Editor’s note: This post is a continuation of our series How I Got That Gig, where craft industry professionals tell us the story behind a great commission, job, freelance opportunity, or contract. In this installment, artist April Sunami explains how she got the opportunity to design a t-shirt for retailer Lane Bryant.
Finished image for the Lane Bryan T-shirts (the gold was later omitted digitally). Design is exclusive to Lane Bryant.
My name is April Sunami. I am a visual artist based in Columbus, Ohio, who was recently commissioned to create the art for a shirt by Lane Bryant, a national clothing retailer. It has been both thrilling and surreal to see my work take on a life beyond canvases and walls.
I have been a full-time professional artist for well over a decade and my muse has been depicting Black women as powerful, contemplative, complex people with agency. I typically paint the face and figure with acrylics, but render the hair and the background with a variety of mixed media.
April Sunami is an award-winning visual artist primarily focusing on mixed-media painting and installation.
Starting in the summer of 2020 I moved from canvases in galleries to walls in public spaces, as I took on a number of highly visible murals. Although I had been interested in murals for a long time, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice meant that my work and themes had a new resonance.
I was dedicated to sharing my message of the worth and value of Black lives with a larger audience, and a number of people reached out to amplify my voice.
One unexpected connection was with Lane Bryant. I had been taking on some of my most ambitious projects and posting them to social media. During this time I was contacted by a marketing and social media associate via Instagram. She asked me if I could bring the spirit of my murals and paintings to a shirt.
Preliminary sketches for the Lane Bryan shirt.
Whenever I am asked to create an image for something it is always my practice to create at least three different versions for my patrons to choose from. For Lane Bryant I came up with several quick sketches and their team picked one for me to turn into a finished design. I don’t have a background in illustration or graphic design, so it was fun to stretch myself and utilize a completely different way of thinking about my artwork. With this project I had to consider how my subject could translate into something that could be reproduced on merchandise. Normally my work involves oil, acrylic, glass, paper collage and a wide variety of other materials, but for this project I drafted the design in ink.
Another element that came straight from my work over the summer was quotes from thinkers and leaders of the civil right era. Like many other artists, I looked to them to help bring this moment of racial reckoning into contemporary context. For this project, I didn’t want to use a specific quote, but text seemed an appropriate tool to bring this artwork into focus and make it accessible.
I chose words that came to mind whenever I thought about the strong and amazing women in my family –my mother, aunts, sisters, and mother-in-law –and the traits they possess.
If I could identify this in the women that I know, then everyone else could relate. I chose the words powerful, warrior, nurturer, protector, blessed, survivor, loved, sister and daughter.
Left: Preliminary sketch. Right: Mock up of the image on fabric before mass printing of the T-shirts. Design is exclusive to Lane Bryant.
Once I was finished with the image I sent over a high-resolution scan of the design. Lane Bryan’s team of graphic designers who cleaned up the lines and converted my image into a workable format for printing. A couple of months later I saw the mock-up for the design, and after a few more weeks, I received a t-shirt in the mail. Elation doesn’t describe how cool it is to see your work on a national retailer’s website. This was an amazing opportunity and I learned a lot from this process. I would definitely take on more projects with Lane Bryant, and other companies that are willing to be respectful of my message and values.
April Sunami
contributor
April Sunami is an award-winning visual artist primarily focusing on mixed-media painting and installation. Sunami’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the National Theatre in Accra, Ghana, and during the Cuba Biennale in Mantanzas, Cuba. Her work has been featured in various juried group exhibits, galleries and museums including the Columbus Museum of Art, the National African American Museum and Cultural Center and a solo exhibit at the Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, Ohio. Her work is also represented in private, corporate and public collections throughout the United States.
What a great design and story! I love hearing about how artists get interesting/unusual gigs!
We do, too, and we’re so glad to hear you enjoyed April’s story!
Congratulations to April! What wonderful and beautiful messages and designs!
Wow! I wish all stories, all artists had the experience that April had! I, myself, was not so fortunate. Almost 7 years ago, I was contacted by my manufacturer’s rep, who had a deal fall in his lap, with the task at hand for me to create art, that would be turned into prototypes, that would then be turned into items, to sell in a now extinct chain specialty retail store. I was give a Powerpoint presentation, and told to look at the buyers’, not just the store’s, but the buyer’s “own” Pinterest, to get ideas for inspiration. I was given a detailed list, including colors to work with, materials to work with, etc. I was only to do 2D renderings, of my own design, based on criteria that the buyer wanted to put in the 1100 stores. Oh, and I was only given 2 weeks to come up with as much as possible, over 60 renderings! Then I sent them to the rep, who in turn, out of his own pocket, had them turned into prototypes. He then took them to the meeting, he made presentation boards, the works. Come to find out, she didn’t like his choice of manufacturers, who created the prototypes. ??? Biggest let down.
Weeks go by, and the rep was given a shot at it again, asking for art for the fall line for the same chain, this time, he would find better manufacturers, and we’d take our time on the project, he’d take his time on the prototypes, etc. Well, he connected me with some lady who owned her on import company, whose partner was some NFL co-owner’s son, her financial backer / investor. This woman bragged how she made 3 million and sold her previous company, then opened up this new venture, even telling me in an email, at one point, that she was in India with factories, working on my prototypes – found out later that that was a lie. I worked on the 2nd batch of designs, rendering, product designs, motifs, even worked in Adobe Illustrator, all summer long. In between breaks, working on the project in sections, she asked me to work on a side project, that never took shape. Towards the end, time was passing, my work was submitted, she waits until a week before its due, which puts my rep in a pickle, because now he has to stop, and wait on new designs from me, the importer decided to ask me to go back, and make a new batch of designs, with motifs closer to designs more fitting with what the retail chain is known for. See, again, the buyer had expressed that anyone involved look at “her” personal Pinterest for inspiration, making it about her, more than the chain’s niche. I agreed, because honestly, a niche wants to stand out, if a store is known for certain designs, motifs, then they should stick with what they know, what works for them. So, I was given 48 hours, it took me 52 hours, luckily, I was alone to do so, no distractions. The rep was peeved. However, I was the one stuck in the middle, between the manufacturer’s rep, the importer, and the buyer.
The deal fell apart because the rep became irate with the importer, and their professional relationship fell apart. Oh, and also, the importer told me that the rep wasn’t getting sale orders for the importer, and that she wasn’t working on “our” project, even though I had nothing to do with these other projects they were working on, my deal fell apart because of something that I wasn’t working on, and it became contingent upon their project ??? Yes, seriously, that happened.
I just want other artists to know that not all professional craft, or design relationships are as smooth as April’s shirt project with LB. A lot of these companies want a designer to submit not just full renderings, some of them want actual, created pieces, like 60-72 renderings and physical pieces, within 2-3 weeks from contact. And they want you, the designer, to do it on your own dime. I was lucky to have someone foot the bill. A lot of these design relationships require financial investors, backers.
One thing that bothers me in business, is how they talk about “relationships”, “Let’s build a relationship!”, too many have expressed in communication, whether it be dealing with reps, buyers, importers – in business, they are all the same, with that line about “building a relationship”. I’m not sorry to say this, but a relationship is between 2 or more people that care for each others’ well being. My analogy is my cousin, who once held her friend’s head, and helped her, while dealing with the aftermath of a hangover, lol, because as my cousin says, “That’s what you do, when you care for someone.” As far as I’m concerned, in business, we are all transactions to these business people.
I just want other artists and crafters to know what they could be getting into. Its rough, do your homework, ask lots of questions, be prepared, know what you are in for. In the end, its all about making money for these people. What are you willing to do? What are you willing to compromise?
Love stories like this! It’s reassuring to see that ANYTHING is possible when you BELIEVE! Great job!
Great story and I’m happy for April! Stay true to your message and word will spread! She’s additionally been in the game for over a decade; I’m hopeful her negotiations will be favorable for her–and success is self-defined.