LQQK Studio: Staying True to Your Craft

There has always been something polarizing about New York. Beyond the flashing lights and high rises, local New Yorkers have a certain realness to them, an authenticity that at times is difficult to find anywhere else in the world. This New York state of mind, known to be synonymous with the hustle and grind of its residents’ lives is a valid depiction of the folks out there, and this idea has become inherent in the deep-rooted culture. To survive in the “concrete jungle,” let alone be successful, it takes true grit. So when brands choose to clearly associate themselves with the area, imparting the taglines “Made in New York” or “Product of NYC,” it comes with heavy connotations that they grew out of the bustle of constant competition. For brands or individuals to have been bred and stationed in New York, having a cultural appreciation for the area, despite the challenges it brings, tells a lot about the drive as well as the mindset of staying authentic.

For the LQQK Studio crew based out of Brooklyn, this sentiment of genuineness is apparent in their craft as well as their products. Four friends and a humble studio where all their output comes from. Based around the centuries-old craft of screen-printing, LQQK is best known for their print work on the Yeezy Season 1 Tyvek anoraks and Drake’s now infamous If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late album artwork, as well as their extensive work with fellow New York-based label, ICNY. While they work on amazing product with some of the biggest names around, screen printing itself is an old process that is far from glamorous. It is a trade, like any other, that takes practice, time and physical repetition to perfect. From the outside looking in, it is baffling that a group of young men living in this digital age – where millennials constantly seek instant gratification – have latched onto a craft like screen printing and have devoted themselves to succeed in it. In an industry where companies are flocking overseas for quick and cheap mass production, LQQK Studio has gone against the grain in propelling well-crafted, made in America products. They are staying true to the fashion and culture of New York, working with local brands and collaborating with like-minded individuals, all the while honing their own craft. While admittedly not a large business, their value of quality and of culture has allowed them the success we see today.

We caught up with one of LQQK’s founders, Alex Dondero, to gain more insight into the unique establishment that he and his friends have built from the ground up.

What first brought you into this age-old craft of screen-printing? How long have you been in the trade?

Each one of us has a different story of how we got introduced to screen-printing, but all of us have the same cultural appreciation to its dynamic applications. Being able to work with different fashion designers, graphic designers, musicians, artists, is why we love what we do. We work with different people doing very different projects, which is always exciting. The industry experience of those in the studio ranges from two to 10 years and counting.

For those who don’t know what screen-printing is, can you quickly describe what this process entails, and what type of items you typically produce?

Essentially, screen-printing is a very complex stencil. Mesh screens are coated with a photo-sensitive emulsion that holds the image. Ink is forced through the screen in the open areas of the stencil and that is how the print is produced. Screen-printing is the most versatile method of printing, and you can virtually print on any surface. At LQQK we tend to print on shirts and paper. The studio is split into a few different categories: T-shirt printing, art printing and production, and oddball projects.

In the current age of automation, that emphasizes speed and ease, why would you open a screen-printing studio? Did you see a market or demand there, or was it purely out of interest?

We didn’t pick screen-printing as a career, it just happened that way. We believe it’s important to offer a craft, especially if you have a passion for it. Momentum is what turned it into a full-time job. Word of mouth is a crazy marketing tool, and we take that to heart. Having a solid reputation is crucial, so when we hand off a final product we assume this person is going to tell other people if we did a good or bad job. So maintaining a high level of expectations is what allows us to keep getting clients. People will always appreciate quality. LQQK is trying to be honest with our approach and offer quality services. Demand is tough to predict for printmaking, but it is important to surround yourself with people who are connected to the scene you want to work in. NYC just happens to be an insane place that has its own economy that can support the most specialized markets. Regardless, it is the process we all enjoy and pay close attention to its capabilities and we are constantly learning how to be better especially when people want things faster and cheaper. It’s not a large business so we have always taken our time with projects and building relationships with our clients. We know there will always be a factory that can do things bigger, faster, and in larger quantities.

Why do you think artists and brands choose your small Brooklyn studio over larger, more established manufacturers and factories?

A majority of our clients are connected to us through personal relationships, or by word of mouth.

The larger manufacturers try to pump out larger quantities of one thing. Since we are a smaller studio, we have the capacity to work on smaller, more eccentric projects than the larger manufacturers.

Also, since we are in Brooklyn, we are a walk or a train ride away from most of the people that work with us, so they can always come in and work on getting the specifics down and really getting what they want. We also have a great lounge area!

What was the most technically difficult project you guys have collectively worked on here at LQQK Studio technically?

The most recent one that comes to mind are a few 6-by-6-inch multicolor Aaron Young paintings where some of the layers used a disperse agent to have the ink do some wild streaking and running. It was pretty crazy trying to control the dispersion, but we got a nice handle on it, and we were very pleased with how the paintings turned out

Boasting some huge name clients like ICNY, Theory, Drake and Kanye, how do you guys decide what projects to take on?
They contact us, we quote them and then we print the goods. Mike Cherman at ICNY has been a good friend and we used to share a space. We don’t do much production for him, but he has always had our back. With our other clients, that just goes back to what I was saying about NYC being a cultural hub, and we happen to know people who work with a lot of brands. We are definitely not the exclusive printer for these brands and we don’t let big name clients get to our head because you never know when those big jobs are going to come around.

How is it collaborating directly with brands as designers and consultants, then also being able to physically create, adjust and refine the product yourself as the manufacturers?

Collaborating with people we respect is why we do what we do. True collaboration allows everyone to gain from the experience, so naturally we are going to apply our experience to our personal projects.

Also, having a strong opinion can often help. We know what we like, and we like to help a specific brand get what they need. Oftentimes people don’t have a strong opinion or an eye, and need to be nudged in a certain direction.

Tell us about your clothes, and the motivation behind your branded products.
It’s a collective energy to produce quality products. We all have different outside interests that we are able to bring into our brand that we can connect with. At LQQK, we see other brands and designers’ ideas all day long. This becomes a strange version of research and development. We apply what we like to our products. We try and make things that hopefully have the ability to stand the test of time. Our core principle is to always ask ourselves, would we wear or use this? LQQK doesn’t feel a strong connection to streetwear because we are not focused on trends and fast fashion. Although our products may be slower to appreciate, we hope to make things that have a long life span.

How have you been able to use the things you have learned from the years of screen-printing for others and implement that into your own gear?

The hardest part about making gear is not going overboard. We have the ability to make some ridiculous clothing, but we find it harder to not just place prints all over everything. That’s not to say we are above crazy prints, we just made a UV-sensitive, color-changing shirt that also glows in the dark. We just needed to get that out of our system.

It must be really convenient to be your own one-stop-shop for when you guys come up with your own ideas for products or designs. How quickly are you able to turn an idea around and bring it to fruition?
Well for a sample, we can pump it out the same day. But you have to understand if all of us don’t like the idea for something, it either gets revised until we are all happy, or it doesn’t get done. We all have to be vibing in order to feel good about making something. This can take time which is OK with us. Fast output isn’t the priority with our product.

You’ve followed your collective interest in music to creating record weights and holding events, how much of what you choose to do is based solely on interest?

We definitely have a strong tie to music, especially dance and electronic music. All of us collect vinyl, and use records when we play out. Music is one of those things that has always been a great outlet for us. We would always meet up and bring a small stack of records that we wanted everyone else to hear. We would DJ small house parties for just our friends, and it was totally loose and casual. This energy spilled over into our Know Wave radio show “LQQK 4 Know Wave.” This became the house party. Every week we could blow off some steam on the airwaves and play the music we were vibing with. This also became a great platform to promote some of our favorite artists and hopefully expose local artists to a wider audience. We generally think that following your interest leads to better results. If you don’t have a passion for what you are doing, it shows. That’s why we are making objects like the marble record weight, and pressing records is so important because we care about the results. It’s worth just rolling the dice and hoping for the best results.

With this strong base of knowledge, creativity and hands-on production experience, what is next for LQQK?

Fuck, if we knew that would be amazing. We live day-by-day. No business plan, no budget, loud music. Printing ‘till our hands fall off.