The Growlersworld Interviews

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The Growlersworld Interviews is an ongoing quest, bringing you closer to successful and creative people in all walks of life.

Rawle Austin presents...

A conversation with Paul Nicholson - Designing Art for a New Age!

Paul Nicholson founded and runs the innovative design company Terratag. I chatted with him to get to the core of his creative genius. Rawle Austin: Could you introduce yourself to Growlersworld.com readers? Paul Nicholson: Designer and artist otherwise known as Terratag. RA: You’re an artist/designer, when did you discover this talent? PN: If you take art in its broadest sense, it goes back to when I was a kid.

I have always been into doing stuff with my hands - drawing, Lego, plastic model kits, etc. - So, I guess I have always had the creative bug.

Through childhood, my interests were broad which continued into higher education.

At university I studied graphics, but my final project ended up being more about fashion and the application of graphics on clothing.

At university I got on well with the tutors and as I was setting up the final show the head of year admitted to me that she could see I was a hard worker with plenty of passion in what I did.

However, due to the fact I had not stuck to the set projects she would have to mark me down.

Admittedly, I had drifted from the course requirements, but this deviation led me down a path I still tread as a T-shirt designer. RA: Who and what were your earliest creative influences? PN: I would say that there are far to many to mention. So, I prefer to let the viewer draw from the work their own conclusions and, in doing so, quite often people will make connections that were subconscious or unintentional.

RA: How did you develop and nurture your artistic skills?

PN: Hard work is the only path to that moment of inspiration.

RA: You’ve spent some time in Japan, can you tell us about that and how it impacted your work?

PN: I am a definitely a Japan nut. The way I work is to take Japanese themes and to mix them up with European and, in particular, London-based styles.

At the moment the main inspiration is robots and graffiti, J-pop and Tokyo night life.

I do not feel comfortable being seen as belonging to a niche, so I kind of like the idea of taking a little bit of this a little bit of that and coming up with the Terratag hybrid.

What I also enjoyed about my first trip to Japan was how pleasantly surreal it was.

Over the years I have watched a lot of anime and was familiar with Japanese street scenes; the over-head electricity lines, the vending machines, walking along Tokyo back streets and even car registration plates. It was only when I thought about it that I realised the reason I recognised all these was that I had seen them in animation and seeing them for real was very odd. RA: Japanese anime has had a major influence on your work, what are your three favourite anime films/series and why?

PN: Masamune Shirow is my god.

He is the creator of Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell and Stand Alone Complex. All are incredibly well written stories with great art-work and fantastic mecha design along with some of the sexiest women in manga.

Also, for their mecha design, I love the work of Hajime Katoki and the Five Star Stories creator, Mamoru Nagano. I would also include in my list, not so much an artist but an organisation - Production IG.

They are the company that animated Ghost in the Shell and Stand Alone Complex. I love their artwork and stylistic direction in films.

But it isn’t all boy’s stuff and mecha as I am also a massive fan of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

My Neighbour Tottoro was one of the first anime films I ever saw and remains one of my favourite and there is not a robot to be seen.

RA: Who is your most favourite artist of all time and why? PN: In defining a favourite artist I would have to say that it would need to be an individual that has created something flawless. For me, this would have to be the Tachikoma – an arachnid robot created by Masamune Shirow. RA: What advice would you give to someone eager to get into art and design work? PN: Make sure you enjoy it. RA: You founded the company Terratag, how did it all begin and what’s it all about?

PN: From an early age I was in to customising clothing. I probably started around 1984, when I was a BMX kid, I cut stencils of the logo of the bike I rode, a GT Performer, and spray-painted the logo onto a long-sleeved T-shirt.

I couldn’t afford the official merchandise so had to get creative with a can of Halford’s car spray. After graduating from University I became Prototype 21 with business partner, John, in 1992.

Prototype 21 was and still is a design and T-shirt print company where my responsibility is the creative output. My business partner, John works more on the business strategy and brand development side of things.

Obviously, these job definitions are not set in stone, being a small company, we work very closely together. From 1993 - 2002 Prototype 21 was also the brand name of a T-shirt and clothing brand - the forerunner to Terratag. Terratag being launched in 2002.

RA: What are the most important lessons you’ve learnt setting up and running the business and why are they useful?

PN: The only rule is there are no rules. Especially these days, the business environment is constantly changing and what works for you one year may not necessarily work the next. So, what it boils down to is being aware of what is going on and being adaptable to change. RA: What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had to date while running Terratag. PN: I would say it was getting the job to design the Laughing Man logo. The Laughing Man is a character that appears in the animated film Stand Alone Complex.

This was a classic piece of good fortune as a few years previously I had done a spot of design work for a Japanese game developer and music label, Frognation.

Having sent a load of stickers to the guys at Frognation, they got plastered everywhere, including one guys lap top - that guy happened to be Dai Sato, script editor at Production I.G.

Whilst working on early drafts for the first series of Stand Alone Complex the director, Kenji Kamiyama, saw the laptop, liked the sticker designs and one thing led to another.

This then led to being invited to Production IG and meeting the writers, animators and director of Stand Alone Complex.

As you can imagine, being a huge fan of both Masamune Shirow and Production IG was, to use a cliché, a dream come true.

RA: Your clients have included Sony Playstation and Manga Entertainment, what is your ultimate aim for Terratag? Where would you like to see it take you? PN: Work from various clients has come about by being recognised. As long as people see something exciting and original in Terratag, it will keep on rolling. Looking around, I would say the internet has radically changed the way artists and consumers look at the T-shirt. Sites like Threadless, have opened up the T-shirt to 1000’s of amateur and professional designers alike.

As such, to compete, Terratag must make a much larger noise and the coming months will see us pull out all the stops.

RA: In a sentence, why should people check out the Terratag website?

PN: If you have got this far into the interview and are still interested, I reckon you should.

RA: Who inspires you most in life and why?

PN: Everyone and anyone who ploughs their own furrow.

RA: How do you like to spend your spare time?

PN: I tend to always be on the move. So, if I am not at home drawing, farting about on the computer or ankle deep in Lego, I love cycling, hiking and getting on to the heath for a swim.

RA: And finally, what words of wisdom would you like to leave us with?

PN: Always wear clean underwear as you never know when you might be in an accident.

All pictures used are © & ™ Terratag

Check out the Terratag website, here!

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