Paul Frank (born August 29, 1967) is an artist and fashion designer. Paul Frank's creations adorn clothing, accessories, and many other products. Julius the Monkey is one of Paul Frank's best-known creations.
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Biography
During the 1990s, Paul Frank was an art student at Orange Coast College. He bought a sewing machine in order to complete small projects. One day, he used some spare orange vinyl to create a wallet and after seeing his work, his friends expressed interest in other accessories, so he began to sew items such as guitar straps and backpacks. A few years later, he formed Paul Frank Industries in order to keep up with the demand for his products. He worked at another job during the day, but sewed and sold his products during his spare time. Paul Frank Industries are currently in Costa Mesa, CA. The company's stores are also popular, with domestic locations in Southern California, San Francisco, New York City, Dallas, Las Vegas and Chicago. International locations include: London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Athens, Seoul, Bangkok, and a group in Japan. Future locations include Doha, Qatar and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Paul Frank also collaborated with many bands including Bad Religion, Every Time I Die, Radiohead, The Vandals, Alkaline Trio, Tool, Gorilla Biscuits, The Aquabats, and Pretty Girls Make Graves. Other musical collaborations include the Coachella festival, Lollapalooza, and LA radio station KROQ. Besides co-branding and licensing affiliations with bands, Paul Frank Industries has collaborated with other artists and companies, including Mattel, Oscar Mayer, Elvis Presley, Andy Warhol, Wahoo's Fish Taco, SHAG, John Deere, Nirve Bicycles, Obey Giant, ProKeds shoes, Mark Ryden, Thomas Campbell, Hello Kitty, and Lego. Frank currently heads a new design studio called Park la Fun. He is currently working on clothing and textile designs for major retailers and intellectual properties. He also contributes fine art pieces to many charity events and museum exhibitions.
Influences
In 1972, Paul Frank attended Sun View Elementary School in Huntington Beach, CA. The building was painted in bright colors -- rusty orange, light blue and gold-yellow -- and Frank acknowledges this influence on his subsequent work. He also says that he is inspired by industrial designers: "...[artists who] design schools, desks, chairs, office furniture, bicycles, cars, blenders, toasters from the '40s through '60s, stuff like public buildings." Further, Frank says that much of his style has developed as a result of his love for music such as The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Velvet Underground.
Personal life
In 2003, Paul Frank met his wife, Susan Wang. They were married on June 18, 2005 at Disneyland and currently live in Southern California.
