12 Grain

Dragon Tree by Sam Flores

Yet another graffiti based clothing line has emerged to challenge streetwear’s big names. But this one has a twist - besides being a tight clothing line that is about more than just tagging and drawing, Sam Flores’ 12 Grain streetwear is definitely a brand that puts a new flavor into old school style. Revisit your childhood with his dope designs. Wear revamps of old classics. These are most definitely what you should have in your closet. 12 Grain is a West Coast based clothing line that caters to people from all walks of life.

Sam Flores’ influences include his early immersion as a teen during the 80′s and 90′s world of punk, graffiti and, of course, skateboarding. He carved out his name in the skating community, and it eventually led him to do gigs for fellow skaters. He did a few projects for skateboarders that were in need of his unique graphics on their boards, more specifically catching the attention of Adrenalin skateboards. They hired him to do designs for them, which is probably why a lot of his work has that certain feel about them. Around the same time, he started doing a few designs for a clothing line, Civilian. We can say that this is probably where he took his ideas to venture into the t-shirt design industry.

Jumping Tigers pillow by Sam Flores

The name Sam Flores is recognized all over the world. He has done art shows in Germany, Singapore, Japan, France and a lot of other places that appreciate fine art and clothing. His name is practically synonymous with fine art you can wear on the street. His 12 Grain clothing line is just another outlet of his to share his artistic talent. What’s even better about 12 Grain is that it isn’t limited to one genre of clothing. His dope shirts are for everyone to enjoy. It begs to mentioned that he has done a few projects for the young kids as well. He has lent his talent a number of times to kids centers and playrooms. Sharing his vision to the generation of tomorrow. One of his memorable exhibits would be Ego, Addiction and Other Bedtime Stories, which displays his evolution as an artist working with what we can say, are social and political issues as well. He has participated in a number of NGO sponsored fundraisers including NextAid, which helps orphans in Africa afflicted with AIDS. Most of his shows exhibit his familiar characters that you can all see on his shirt designs, too.

Art by Sam Flores

It is obvious in most of his designs that he takes his inspiration from nature, and well, other classics. He takes his seeds of imagination and plants them into what you can hold in your hands. You can see this through his renditions of other works from other artists. Like his Dragon Tree, or one of his designs wherein he makes use of traditional chinese artwork and replaces characters with his own. His talent is not limited to designing shirts, but he also creates a wide variety of different other products, like home decor pieces and even toys.

If you want to see more of his shirts, you can visit him on karmaloop. For more on the artists and his art on other media, visit his website at samflores.com

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