Justin’s worked for us for almost a year now, as our shipper and packer extraordinaire, and we really have no clue how we managed to get by before him. He has a way of organizing our cluttery office into neatly packed spaces (he must be good at Tetris) and packing 50 orders without even a sigh. Although we love him here, his true passion is printmaking – hence the awesome shirts we’re featuring that he designed and printed for us by hand in Brooklyn. Learn more about Justin below and get your Metal Duck shirt here.

FROM SARMA:

“Justin being an artist tends to doodle a lot, and sometimes (if you’re lucky) even makes cute drawings on order notes. One day I walked by his desk and something caught my eye. On a yellow post it note, he’d drawn One Lucky Duck to look very much like the logo of a certain favorite band of mine. I freaked out (in a good way) and immediately I wanted it on shirts! So Justin refined the design and made these for us. I’m hoping we don’t get sued over it, but since I know for a fact this band often goes raw while on tour, and one of them is a regular restaurant guest, I think we’ll be okay.”

What’s your favorite part about working at One Lucky Duck?

“The people I work with!”

What was the most orders you’ve packed in a day? 

“I think the most orders I’ve packed in a day was probably around 50-60 orders.”

“I was in my second year studying painting at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn when I enrolled in a relief printmaking class as an elective. At the time, I had a particularly uptight, traditional oil painting professor whose class involved painting nudes and still lives. My relief printmaking class was a sharp contrast. My professor, Dennis McNett, rolled up to class on a skateboard, played Black Sabbath while we worked and gave us the freedom to create whatever image we wanted to as long as we learned the technique. That year, I participated in an event Dennis coordinated called “Big Damn Prints” in which the participants each carved an 8 ft. by 4 ft. woodblock and printed them with a steam roller! Needless to say I was sold on printmaking after watching 30 kids all working together and a huge steam roller printing 8 foot wood blocks. So from then on I focused all my energy on printmaking.”

Do you have a favorite print that you’ve created?

“The prints that I feel the most connected to are the portraits I’ve made of my friends and family.”

Favorites:

Bubble wrap or packing peanuts? 

“The packing peanuts that are made from corn starch are the easiest to work with and dissolve in water so if I could have those, I choose packing peanuts. If not, bubble wrap. Recycled, of course.”

Silkscreen or Lithograph?
“Tough one. I think I’d have to say lithography. Mainly because lithography involves drawing on a piece of limestone and then etching the stone with nitric acid. It’s a very labor intensive process and it makes the end result that much more rewarding. However, silkscreening is great for its practicality and it’s versatility in that it’s a relatively quick process and it can be used on textiles, paper, skateboards, etc.”

Picasso or Pollock?
“Albrecht Durer! Can I nominate him?”

Metallica or AC/DC? 

“Metallica’s first two albums.”

Sydney or Leon? (Sarma’s cat and dog)

“I could never choose!”

Each shirt was handprinted in Brooklyn, by Justin, using water based ink on organic cotton t-shirts. The material is thin and ridiculously soft and cozy. Unisex, but runs very small for male sizes. These won’t be around for long so get one while you can!

and don’t forget about our classic Eat Raw Live Long t-shirts, also 100% organic cotton!