Today we’d like to introduce you to Frillz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I didn’t really go out and explore very much while growing up. During the summer after my freshman year of high school, my friends and I started a little bike crew and we went everywhere. Riding all around the city, I quickly encountered murals and different types of street art. I was so interested in the art that I decided that I wanted to do it also.
My girlfriend ordered me my first pack of 228’s, aka Priority Mail stickers, and I came up with a name that I would go by. I came up with “franwuzhere” and started drawing random things on the stickers, such as frogs, bananas, and zebras. After drawing random things for about four months, I came up with a character and changed my name. I came up with a bunny looking character and started going by “FRILLZ.”
I would draw this bunny 24/7. If I had to put a number on it, I’d probably say that I drew 30 stickers every single day. At the end of each week, I would go out on my bike early in the morning before the sun would come up and slap the stickers up everywhere.
After doing this for about a year, I wanted to improve my character. I shortened his ears, making him look like a puppy, and added a crown. Not only that, I decided to go digital, using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and stepped away from drawing stickers for a bit. This was fairly easy for me to do because I was in the Digital Media program at my high school, which was run by two amazing teachers, Mr. Arreguin and Ms. Stich.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was pretty smooth in the beginning, but only because I had no goals set for myself. It wasn’t until I started going to art shows that I had decided what I wanted to have my art up and displayed for people to enjoy. This was hard for me to accomplish because I had absolutely no idea how to make it happen. I decided that until my work was up for people to see, I would show it to them. Each time there was an art show, I would slide through with my pack of stickers. I’d hand some out to people and leave some lying around for others to grab. Not only did this help me get my art around it also helped me befriend other creatives.
It wasn’t until March 2018 that I felt like everything that I had been doing for the past three years was starting to pay off. While at a pop-up by Sentrock at Galerie F, I gave the owner, Billy Craven, some of my stickers. He snapped a picture of my sticker and asked if I had more of them. I returned to Galerie F a few days later to drop off some more stickers. It was during this drop off that he asked me if I’d be interested in being a part of an upcoming show at the gallery.
FRILLZ – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Almost all of my artwork revolves around my character, the puppy with a crown. Every time I’m brainstorming while making a new piece, I try to think of things that are interesting or passionate to me and think of ways to incorporate my character.
What I am most proud of are the accomplishments I’ve had this early in life. I started doodling and slapping up stickers at the age of 15. Now, at the age of 18, I have my artwork up in different galleries around Chicago and expanded from making only stickers. Although I still draw stickers, I also make t-shirts, digital prints, wheat pastes, and much more.
I feel like my age currently sets me apart from other artists that I’m around. Each time I’m asked how long I’ve been making street art, I say “About three years, since sophomore year of high school,” and get confused or shocked looks. I had never realized how shocking that was to people, especially those who are older than me and really admire my work. I’m thankful that I started creating this early in life.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My first group show at Galerie F. Not only was it an honor to be in a show at my favorite gallery it also meant a lot to me because many of artists I look up to were also part of the lineup. If I told 15 years old me that I was going to be part of a show along with my favorite artists before I graduated high school, I wouldn’t believe it. It’s still shocking to me. None of this would have been possible without everyone who’s been supporting me throughout the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://frillzchicago.wixsite.com/frillz
- Email: frillzchicago@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_frillz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frillzchicago/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/frillzchicago
- Other: https://galeriefchicago.com/collections/frillz
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