“MONK” File 002: The Creation

"MONK"
May 23
2 min read

Updated: Jun 16

Has the year already started over there? Fresh energy?

It has over here. And we’ve already gone back to doing what matters: creating.

That’s what this File is about.

File 002 — The Creation

The idea of creating t-shirts wasn’t new.

It had crossed my mind many times before.

The brands I liked and wore the most never really represented me that well. I was constantly walking around with surfboards and skateboards printed across my chest and back.

Nothing against it — honestly, I wish I had surfed more than 15 times in my life or at least learned how to land an ollie.

That was never the case.

There are only two things I remember doing since forever: drawing and writing.

Oh, and listening to The Beatles — thanks mom for turning “Yellow Submarine” into my childhood version of “Baby Shark.”

I could genuinely spend hours sitting quietly, drawing. Creating stories, comics, characters, entire families (I loved drawing families for some reason — if you’re a psychoanalyst, feel free to explain why).

Now, looking back at our first t-shirt collection — very creatively titled First Session — I can see that every graphic there translates a little of who I’ve always been and couldn’t really find elsewhere.

One of the defining characteristics of the first graphics I created was the text.

Like Benji’s first appearance (t-shirt #5) — which was literally the first t-shirt I ever designed.

Or the Michelangelo one (t-shirt #7) — whose story sounds absurd, but is actually real.

Or the James Brown one (t-shirt #3) — which was supposed to feel like a slightly nonsensical conversation between two stoned friends.

It was through creating the t-shirts that “MONK” started taking shape. Coming alive.

And, little by little, pushing me to explore more deeply the subjects that genuinely interest me.

So here’s a simple invitation: revisit some childhood habits once you become an adult.

Drawing, for example. You’ll realize the pleasure is still exactly the same — except now you have far more references, far more experiences, far more things to say.

References. Questions. Experiences.

And I hope you find a piece of yourself somewhere within our graphics too.

See you in the next File.

And don't miss the future

"MONK" FILES.