jonhello - Tumblr blog

[jonhello]

This is what I wake up in the morning for. The love of my life. Taormina, Siciliy, 2015

[jonhello]

Fat Gold was my first venture into building a brand from the ground up. It was great till it lasted (2008-2012). I learnt a lot about how to manage and maintain a side business (and balancing my other design & freelance business), building a fan base, designing and creating apparel, outsourcing and manufacturing, shooting videos and just promoting it non stop. It never ends. All of this was on a shoestring budget too. It’s hard to do something that you give 110% of your energy but not get the same return. Sadly after years of breaking even (and at times losing money), we decided to call it a day. Still a bit sad we did that, but it was for the best. I do not regret starting, nor stopping Fat Gold as it connected me with loads of great and amazing people who I can call friends till this day. This above video was a promo I shot one summer with loads of friends. I’ll probably post more FG stuff later on.

[jonhello]

If someone had to tell me who I am and what I do, I think this would be the best description I can come up with. It hasn’t changed in a while and I plan not to change. 

[jonhello]

Stop in the Name of Love, 2013. I was thinking on how to execute this idea, without getting arrested for years. Chalk was my weapon of choice. Six hours later on a very cold day, I finished it. It stayed there for a total of two hours thanks to the rain. Need to do something bigger and better soon.

[jonhello]

T-shirt design I did for Nike USA which was  produced in September 2014. When you think you ‘made it’ - whatever that means - and get a freelance gig for the biggest brands in the world thanks to an artwork you posted on Pinterest. Then you cross your fingers and hope to get more work because of the awesome job you did.

Turns out it is one of my least favourite things I did, and although I am proud to have worked with Nike, I would have been more proud if they had chosen an option that reflected my style, and not go with the generic paint dripping effect that one Art Director thought it was, I quote ‘cool and hip’. And to top it off, he put it in a black box. If it was my choice I would have gone for this one. I guess big brands are all the same - Difficult to work with and abuse their power in one way or another. 

So the takeaway from this is that I rather have total freedom and do my own thing, than to work with a big name and not have an identity. 

P.S. There is no such thing as making it.

[jonhello]

No matter how bored I sometimes get of this island, I keep coming to this spot just a few steps away from our house, and everything seems to make sense again. 

[jonhello]

Took this photo of Ken after we finished the NOWHERE piece in Msida, Malta, July 2008. I designed this when we had a small independent clothing label called Fat Gold, and I came up with the tag line, ‘Middle of Nowhere’ - referring to this tiny rock we live in. It took us a while to do it. We went in the everning so that nobody could see us, and spent around 4 or 5 hours on a ladder sticking A3 papers on a concrete passage way. Good times. Video by our good friend Julian.

[jonhello]

Some typework. More stuff at hellojon.com

[jonhello]

Jack Black. July 2014. He’s eating his favourite thing, olives. Love this dude. 

[jonhello]

I used to (and occasionally still) produce all sorts of music on the side. Music plays a big part in my life. It helped me through the tough times and the great times. It’s always there and I can just lose myself in it. One of my favourite tracks that I wrote and produced with Jay under Mathematikal is Nightbreakers (Aug 20, 2012). Took an hour to write and finish it, unheard of in my books. It never ever happened to me, ever. Except this time. 

[jonhello]

Bug life. This is bug number three in my life. It’s the best looking beetle I’ve ever had, thanks to previous owners who treated it like part of their family. It is also one of those ‘wtf’ purchases when you think with your heart and not with your head. I promise I will not break it. I promise I will not break it. I think I’m keeping this one for the kiddo. He’s only three, but she’s a keeper (till now).

[jonhello]

Love this death trap.

[jonhello]

Probably the best day of my life was when my son was born. It was the 1st of November, 2012, when baby Jack came into this world and changed the way I look at life completely. Very hard to explain the feeling, but it was the best feeling ever. This was the first photo of the boy with his beautiful mum. Laura was amazing. Apart from the scare of losing quite a lot of blood and some complications, she was a rock.