be+cause clothing ::

One of the many benefits of starting be+cause is the opportunity to collaborate with talented artists and designers, some of whom are established and well-known, while others will soon be household names. Their talents, passion, and willingness to take time out of their busy schedules to work on new projects that hope to do some good in the world—well, we have to admit that this leaves us feeling very grateful and inspired.

HERO 5

Karen Ingram
Artist for Aung

Karen Ingram is an illustrator, designer and animator living in Brooklyn. Her work has been profiled in Computer Arts Magazine, Digit Magazine, and Flash Goddess.com, among others. Her personal portfolio, kareningram.com selected as on of 50 winning websites featured in STEP inside design’s first "Best of Web Design Annual", September/ October, 2005.

Books that have noted her work include, "New Masters of Photoshop, Volume 2", and “4x4 Photoshop and Flash: Time and Stasis”, published by Friends of Ed, London, and “RETHINK, REDESIGN, RECONSTRUCT”, published by HOW Design, and several books published by Die Gestalten including “Dos Logos”, “Illusive” and “Sonic: Visuals For Music”.

Ingram's designs and art have been used for mass production and distribution, from t-shirts in Japan (by Graniph, Tokyo) to bags and wallets in Australia (by Nookart).

An active member of the design community, she is a news editor at Kaliber 10000 and a crew member of the Australian based design portal Design is Kinky. Ingram has judged the SXSW INTERACTIVE FESTIVAL for the past 5 years. She has also presented her work at events such as “Flash in the Can” in Toronto and at the New Orleans AIGA Biennial, which she also judged. Ingram is also voting member of The International Academy of
Digital Arts and Sciences.

Ingram also creates a series of postcards, printed in numbered editions of 500. Visitors who come to Ingram’s website, (kareningram.com) can request a free postcard. This project was inspired by an attempt to merge tangibility with the accessibility of art on the internet.

HERO 2

Asif Mian
Artist for Gandhi

be+cause Clothing collaborated again with New York based artist Asif Mian (EvaQ www.evaq.com). The hand-drawn design depicts Gandhi walking alongside his own words, “Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will… its seat is in the heart.” Soldiers dot the waves he walks on.

The shirt is printed by formerly homeless workers (Ashbury Images) in an environmentally friendly ink discharge process, and is printed on responsibly-made blanks by American Apparel & Alternative Apparel. A percentage of proceeds benefit causes working for non-violence and social justice.

HERO 1

Asif Mian Artist for Ali	Mian (www.evaq.com) is a New York-based fine artist, designer, and video director. Self-taught in graphic design, animation, and video, Mian's work heavily relies on his background in drawing, painting, and sculpture. Mian recently began directing music videos; has exhibited his artwork internationally in magazines, books, and shows; and has designed for print and fashion. Mian's work focuses on exaggerating and abstracting aspects of society to create wholly inventive reinterpretations (a music video made from a pop-up book; post-apocalyptic toys; drawings created from sound waves; and mixed media paintings). Mian also straddles the fence between American and Pakistani cultures, often introducing ideas of cultural identity, social politics, and stereotypes into his work. Mian has collaborated and/or worked with 2K/Gingham Clothing, mtv2, Burton Snowboards, Definitive Jux Records, The Roots, and others. Mian has exhibited his personal work in New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Lyon, and Tokyo.

David Ellis & Kiku Yamaguchi Artists for Unknown Rebel	Kiku Yamaguchi (http://www.babyalpaca.org) is a painter/designer who formed BabyAlpaca Design in 2005. She is a veteran of the music business and has worked with artists such as Mos Def, Zap Mama, and Notorious B.I.G., and with music labels Verve, DefJux, Virgin, Universal Records, and Def Jam Japan. Her recent collagework can be seen in campaigns for Esthero's latest album, NikeWomen, and Mountain Dew. Yamaguchi is also a member of the international art collective Barnstormers. Her work with the group has been exhibited in SECCA (Southeast Center for Contemporary Art), The Contemporary Museum (Hawaii), and part of group shows at Aurora Gallery (NYC), Transport Gallery (L.A.), and Dyezu (Tokyo).

	David Ellis (http://www.b-stormers.com) has exhibited his work throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He works in various media, including film, video, painting, sculpture, and music. His public art projects can be seen on industrial buildings in Brooklyn, tobacco barns in Cameron, North Carolina, and on the exteriors of Mo Jo Trucking vehicles. He is also the founder of an art collective, the Barnstormers. David Ellis currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Yuri Shimojo	Yuri Shimojo (http://www.cwc-i.com) has been expressing her life through painting, drawing, writing, and dancing since the age of three. Her upbringing in Tokyo was a very unconventional one—she learned Japanese traditional arts and experienced foreign culture through traveling abroad. These two contrasting elements have had a great influence on her work. She lives half the year in Brooklyn, where her daily inspirations come from collaborative “jam sessions” with her family of artists, the Barnstormers. Yuri also spends time traveling and living in Hawaii or Costa Rica, where she is able to balance her creative and spiritual yin and yan. She also practices Hawaiian healing therapy and Reiki. Yuri was awarded the Communication Arts Award of Excellence in 2001, and has worked with United Colors of Benetton, Shiseido, Sony, RCA, Mercury Records, MTV Europe, Oxygen TV, NHK, Spaceshower TV, Verizon, Mazda, Parco, PEPSI Japan, Timbuk2, Totem Praia, blue magazine, Club King, and SOTOKO.