FEBRUARY 2012
Page 3
P E O P L E
Art with a global reach Native sons Mike and Patrick McCarney of Akomplice Clothing create graphics with a purpose By Carrie Click, Echo editor Patrick and Mike McCarney know Highway 133 through the Crystal River Valley as well as anyone. Growing up and living in both Carbondale and Paonia, they’ve been traveling up and down the valley and over McClure Pass even before they could drive themselves. “Oh yeah, this is home,” said Patrick. “This area has the highest concentration of people I know and grew up with.” Now 27 and 25, respectively, the two brothers are home for just a while. “For the past three months we’ve been nomadic,” said Patrick. “With our schedule it hasn’t made much sense to put down roots or be paying rent somewhere. So we’ve been in California, New Mexico and Colorado staying in sublets and hotel rooms. When you do that, you find you don’t need much stuff.” The McCarney brothers may not need much stuff, but they are living life to the fullest. In 2004, they started what has become a global graphic design company out of a trailer they were sharing in Paonia. They called their company Akomplice, and they’ve been going non-stop ever since. Their modus operandi is simple. With Akomplice’s mission statement of “evolution through innovation” the brothers believe in breaking stereotypes on all levels. “We enjoy life,” said Mike. “We don’t hide behind a niche.” Akomplice’s graphic designs, which appear on Tshirts, jackets, hats and more,
From left, clockwise: a graphic represenation of war and oil; NFL’s Vernon Davis in an arts education campaign with Akomplice (see pg. 17); a statement on fear and freedom; Akomplice in color.
Images by Akomplice
are the brainchildren of both brothers, though Patrick says Mike is the head designer. “He’s a prodigy,” Patrick said.
From hip hop to hot The two grew up the sons of Mary and Steve McCarney. Mary owned and operated Planted Earth for years, and Steve was one of the founders of Solar Energy International. The boys attended public schools in both Paonia and Carbondale, as well as, separately and together at times, the Mountain Sage School, the Aspen Community School, Colorado Rocky Mountain School and Colorado Mountain College. Always into music, the two became interested in hip hop after Mike finished an internship at a New York City record label. Then – without formal training – Mike began wanting to create graphic art for clothing to promote the music. He learned Photoshop and Illustrator so he could get his and Patrick’s ideas on paper. Soon, his designs were catching on and the brothers produced a catalog initially targeted to skateboard shops. Akomplice grew from there. “We’d take designs to trade shows and take orders before printing shirts,” said Patrick. “We borrowed a little money. It grew organically.”
‘Based on intuition’ Today, Akomplice’s graphic designs are is available in 22 countries and 200 retailers. On television, Akomplice has appeared on everything from ESPN to HBO. The McCarney brothers’ graphic designs are popular with Carbondale local and X Games medalist Peter Olenick, skateboard legends Tony Hawk and Tony Alva, Snoop Dog, Carmelo Anthony, and the boys on the TV series “Entourage.” Although Akomplice sales are in the millions, Patrick and Mike say their focus is on their message and what they can do with their ideas. “We could’ve bought a Rolls Royce,” said Patrick, “but we drive a Toyota van. It makes more sense for us. One of the greatest freedoms we have is that we’re not doing this for money. It was never based on money. It is based on intuition and stuff we think is cool.” One of the things the brothers think is cool is having the opportunity to generate funds for causes in which they believe. The latest project is a collaboration between Akomplice and NFL football player Vernon Davis. The 49ers tight end was a studio arts major in college and strongly supports arts education. Patrick, Mike and Vernon created a T-shirt image incorporating a stylized photograph of Vernon on top of one of Vernon’s colorful abstracts. Money raised from T-shirt sales are going to Young Audiences Arts for Learning, a national arts education organization. In addi-
continued on page 17