Good morning, rise and shine everyone – it’s Chit Chat Tuesday and today I have got childrenswear brand owners VK and Joe from Monster’s Baby on the show!
It’s manic stations at the Circus at the moment for both Circus Charli and myself as we are currently planning a client’s Christmas Press Day! The time is ticking and the days are passing far too quickly! But all is ok…we are calm, collected and ready!!
Monster’s Baby is the newest act to join the Circus! We are huge fans of the brand and after much persistence from Circus Charli they were reeled in and we are so happy that they are on board! When I say that you are in for a treat with their SS15 collection…I am being serious!! There are some fab key pieces that will have your lil Monster looking well…like a monster!!
Right let’s get to it! Boys thank you so much for joining us today! Can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourselves…
Joe: Good morning! We’re basically two London boys with a background in media! VK works in graphic design and I work in the music industry as a radio plugger. We met during our college years through a mutual friend! We used to mix with the same crowds and go to the same parties.
We’ve both always had a keen eye for fashion and been interested in the industry! There are just so many different cultures and styles around London that it’s hard not to get immersed in it all!
How did Monster’s Baby come about?
VK: Joe had some t-shirt printing equipment around his flat and was dabbling in making adult t-shirts, initially with a vinyl printer and then picking out the images and heat pressing them onto garments by hand! It was a really laborious process but some of the results were really good. He was showing this to his friend Wesley who said “Why don’t you get in touch with VK? I reckon he could do some really cool designs.” We got together and after a brainstorming session, Monster’s Baby was born.
I think it was mainly due to the fact that we had both recently had nephews and nieces and we had some really cool ideas for little tees with monster characters and other bold prints. It just seemed like a really exciting prospect and a lot of fun!
We initially started selling our tees in Portobello Market and demand grew so we used to get our t-shirts screen printed in Kentish town until it organically got to the point where we were using manufacturers, selling in outlets and opening our store in Boxpark. It was quite a journey really!!
That’s amazing! It must have been so rewarding to have had such a positive response! Why the name Monster’s Baby?
Joe: VK’s dad used to always call him a little monster and it seemed to fit into the ideas we were having about how the designs and brand would look. It gave us loads of scope to play with characters and stuff! Plus it sounded cool.
Yah you’re right I love the name! What other projects are you working on apart from MB?
Joe: I’m promoting a load of artists to radio stations and also do a lot of music production in my spare time. I make a lot of house music! VK works on some big graphic design projects for the likes of Formula 1, The FA etc. That keeps him pretty busy on top of everything else.
Wow how exciting! I love house music! How do you find the time to do your day jobs and MB?
VK: We just seem to find the time. Joe’s hours are pretty flexible due to his line of work so he can do the necessary daytime stuff, whereas I find myself working late into the night and on weekends but I like to be busy and it’s all good fun.
I agree…busy is the best way! So, you’ve just taken Vida Kids on for Sales and Circus London PR for PR – how did that all come about?
Joe and VK: We met Charli from Circus when we had our pop up store at Boxpark and instantly clicked! She seems to get our brand and style and has helped us a lot along the way with her words of wisdom! She introduced us to all the girls at Circus and Vida and it just kind of went from there. They’re a really great team.
Ah thanks guys! I agree Mama C aka Circus Charli is an absolute Gem!
Tell us about the brand! What’s your ethos?
Joe and VK: We believe kids should have fun and their imaginations should be engaged! It’s great to do this through clothing. We use strong colours, bold prints, hopefully executed with humour and style. Our concepts are designed to get kids’ creative juices flowing, rather than just looking pretty – which they do naturally anyway.
Monsters Baby Jordan Valentine
Your pieces are definitely executed with humour and style! You haven’t got to worry about that! The campaign imagery is fab! You’re not producing an AW14 collection in order to focus on your SS15 collection! Can you tell us about the SS15 collection? What have we got to look forward to?
Well … This is really exciting!! It’s our largest range to date. We used to just focus on babygrows, t-shirts and trainer but now were expanding to a full 60 piece collection. We’ve got shorts, dresses, harems, jackets, sweats, leggings, shirts to name a few, all with little touches of something different.
There are monster’s running all over the place and some really cool characters and designs. We’ve also teamed up with East London street artist Ronzo who’s given us some amazing stuff to work with! We can’t wait to get it out on the streets.
I am finding it hard to contain my excitement as I have seen the collection in the showroom and it looks fab! I would defo wear some of the bomber jackets myself so all I can say is that everyone is in for a treat!! Where would you love to see your brand stocked?
Joe: I’d like to see us stocked all over the place! It would be great if all kids were to have access to our stuff from all around the world. It’s about time kids had more fun when getting kitted out! However, if somewhere like Urban Outfitters started stocking children’s clothes I reckon we’d be a good fit.
Why did you go in to childrenswear?
Joe and VK: It’s just so much fun and very rewarding. It’s always great to see little ones looking dapper in our garms and seeing them smile when they see our characters. Plus…things just look better in mini sizes. Adult fashion can seem quite contrived and we’re just really not like that.
Yah it must be great when you see little ones wearing your stuff! Who would you love to see wearing MB? Any celebs?
Joe and VK: We want our clothes to be accessible to everyone! All kids are equal!! Having said that though..Blue Ivy Carter would be good haha
Wooo – love that! I agree they are but as you said she is quite a Diva!! Where do you draw inspiration from?
Joe: All over the place! We’re both really immersed in all forms of media culture but I think growing up in the 80’s and 90’s and watching things like Thundercats, Count Duckula, Trap Door and reading things like Mr Men, The Wild Ones etc. plays a big part. We’re both really into our music too so like 90’s hip hop and the house music scene is somewhere in there too.
Hmmm yah I have no idea about those programmes haha! Who would you love to collaborate with?
Joe : I’d like to work with Margret Gordon who drew the Wombles! A modern version of that would be sick.
VK – Oh that’s a long list but I’d have to say John Burgerman (Puma, and Pepsi collabs to name a few) Adrian Johnson who’s Stussy characters I loved), Tado and his Tado by Gola collection, the amazing Shepard Fairey and Jeremyville.
I love Stussy – they’re stuff is pretty cool! Ok and lastly…If you were a monster what would you look like/be called etc?
Joe: Wow, that’s a tricky one! I think I’d be a bit all over the place…a bit sketchy and multi-coloured! I’d probably be called Squibly or something like that.
That does sound a bit all over the place haha – I’m lost already!
VK: Chomper! A black spikey shaped monster who’s soft inside and loves food!
No hesitation there VK!
Guys thank you so much for joining me today on CCT! It’s been great having you and discovering more to Monster’s Baby! As I said, we are huge fans of the brand and are so pleased to have you on board! All I can say is bring on September for the big SS15 launch!!
Join me next week for lots more gossip and chinwagging <3 Kate xox
All images belong to Monsters Baby.
