I asked some Amsterdam people to curate my first series Painted Stories XL Prints, for which I made an illustration of something significant to them.
Georgy Dendoe | Founder clothing brand Sumibu
Sumibu is a clothing brand from Amsterdam. Sumibu is a corruption of the name of the neighborhood I grew up in, the Bijlmer, which is also known as Bims. My friends and I started calling it Smib, Bims spelled backwards. And when I started studying Japanese, it became Sumibu. That’s how they would phonetically spell Smib.
The idea for the brand was born in 2015. Ever since I was young I was interested in fashion. Starting my own fashion brand felt like a logical step. At some point you need more and more people in different places, so before you know it you’re running a business with employees. At the moment we have ten people working on Sumibu, one of whom I’ve known since I was four years old.
Our first store was Zeedijk 60, a shop we founded with Bonne Suits, The New Originals and Sumibu. Now we primarily sell online and at several stores throughout the Netherlands, but we hope to have our own shop in or around the Zeedijk, where it all started.
Why this illustration?
“It’s based on one of our own characters, Terry. Terry’s based on the god of the dead. You could call him a sort of grim reaper, but more of a kids’ version. He appears in a lot of our designs.
In Anne's version it’s translated into watercolor. That looks really cool, because of its scary eyes, but also sweet because of the wavy lines. And that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be like. A mix of scary and cute.
I draw a lot. And through short mangas about our characters Terrence, Maceo and Devon, we tell the story of Sumibu. Like the story behind a collection or how our customer service works. Devon, a devil/angel, Maceo, an alien, and Terrence, a grim reaper with a 9-to-5 job. Each one with his own role and character.”
Photo: Lin Woldendorp