Hallo Malo_and_The_Whale,

Can you introduce yourself in a few words? Who are you, where are you from and why/how have you become an illustrator?

I am Malo, and I work as a freelance illustrator. After graduating from art school, I have been able to implement a lot of those great things that learnt about, such as illustration, video, animation, drawing… I have always been pretty fond of drawing, and I have actually never been able to imagine anything other drawing.

Can you tell us how the design ‘The Bad, the Good and the Geek’ is about? What was your source of inspiration?

At the time I was into watching these cheap spaghetti western movies from the 1980s. There you could do anything with a pistol, and I felt like expressing something similar. There was a movie – I think it was called ‘Two glorious bastards’ – where this one guy embodied a cliché cowboy with blond hair and blue eyes. And he made me think of a nerdy anti-cowboy hero.

Your designs are as different as ‘À la recherche du temps perdu’ and ‘The Photographic City’. Your creativity seems to be quite diverse! I mean, there is a wealth of different sources of inspiration in your work; where do you get it from?

I never need to look long and hard. With laFraise it is always possible to submit images and ideas that stem from any sphere of your imagination.

Are you a fan of Clint Eastwood and westerns in general?

In general I’m a fan of the cinema, and I love so-called bad taste stuff such as ‘Toxic Avenger’ and ‘Troma Entertainment’ just as well as independent movies. My latest discovery is an Iranian film called ‘A Seperation’ – just great!

How long have you known laFraise? And how did you become aware of this little fruit?

I have known laFraise ever since the early days, since Patrice Cassard has been part of it. When I was younger, I was fascinated by the stylistic surety that the early Fraisians showed, and my first contribution was mauled and ripped to pieces. But I didn’t give up, and I took to entering different designs by using a number of pseudonyms.  After I had finished my studies, I rediscovered my love for laFraise.

If you were to recommend laFraise to someone, what would you say?

I would say that laFraise is a fantastic platform that gives aspiring designers both freedom and access to a broader public. Submitting a design at laFraise is a bit like building a ship for Vikings. If you launch it, it either sinks immediately or there are a few friendly Vikings who help you fight for your design. With their assistance you can then navigate, row and mend a leaking fuselage until you reach the Promised Land… then your reward is your design printed on a t-shirt!

Do you have any hobbies other than drawing? And if so, which?

I spend quite a lot of time on creative projects, but I also like cooking, going to festivals or simply going out for a pint and eating mince pies at the local.

What projects are in your pipeline for the year to come?

Next to submitting my work to laFraise, I am currently involved with creating a board game inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Here I do the illustrations and mechanics. I also prepare travels to Montreal and New York. And I cannot wait until I will eventually finish my first comic.

Could you sketch your version of strawberries and cream for us? Thank you for this interview, and for the sketch!

Visit his Portfolio.

Dear Fraisiens,

it’s been a while since we´ve had so many high scored designs in one week!

Surprisingly we´ve made a selection which reminds me of the early times of laFraise. To me, both winner designs already could have been famous shirts back in 2009. One look = one laugh.
Without graphic wildstyle and overflowing skillz.
That’s why we thought it would be legitimately to make a  true “classic” selection. Our congrats and greeting are going out to Ted Boundy and Yurilobo.

Today, Malo & The Whale is unfortunately not part of the 1st placed design, because we already have three of his artworks in our pipeline to go. At first they need to be released (coming within the next weeks, promised!) AdamLawless‘ design is a great one with an interesting idea in behind, but we were not quite sure if this design would be a choice for everyone of our fans.

Once again, thanks for this great week with great designs and a real tough decission!
Congrats to all participiants and keep on trying!

Rockers!

Persecuted by TED-BOUNDY

Tired Of Living by yurilobo

•••

2600 Brouzoufs

8-bit, 7 deadly sins by Malo & The Whale

1300 Brouzoufs

NASA Was Wrong by AdamLawless

Summertime….and the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’…and the cotton is high
Yo’ daddy’s rich…and yo’ mama’s good-lookin’
So hush little baby……don’t you cry

What makes me so happy? The SUN and this new game because we have a great partner, so please bring some new level to your flip flops.

I am proud to announce that you can show your toes and flip flops off with this new game. I ain’t fetishist but if you send a picture of you and your flip flops, maybe you can win a pair of O’neill flip flops. I guess you’re happy now?

Rules of the game

- Get your flip flops on, make a picture and send it through a Facebook message as attached document or send it to the email address jeux@lafraise.com.

We will determine the winners according to the number of likes but not only, but we will consider as well sceneries, very used-you-need-new-ones-flip-flops, amazing flip flops and so on. Your picture shall motivate to send you new ones  :-)

Dates

From Wednesday, May 15th to Wednesday, May 22th midnight

Prizes

1st place: a pair of o’neill flip flop for men – Value 17,90 euros

2^nd place: a pair of o’neill flip flop for women – Value 19,95 euros

3rd place : a 23 euros laFraise Shirt

Be ready and looking forward to seeing your amazing flip flops!

**********

Item for men

**********

**********

Item for women

**********

The summer is coming and we do need more cool colored shirts. Fortunately our this weeks selection was pretty easy fitting to this requirement. That´s why we´re happy to announce you the following designs to our winners of the week! The first one from ifanknight is such a classic laFraise humor shirt, that we couldn´t resist. Just as you – the community did.  Very funny and pretty well scored, Dude!
The second winner design from Kreadid did catch our eyes like box of sweets and here we are with another hopefully successful print.

We really did love the styles of “Majesty” and “The Sadness Will Last Forever” and would have liked to see them on one of our shirts, but as we explained: Summer Colors first! Therefore we´re giving away brouzoufs and the fame as a nearly winner at laFraise

The eggplosion from digitalorgasm and hatchooo from temyong have been very funny too, but we do have so many egg designs, that we needed to make a break on here. ;)
But thanks to all participiants for the work and congrats to our winners!

Rockers!

Delicious Colors de ifanknight

Geisha Of The Stars by Kreadid

•••

2600 Brouzoufs

Majesty by barmalisiRTB

1300 Brouzoufs

The Sadness Will Last by Tobe F

- Do you do any sports, or have you done any before?  What’s your favourite sport?

Yes, I like doing sports. I also used to play tennis for many years, and I tried out other types of sports like rollerblading and hockey. During my time at university, I played in the football team for a semester. On realising how terribly exhausting this actually was, I took to observing the action from the safety of a pub stool ;-) I also like dancing, like hip-hop and street dance. At the moment I work out quite a lot in the gym, and I try my hands at boxing and spinning. But I still like sports involving a ball best, particularly because those played in a team. And when it’s played outdoors, all the better!

- What kind of music do you listen to?

I would say that l like listening to hip-hop most. Less new stuff, though, more the classics. In more relaxing moments or when slouching on the couch, I listen to singer-songwriter stuff. More elecro-based music is cool for dancing, but I always appreciate melodies and good singing supported by a phat beat.

- Do you go to clubs or rather to concerts?

These days I prefer going to clubs. When you live in Berlin, you just HAVE TO turn night into day – otherwise you miss out on too much. I also like going to concerts, but I don’t really like these massive events involving heaps of people. I like smaller and more intimate gigs much better.

- What kind of films do you like? What is the last film you’ve seen (cinema or TV)?

I like historical films that hold you in suspense, movies that are based on true stories on true stories or autobiographical stuff. The last film I saw in the cinema was ‘Django Unchained’, and on TV? Hang on… Well, on TV I rather watch series like ‘Homeland’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’ und ‘Dexter’. Phew, and the last film I saw was a German whodunit… Tatort.

- What kind of books do you read? And is there a book you would recommend?

Any type of crime story and well-narrated story depicting everyday life. It doesn’t need to be something completely out of the ordinary, just well narrated. At the moment I’m reading The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. It describes Jewish life in America in 1938. But I find it a bit hard to get into it. I would recommend Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada or The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

- Do you like cooking, and what is your favorite dish?

I like cooking, but it hasn’t always bee like that. These days I put some thought to my diet. And before I start thinking about the actual meal, I think about the ingredients first. I have quite a few favourite meals, like for example the all-time classic Spaghetti Bolognese. But the meal I probably like most are wraps with couscous. Oh yes, and ratatouille with goats’ cheese and basil cream! It tastes fantastic, and diferent.

- What are your top 3 favourite clothing/shoe brands?

Usually I like wearing Adidas, and sometimes Nike. But Adidas is a firm favourite. And when I feel like dressing up, I like wearing COS clothes. I also like trying out smaller shops to find something out of the ordinary.

- Is there anything you haven’t done yet and you would like to try?

Definitely, there is quite a lot that I haven’t tried and still want to give a go. There is a host of countries I still want to see. Traveling is something that I really enjoy doing. No matter whether it’s a weekend out rambling or traveling Cambodia. I would also see what it feels like to walk onto the pitch of a filled-to-capacity football arena.  And I’ve been wanting to work for MTV all my life, but whether that will still work…

- Is there anything particular that we should know about you?  And is there any lifestyle stuff or secret that no one knows about (yet)?

I’m not sure whether I should tell… Some people find it amusing that I once was with the volunteer fire brigade. And a member of a gospel choir.J What’s more, I occasionally watch my football teams’ games, sitting in front of the TV all by myself with a can of beer and wearing my team’s jersey. Maybe that’s something about me that not everybody knows. Call it a multi-faceted approach ;-)

- Do you have any pets?

I had a cat for many years, and when I was a little girl I had a bunny rabbit, a hamster, a goldfish (which I won at a fair) and budgies.  Now I don’t have any pets anymore. It would have to stay at home by itself most of the time, and that wouldn’t be good.

- Are you engaged in any political movement or organisation? And do you care for animal protection and child-welfare associations?

For a while I was a member of an association for animal protection. And since I studied children’s rights, my focus is mainly on human rights and children’s rights. I am a member of a child-welfare association, and I want to get engaged in a children’s project in Berlin-Wedding.  The plan is to do a children’s workshop for primary school kids. I am very much interested in global issues as well, and I wish I could get engaged in many more things. But time and money don’t usually permit.

- Any interest in graphic design / photography / street art or any other art (modelling sculptures…)?

I really like photography, and I think it is a lot of fun to use a good camera to go outside and shoot random pictures of anything. Unfortunately, I’m not really talented in this department. I take an interest in art history, and I like going to museums and exhibitions. My first contact with graphic design was with laFraise.

- What do you like about laFraise, and why do you enjoy working there?

I like working for laFraise as it provides the grounds for getting in touch with a young and creative audience, and my colleagues are quite young as well. The atmosphere at work is very relaxed, and that’s quite important. Not having to wear high heals and a suit is a clear bonus as well. Actually, I can wear whatever I feel like wearing, and that’s great!

- What exactly do you do for laFraise?

My position at laFraise is called Content/SEO Manager. So I am responsible for anything related to content management for the homepage, and also for the newsletter that you get twice a week. I write it for you :-) And ‘content’ also means that every translation needs to be ready in time, and they need to be available in three languages. SEO is part of my responsibility, so I look into placing laFraise keywords in a fitting way, I write landing pages and improve Google rankings etc. Dominating Google would be nice! All joking aside, I want to make sure that anybody looking for a brilliant online t-shirt contest will find laFraise. That’s it!

Hi Kreadid,

Can you introduce yourself in a few words? Who are you, where are you from and why/how have you become an illustrator?

Hello! My name’s Didier Gérardin, I’m 44 years old and I live in Nancy. That’s in the Lorraine region in the north-east of France. I started my first job as an advertising artist at a printing company. I worked the for a fair few years and learnt a lot. Today I have two jobs. I mainly work as a graphic designer for the city of Toul. Well, it’s actually a small town with 17,000 inhabitants. And then I’m a freelance graphic designer with a home office.

Can you tell us how you came up with the idea for ‘Armistice’? What was your source of inspiration? Your designs are often quite controversial…

I got the idea when watching a TV documentary about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, which I thought was very moving. This made me think of all the other armed conflicts that happen all over the world. There are peace treaties that are broken on a daily basis, and many big and small atrocities that people do to each other. As soon as you turn around, you get shot in the back… I can only say ‘Peace, man!’

Do you commit yourself to a good cause? And if so, how?

Not really, actually. If at all, then on the spur of the moment. Oh yeah, I’ve been contributing t-shirt designs for the ‘Solidays’ for the past 3 years.

How long have you known laFraise? And how did you become aware of this little fruit?

I became affiliated with the red fruit in 2006. Before it was taken over by Spreadshirt, it had a bit of a garage atmosphere back in the day. I happened to come across it while surfing the net, if I remember correctly.

If you were to recommend laFraise to someone, what would you say?

Hm, dunno. Let me get back to you once you make a good offer!

Do you have any hobbies other than drawing? And if so, which?

Yes, I love music. Without music I couldn’t work. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, but I’m just to lazy. Today my son has picked up playing the guitar, both accustic and electric. I find comfort in that now.

What projects are in your pipeline for the year to come?

Start playing the guitar! And to create lots of printable desingns for laFraise, of course!

Could you sketch your version of strawberries and cream for us? Thank you for this interview, and for the sketch!

Yes, but I don’t like cream… So long!

Visit his site.

Rockers!

Escape from modern times by Malo & The Whale

•••

2nd place : 2600 Brouzoufs

Honey Comb by zakihamdani

3rd place: 1300 Brouzoufs

Pillow Fight! by Letter Q

This special contest is all about creating quirky, bizarre and amazingly beautiful ad posters. We are looking for visual advertising in the style of the 1950s or 1960s. It is completely up to you what theme you depict.

The winning design will be awarded with a prize in the amount of €1,500.

To put the cherry on the cake, the design will be printed as a limited edition retro poster!

Some possible topics for the poster are:

-          A fictive movie

-          a (fictive) invention

-          A product of general nature

Important here:   The design should have no more than 4 colours

If you don´t have an idea what we are talking about, try searching the web for examples or have a look at those famous designs!

http://en.lafraise.com/Submission/index/id/125080

http://en.lafraise.com/Article/index/id/1341

http://en.lafraise.com/Article/index/id/943

For more information, please read our complete briefing!

We look forward to seeing your idea!

Team laFraise