Latest Collection: Smorkin' Labbit By Frank Kozik

Lights off, and this big 10" Labbit glows in the dark on my study table.

BRILLIANT ESTABLISHMENT EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Michael Thorsby

Graphic designing is a form of applied art incorporating the arrangement of text and images in order to convey a message. In essence, it is a form of visual communication. In today’s world, the possibilities in this field are endless. Michael Thorsby from PMKFA clothing is one person who identified an opportunity in the field and has successfully taken advantage of his talents in producing t-shirts to logos to packaging, just to name a few. However, such success requires hard work and there are obviously challenges along the way. I was able to conduct a virtual interview with Micke, and here’s what he had to say about graphic designing, his work life and what lies ahead.

Jason: What does PMKFA stands for?

Michael: It's a Swedish thing that I honestly cannot translate. It's a shortening of a name I got from my old boss back in 1999 at the first day of my job.

Jason: Your works display an obvious passion for designing. When, where and how did it all begin?

Michael: It all started with music really. I wanted to express my passion for electronic music and around ’97-’98, I started doing posters and flyers for my friends music/club projects in the area of my small city of birth about 30 km northwest from Stockholm/Sweden. After high school, I started working as an assistant at the Stockholm-based studio Vår moving to Copenhagen to start a master course in visual communication in 2000. During these years, music has been present without me choosing it really.

Jason: You are very young yet your talent in graphics exceeds you. Where do your inspirations come from?

Michael: Hmm, this is hard. I don't really buy any design-books or magazines. I got bored with buying that kind of stuff a couple of years ago. I collect loads of images all the time and sometimes assemble them into PDFs so these are my own small internal magazines of inspiration. I guess one could say they are full of bad stuff and they are, but everything has something small in them and sometimes I get ideas from small details. It's just a lot of random stuff. Google image search is my bible.

My way of thinking is probably changing these days as I live in Tokyo. I always liked "strict psychadelica" whatever that means and Tokyo is good in that sense. So many times I hear that people can see graffiti in my works. Maybe it's the way I sometime treat letters but I think it has more to do that I want to mix typography with illustration. One could say this is a part of graf but I don't come from that so I guess it's just a coincidence.

Jason: You have done a range of work from packaging, typography, designs for tees, to logos. Can you tell us a little bit about each?

Michael: Packaging is something that has interest me since I was a kid. I made my own packaging already back then, loved and still love working with paper. I want to make stuff from cardboard here in Japan but cockroaches make nests in those kinds of boxes so I can't. In recent years I've been putting more research into my packaging and it's been very enriching.

When it comes to typography I have liked using typography as illustration and mix it all together and make typographic illustrations etc. I enjoy making small fonts for some of the projects I make. Need to fresh up my typo-knowledge a bit soon though. T-shirt designs have been something that I've had a bit of a problem with. I was never satisfied and not until I made It's Our Thing that I wore the t-shirts I made myself. It took me such a long time to make a design but now I can work with it in a more relaxed way and enjoy it so much more.

I enjoy making logos although I never think what I do is good enough but people seem to like it very much so maybe I should try to feel better doing it. I Just need to develop my skills much more. My old teacher thought so and I think he's right.

Jason: You have only recently moved your base to Tokyo, Japan. What made you decide to settle down there among all the other countries?

Michael: I came here thanks to my girlfriend. We both lived in London and got to know each other very well. When she moved back last year I came along after I had finished my studies in Copenhagen. I have been here a couple of times before but never expected to move here for this reason. I think I have my most exciting time ever even though I wish I had a bit less time in front of the computer. We went to the mountains the other day and it was wonderful, so fantastic to get out of the city and breath some fresh air.

I guess I am quite restless and I guess we will move somewhere else for a while at some point, you never know what will happen. I will be in Sweden for the whole month of August to work and have a little bit of holiday, eat strawberries, tent in the forest and meet family and friends. Then I'm going to London whole September for some work, I'm so excited about that and can't wait to go there again for the first time in over a year.

Jason: And you are currently busy with a project. Can you fill us in on it?

Michael: I do a row of things most of the time. What I guess you mean is It's Our Thing, the t-shirt label (that will be more than only t-shirts). That's mine and Osaka's Sweatshop Union's project. We had a small exhibition last week and it was fun, a very small thing but very nice. I got to sell a bunch of stuff and had a party the past Saturday and it was fun, thanks to the people who came all the way to Ikebukuro.

My main project right now is an identity and graphic art-direction of a furniture-company. I started this week and will work more then full time for this for the coming three months. It's what brings me to Sweden and London the coming months and it will all end up in a fantastic exhibition/launch party in London. Can't tell very much about that as I just got started and I don't know how much of it is official. It might sound a bit stiff with a furniture company but this is far from that, the founders are really cool and younger than me even. I'm very impressed by their way of fixing all this and can't think of any project that I've been more excited about. Very daring people, confident and trustful. More than that we will make a brand new line with more products and designs for It's Our Thing from around September, hold tight for that.

As Micke said, new designs for t-shirts are coming in September. There will be new sweatshirts, bags, earrings, big stickers and some other stuff for other brands. So keep checking his site: www.pmkfa.com for updates on those.