Can you sense the excitement in my voice? I just have to quickly give some props to two of my favorites – Alien Workshop and Andy Warhol. Word was released today via @thewarholmuseum on Twitter, and on Alien Workshop’s company site, that they have been working collaboratively to bring the world – wait for it, wait … Yes! Andy Warhol Skate Decks!!! Get in line; according to Alien they will be available Spring 2010. The 10 limited-edition pro decks feature work from Andy’s Death & Disaster Series, along with 5 of his iconic pop creations (they even got the packaging right!). You can find them at the Andy Warhol Museum and through Alien Workshop. Check ‘em out -
© 2010 Alien Workshop & Andy Warhol
Just for the Heck of it
Since we’re talking emerging media, I decided to do a little checking up on these two underground mega-brands. As a designer, I’ve worked in the same town that Alien was born in, and it has been awesome to watch them grow. Apparently Alien is so cool now that it doesn’t even have to start its own brand page on Facebook. At last count, the largest FB fan page for Alien (there are several) had 8,113 fans, absolutely no posts, no company info, but 3 pages worth of fan photos – mostly of Alien boards. Those are some pretty impressive fan numbers for any brand and they should like that people are that so interested, they’re promoting the brand on their own. Alien can be found on Twitter (@alienworkshop) but be warned, not sure if this is a brand page either. There are a cool 710 followers, but only 14 tweets. The Tweets are mainly about events that seem attended by Alien. There are awesome action shots like this one:
© 2010 Alien Workshop
Apparently Alien subscribes to the same mentality that most skaters do, come and find us, and see how ya like us then. Skaters are known for guerilla tactics, and Alien would be a prime candidate brand to slap a few more stickers on the walls of social media. Other big skate brands have done it and fans are flocking. Alien is already huge, but by reaching out a deck, they can continue to thrive by giving fans what they want – more Alien bada@#ness.
On To Andy
Andy’s always been a buzz builder. The man’s been dead for decades and his pop brand is still making people talk. As the man said himself – “Art is what you can get away with” (Andy Warhol). That’s what makes the union of skateboarding and pop art such a perfect fit. Skaters have been looked down on for years – arrested for using public places, picked on by class bullies, and yet, they’ve gotten back up, dusted off their chucks, and kept on riding towards the X Games. The critics never cut Andy any slack either. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted, and where he wanted. He made art. You can like it, or you can hate it, but it’s his and he made it. And he really doesn’t care if you like it or not.
The Warhol museum and foundation are now in charge of his legacy. They’ve kept him in the spotlight with unique displays, articles, Twitter and Facebook pages, and informative Andy sites. Andy’s got buzz whether he’s dead or alive, and surely you can at least appreciate his hyped up style.
Check out more from these two brands here :
http://www.warhol.org/
http://www.alienworkshop.com/news/andy-warhol-x-alien-workshop
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