Ampersand Streetwear 2022 | Grant Avenue & Stay Lucky Collections
What was Ampersand?
Ampersand Streetwear (stylized AM·PER·SAND) was a clothing brand I created and ran from 2019 through to the end of 2022. The first concept of the brand followed the tagline of "Adventure Together," that no matter what you did, and where you went -- you would be doing it with the people you loved. It was a great way to connect my friends from SoCal and NorCal together through a belief I still hold so closely to my heart.
Believe it or not, my dad was the one who had given me the idea. I started playing around with Photoshop and Illustrator more seriously. There were sooo many concept graphics I made that did not make the final cut when I launched the brand in the summer of 2019.
After the Pandemic and into college, I had absolutely zero internship experience and no job interviews. My girlfriend was the one who convinced me to restart the brand. In this refresh, I adopted a new slogan of "Stay Lucky," so that I might wish good luck & fortune to anyone that stumbles upon our lucky cat. Below is the 2022 revitalization of AMPERSAND STREETWEAR, which I credit to jump-starting my career in the creative industry.
The GRant Avenue Collection
The namesake
The Grant Avenue collection is based on Asian-American iconography prevalent within Los Angeles and San Francisco. The name of the collection takes after the historic Grant Avenue street that runs through San Francisco Chinatown, representing the different crossroads of Asian and American cultures found unique to California. The collection is about the complexities of intersecting cultures, identities, and what it means to be Asian-American now.
Invited by Adobe, I taught a segment on how I created the Kitsune illustration by making custom brush profiles in Adobe Illustrator.
STAY LUCKY COLLECTION
Stay Lucky Collection
Over the summer of 2022, I spent a lot of my time thinking of ways to expand my small business and how I could reach out to new customers outside of social media. This meant coming up with different designs not yet associated with the brand and setting up my first pop-up booths in San Francisco. In development, I found a lot of inspiration from Japanese pop culture and Asian-American iconography. By blending the two, I created the "STAY LUCKY" collection and sold my designs over the month of August. I shot every product image and enhanced the photos with Adobe Photoshop
Community Event Promotion
I went to different events in San Francisco Japantown to promote the collection and the brand as a whole. Having a physical location for a few days allowed me to connect with customers through dialogue about their identities, cultures, and views that tied back into the collection's statement. Whether or not somebody bought anything at the booth, I'd always give them a free sticker as a way to thank them for a great conversation. By the last pop-up, we had sold our remaining inventory.
2026 Retrospective on AMPERSAND
Though the full history of Ampersand Streetwear is not present on this portfolio, my dedication to running this very, very small brand between 2019 to 2022 was how I cut my teeth in vector illustration, fabrication, and community building.
Are there things now I'd tweak about these designs? Absolutely. But I look back fondly for the effort I put into designing, fabricating, and community outreach that I did. Every release, I would print ninety-something shirts in my garage, load em' in a van, and haul it into San Francisco.
Though it has been 4 years since I made any artwork for this brand, AM·PER·SAND never felt like it ended to me. Both taglines of "Adventure Together" and "Stay Lucky" still ring true to me, till this day. The ultimate lesson I learned through this is: I am beyond fortunate to do what I love, with the people I love. That is the real adventure, and that is true fortune.
Earlier, I mentioned that this project had 'jump-started' my career. It was the level of polish I gave a genuine passion project of mine that I was able to forge deep connections with other designers -- going as far as to be the first video I ever did with Adobe. That video has gone on to foster what has been an amazing working relationship with Adobe. Never in a million years would I have thought that possible. Even if this brand is in the archive of my portfolio, it will never be in the archive of my heart ❤︎.
Anyways, as a thank you for your time reading through this, you can access the AM·PER·SAND archive here.
Shhh, it's a secret!
