The Instagram account @1924us, along with the 1924us website, is pretty inspirational. The gent truly seems to give a damn. We at @whalebonemagazine has never sat next to him in the bar car of a train that is traveling across the country, but we imagine the conversation would run something like the following interview. Fill up your cup, find a comfortable seat, next stop is Interviewtown and @1924us is the mayor.
Come in @1924us. Can you hear/see us? Over.
Are you like…telling me fill my cup or…OH! Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.
Hello, hello…thank you for taking the time…Could you share with us a little on the story behind yourself and @1924us?
Uhhh ok, a little story. So I started out in ’92. Fast forward 17 years and I ran a Tumblr that was becoming quickly recognized for some curation and aesthetic before #aestheticgoals was a thing. I didn’t really know what I was about, but knew I wanted to be doing something semi-inventive. So I studied architecture for a few years while running the blog and eventually found myself designing and drawing for start ups. Now I’m all over the place and doing a ton of weird odd and end jobs and I love them.
The @1924us dedication to quality and the process of branding, illustration and the approach to life comes off as devastatingly positive. It’s a rare human trait we find. What would you say to anyone just getting their start in the world of business?
Realize you’ll almost always be a bit of an asshole at first. You have to really be kind, but firstly you have to be confident and a lot of people confuse that trait with arrogant pride and cockiness, so you’ve got to suck it up and ignore it, which, like any lose/lose situation, makes you look bad. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, so you should do.
That’s my theory, positivity isn’t something I encompass but something I strive for constantly without fault. I’m only competing with a better version of myself, and the minute you stop doing that you remain idle. So I think the best part of starting is to realize where you are and not be ashamed of it, in order to build you gotta break some things.
Many might not know this but the year 1924 was a leap year. Admittedly, we looked it up before this interview. However, if we gave you an extra day off from everything in life, total freedom, how would you spend that day? Could be anything. No limitations.
I didn’t even know that, crazy. If I had a free day to do as I please, I don’t really know actually. I really enjoy the free time I already have which isn’t much…I’d probably enjoy being a sloth and sleeping soundly if I could just take an honest to god break haha. But hey if you’re handing out free days, I’ll take ten.
This next bit is a little word association @1924us, we say a word or a phrase and you reply back with the first thing that comes to your mind. No cheating. Branding.
Dedication.
Airports.
Fear. Which I realize is strange! But I ALWAYS think about dying at an airport.
Note to self. Don’t fly with @1924us…or maybe meet you on the plane after you get through the airport part. One movie you’d never admit you’ve watched and really liked but you watched it and really liked it? No one’s listening.
Ok so I love this movie, INK, which is really not terribly well done but it tugged at my heart for a number of reasons, namely the incredible soundtrack.
What is one common misconception you think people might carry about your style to lettering, branding projects and illustration?
People generally think I might be lazy? I’m often condemned for the amount of time some projects take versus others. But for me it’s more important to tell a story correctly than any other factor being involved. So I think when I’m waiting for inspiration or dealing with other aspects of “real life” people notice that and assume that things should be done quicker or not as fast (depending on the side they’re on). But I think it’s rarer than it is commonly conceived.
The phone rings later tonight and it is your banker. He informs you that a long lost relative has left you $20,000,000 but their last will has a clause in there that you must work at a similar pace until age 65. What is the first substantial purchase/investment you go after? (Also, very impressed you have a banker that can reach you at all hours)
I can’t work at this pace ’til I’m 65, at least not in this field haha. So in the reality of the situation I’d say no because it would genuinely kill me. If hypothetically I said yes, I would buy this beautiful small town in Northern Idaho and brand the entire place down to the last label in the general store.
We would like to have a party in that town one day. Three Instagram accounts that you’d say are worth a follow?
@Alliemtaylor for SURE, @helloemilie without a flippin’ doubt, and @burtoo because he’s rad!
One thing/place/experience not accessible via the Matrix that you would recommend people reading this go and do before they kick the bucket?
Yeah, leave your phones on a desk for three weeks and try not to die. Because it will really screw with you mentally, we are so damned obsessed with these things to the point of no return. It’s really tough but vibrantly rewarding!
Last one…a time machine is accidentally delivered to your house. You fire it up, we assume you know how to work one of those things, and realize it only goes back in time…what’s one brand or thing you would have loved the opportunity to witness or be involved with? Also, your neighbor called asking something about a time machine? Might want to ring them back.
You’re funny. Winchester, I’d love to work on their amazing branding, but more than anything I’d like to be besties with Rockwell and Sailor Jerry and crush the game together!
Ya killed it! Thank you for taking the time to join us tonight for this. We’ll have to get you out to Montauk this summer for a drink or two if you’ll be on the East Coast. Otherwise, drop us a line when Idaho opens. Highly appreciative of all you do.
Thanks for having me son, see ya next week in Brooklyn!
Interview as featured on the Whalebone Magazine Instagram (Tuesday, March 7th 2017). Also, might want to check out all the rad vintage things 1924 has to offer via the 1924us website. Pretty cool. To catch one of the interviews in real-time, keep your eye on our Instagram each Tuesday night at 9pm. If you dug this, you might also like:
