna see more than just t-shirts in the future from Brkhome?

Yeah! That's what we are working on. We wanna offer some cotton fleeces... Something nice to wear with your brknhome tee.

W e're also thinking about offering some prints to those who are really feeling our graphics. We'll see.

Kenta – I know you also design beyond Brkhome. Garry told us you designed Livestock (an upscale Vancouver streetwear boutique) and you also design for a snowboard company? What else do you work on?

Yeah, I run a design co. myself and do contract work - mostly graphic design, but I also work on product design (eyewear, footwear).

Livestock was my first go at a space. That was a lot of fun. I wanna do a few more spaces.



How did you get so proficient in art and design?

Josh started out as a graff artist in Toronto, but he's studied classical animation and illustration. Homeboy can draw the fuck out of anything.

We both kinda taught ourselves how to get around a computer and use all the design programs. Trial and error! Lots of "apple-z."

What are the greatest things about Canada?

Kenta: Tasty clean air. No guns, the multi-culturalism in Canada is great. You learn a lot about culture and people.

Josh: The sense of humour, I'm also glad we didn't get involved with the war in Iraq.

What are the worst things about Canada?

Kenta: For the amount of land in Canada, the population is so small that the taxes have to be high. No guns...joking.

Josh: Taxes.


For more on brknhome, visit: www.brknhome.com