MY WORKPLAYCE: MICHAEL HUYNH
Name: Michael Huynh
Location: Orange County
Occupation: CEO and Creative Director
Background: A 7 year veteran, Mike Huynh is a self taught designer who at the young age of 22 entered into the fashion game. Mike has started the new lifestyle brand, Publish that focuses on refined ideas, new confidence and quality garments.
Website: www.PublishBrand.com
Let’s take a look at Mike’s workspace.
1. Paintbrush box
2. Buddha statue
3. Uni-ball Vision Elite pen
4. Three legged frog sculpture
5. Wacom Tablet
6. Two monitors
7. Rock & Roll statue
8. Mike Tron photo
9. Head massage helmet
10. Keyboard clock
The Setup: Our initial conversation started in Mike’s office, where his actual workspace was really his entire office. Surprisingly, Mike’s desk was clutter-free when compared to other designers that have been featured on AWKP. Mike firmly believes “A clutter free desk makes for a clear head” and “that where you work is a clear identification of how you feel at the moment”
AWKP: What exactly is Publish?
MH: Publish can be ambiguous yet a progressive way of dressing. Why not fuse two different ideas such as Jazz and Military and make it work? It’s about the everyday guy that wants to pull off a new modern way to look. It’s safe (80%) yet experimental (20%) at the same time. Publish allows us to take something that may come off geeky and flipping it a certain way to make it acceptable.
MH: I will never forget my streetwear background. I don’t wanna take it too high of a notch to where I alienate who I was. It’s just that… I can’t wear what we used to wear anymore. I don’t want to wear big logo stuff. No one will take me seriously. I want to dress casual but not like a kid. I want to experiment with a little bit of contemporary yet still have a touch of streetwear influence.
A lot of our customers are guys that are streetwear graduates. They used to wear streetwear stuff. They are about to graduate from college and get a good job. They want to look more sophisticated and more intellectual. They want to look grown up but at the same time, retain their youthful charm. This is who our clientele is now. We are not the streetwear guy or contemporary guy. We are kind of the in between.
AWKP: Let’s get into your workspace. Can you talk about the Buddha statue?
MH: Some people say God first, family second. And I can agree. I do put Buddha first. Your parents can give you that love and support you need but in harsh times, your faith is something you can always fall back on. I pray to Buddha every night before I sleep. I thank him for everything I experienced that day. Especially the people I have met and the team I have to run the business.
AWKP: We can’t recall anyone on AllWorkKnowPlay mentioning this type of pen. Can you explain why you decided to include this?
MH: I only use one kind of pen and it’s the Uni-ball Vison Elite. This may sound corny but I broke down the name and what it meant to me. UNI: we are all unified together, I always work with a group and never alone. BALL: for always moving along, keep things rolling. VISION: helps creativity, it motivates me, I want to know what you are thinking. No idea is a bad idea. And ELITE: that’s what I want to become one day. One of those elite designers. That’s my motivation to continue to push my passion to the next level… And another thing is……this pen writes the best! (laughter) I only use one pen. You give me another pen, I wont write with it.
AWKP: Can you explain the significance of the three-legged frog?
MH: I went overseas for a business trip and my factory actually gave this to me as a gift. At first, I didn’t know what this frog with a coin meant, so I did some research. I found out that it’s a good luck frog. I’m sure there are different meanings to it so I don’t want to go into too much detail because I don’t want to give off the wrong meaning. The overall idea of the frog is that it eats in money and it doesn’t spit out. It represents having stability in your finances. Hopefully we won’t experience any hardships and that money will always be there. I liked what it symbolized so much that when I go overseas, I always buy these as gifts to my friends that start new businesses. All my sales guys have one as well.
AWKP: It looks like you use the standard Wacom tablet and also two monitors.
MH: Believe it or not, I actually prefer the mouse over the Wacom tablet. I only use the tablet when I draw curvy lines that I can’t do with my mouse. As for the monitors, I recommend every designer to have two of them to help with their flow of work. Why not work side-by-side having multiple applications open. I don’t have to memorize things as much anymore. It helps me be more productive and keeps errors to a minimal. In fact, I am going to upgrade my entire team to have two monitors each!
AWKP: Can you talk about this rock and roll finger statue?
MH: It represents my personality as a designer. I see my creativity as reckless. I love trying new things so you got have that rock and roll attitude. As we get older, we sometimes forget about our childhood. It’s a constant reminder for us to have fun and stay young!
AWKP: You know we had to ask but can you tell us about this Mike Tron Picture?
MH: So I have this helmet that’s actually a head massager that I bought in Hong Kong for $180. Once you wear this, you won’t want to take it off! It helps me clear my mind when I’m thinking too much about business and designing. Why go down the street to a spa when I got a portable one right here. I wear it so much that I forget I even have it on!
MH: So one day I was wearing it and one of my sales guys came through in his new motorcycle and so I hopped on it. Unknowingly, my f*cking sales guy took a picture of me on the bike while I was still wearing this helmet. The picture circulated around the office. They kept photoshop-ing the picture and then one day, they framed it and gave it to me.
AWKP: Years ago when streetwear was trying to find its niche, a lot kids with little to no fashion experience started to create their own t-shirt company. Since then, there has been a steady decline in new brands entering the marketplace. What do you feel has been the cause of this?
MH: What a lot of people don’t see are the hardships of the fashion world. Specifically, the politics and business that is involved. People always get lost thinking that fashion correlates with the idea of meeting celebrities and hip-hop stars and unfortunately it’s not like that. I feel when new designers don’t experience that instant reward; they call it quits and do something else. They are not financially prepared to stay afloat. When I first got in the game 7-8 years ago, I kind of knew what I was in for. I was fortunate enough to have experienced some of the good life; being able to travel to different countries and meeting new people. I’ve learned so much and I now know what it takes to take nothing and turn it into something.
AWKP: This actually leads into our next question. You are starting a new brand from scratch, is it still a challenge financially?
MH: Funding for production is very costly. You have to be prepared financially to be in this business. Guys like me wont see a dime in our pockets for 6-7 years. That’s a very long time and a lot of people do not have the tolerance or patience to deal with that. Before starting over, I had to ask myself the question “Am I okay with doing this again? Am I ready mentally, physically, emotionally and passionately to do this again.” ……And I answered “Yes.”
AWKP: What would you say has been the easiest?
MH: Independently, I am not exhausted by someone else pressuring me to do something I don’t want to do. I have full control over my emotions. I have full control over creativity and just me in general. You can easily lose a sense of control when your life is in someone else’s hands. You can’t control that. You don’t feel complete. Now that I am an independent designer, I have regained control of everything. This makes things a lot easier. I will say that I am not the type of guy that will listen to myself completely. I do respect other people’s opinions. Just in the end, trusting my instincts is the easiest part. I listen to myself and follow through with what I had in mind. They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. My vision is so clear that creativity just comes natural. Today for Tomorrow.
AWKP: Any final shoutouts?
MH: Shoutouts to my crew at 112 Distribution! The hard work my team has put into Publish is truly inspiring. I am very honored to be working with such great people. I also want to thank everyone that has supported Publish thus far. With your support, the brand has given me an outlet to express myself creatively… through my own bare hands. Thank you!
Photos: Courtesy of Bobby Sim of Eight23
Publish | Signature Camo from Publish Brand on Vimeo.
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