First off, who or what is “La Muerta”?
La Muerta is an indie t-shirt company dedicated to putting out shirts by some of the weirdest, smartest and most creative graphic artists and illustrators—in the world. Formally, La Muerta the brand is owned by me, Luis Cortes, and my wife and business partner Lindsey Donner. We then commission custom artwork by artists all over the world who we like and admire. La Muerta is just the vehicle. The artists are the rocket fuel of this carnival of freaks, geeks and wicked-talented visual artists.
We want everyone who owns a La Muerta to know the artist behind the shirt. We’re not important. We just do the logistics. (Ok, there are a lot of logistics!)
La Muerta is the people’s saint of Mexico. Do you consider yourselves to be religious?
I was born in Guadalajara and lived in Mexico most of my life, until just a few years ago. I was also raised Catholic, as most Mexicans are. What’s interesting about Lady Death is that she’s a kind of unofficial, pagan saint—that always appealed to me. Day of the Dead is coming up, and that’s another semi-pagan ritual, which has origins in the native people of Mexico, not the conquistadores who brought Christianity (and violence) with them. As what you might call a “lapsed Catholic,” I always loved the dark, pagan side of Mexico. The colorful flowers and sugar skulls and celebration of the dead. Somehow, it was more comforting to me than the restrictive church side of our culture, more beautiful—it’s about celebrating what others keep in the dark. It’s about honoring our past.
Every artist who has done a shirt so far has taken this theme in their own individual, personal direction. We have artists of all colors, religions and from a number of different countries, so they were asked to communicate their own vision of a Lady Death. We have a gun-slinging skeletal homie. A kitsune, which in Japanese folklore is a fox that can take a human form. A chain-smoking panda. The artists ran with this theme and took it in many powerful, exciting directions. So there’s unity in the theme, even though our world views are all so different.
Many of your first tees were big sellers. How do you plan to top those designs and concepts?
To some extent, and bigger brand owners than me have already said this, but it can be really hard to predict what will sell well. In terms of how the designs actually came about, I worked really closely with every artist. They came up with their own approach, colors, drawings, sketches, etc. and I took on the role of an art director. Again, I’m the carnival emcee, but it’s the artists who were responsible for the incredible design. All I had to do was work with the printer and make sure I promoted like crazy.
I see your website touts this first line of tees as “act one.” Care to fill us in on that?
All our shirts are limited-edition prints. Each “Act” is a group of shirts released a few per month, quantities of 50 each – there will be about a dozen shirts per act. What’s special about each Act is each one has a theme. So this first act is “Hey, Hi there… I am Lady Death.” We’ll release another Act in a few short months, organized around a new theme.
What things can we expect from La Muerta in the coming months?
More shirts. More crazy promo videos from I Am The Fourth. New free swag, including some hot new sticker designs. And soon enough, a call for more artwork…
Can you sum up in the simplest way possible what you think it takes to be creative in the design and illustration world of today?
Creativity isn’t hard to come by. We have met and known so many talented artists. In a way, the challenge today isn’t how to be creative—it’s how to rise to the top in a really crowded marketplace, especially online. And that takes a mix of talent, balls and discipline. Lots of discipline!
This seems like a newer venture/concept. There have been a lot of artist collectives over the years, but none marketed or put together quite like this one. You all have been heavy in promotion on twitter, contests, newsletters, and putting out discount codes. How has running this venture affected your perception of other small-business owners?
I run another business, also co-founded with my business partner, Well Versed Creative. We’ve been in business for about 2 years. So I sort of knew what to expect, but retail is different than working for clients. I’d say that my perception is that I respect small business owners immensely, especially those who blow up. I know how hard it is do it on your own, the money, time and love it requires, and also the sheer amount of work.
Are there any tricks or practices that work for you that help you get “in the zone” to work out a new piece?
For me, as a graphic designer, I will say this: Music. Looking at artwork that inspires me. (I share a lot of artists’ websites on our company Facebook page.) Turning off the outside world and focusing. Surfing every day helps me keep the negative energy out, too.
Who do you feel is your biggest supporter or cheerleader?
I believe our best support comes from a healthy mix of art collectives, artists/designers, the diehard fans and art/toy/fashion blogs (e.g. Spanky Stokes – who was seen rocking La Muerta gear throughout New York Comic Convention. Thanks Spanks!). They all play a very important part in keeping the buzz going. We truly appreciate it.
Anything about the current design and illustration market that you wish you all could change or influence?
That all creative professionals learn to ask for what they deserve, financially. And that the market learn to respect that. Again, it comes down to business sense. Those artists who work really hard will get what they deserve and more. But I do wish there was more love and respect in the world for visual art. It’s such an important part of who I am that I’m always surprised to discover how many people have no interest in art, supporting art, or making space for it in their lives or businesses.
How about a discount code for Project Galvanize readers? Any order they place for the next 48hrs will get a 20% off discount. Use code PROJECTGALVANIZE on checkout! Go to LaMuerta.mx to check out the latest line of offerings from the people at La Muerta.
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