Local Local is a series of interviews and feature articles on local Rockford businesses. Why, you might ask? Cuz the economy here sucks and we want to help promote the small business owners, the little man if you will, that truly power local economic stability. Wal-mart sucks! KEEP IT LOCAL!
Qui, Aargh Matey!!!
In our first installment we took the time to interview Jarrod Hennis, founder of Boreded Up Productions and Pirate Ninja Print Shop | Interview by Chip
Pirate? Ninja? Hippie? Make up your mind dude.
Chip:
Ok, let’s begin!
Jarrod Hennis:
OK…. here we go.
C:
Are you a Rockford native? Tell us a bit about your history- the behind the music of Jarrod if you will.
JH:
I spent my younger years in Byron, Illinois… then have been in good ole Rockford the past 5-ish years.
We started off as Boreded Up Productions… and after a lot of work and building up the name we decided to Turn B.U.P. into an LLC and give our screen printing its own identity. Pirate Ninja Print shop was born in 2010…. our aim is fun. We like to make crazy designs for people and give the best customer service we can. Currently we are only a 2 person team. My lady friend does all the graphic design and I do all the sweat shop work and PR.
Our ultimate goal is to take over the world with Pirate/Ninjas. Not like a pirate and a ninja but a Pirate-Ninja.
C:
So the Pirate-Ninja is some sort of half-breed mutant.
JH:
Half-breed mutant…. I like that. In a round about way I suppose that could be true.
C:
That’s cool, I can dig it. Did you intentionally set up shop in downtown Rockford for a specific reason?
JH:
My shop has been in the same location for the past 5 years. We first moved into the basement of the building we’re in now and moved our way up. We didn’t intentionally set up shop downtown, but we’re glad we located there now.
C:
So, what do you think it will take to turn downtown Rockford into a “go to” destination for residents in the area; can we make it into something on par with say… State St. in Madison, WI? Does it need to be similar to that or can we develop a unique blend of commerce and culture that is our own brand?
JH:
A “go to” destination in and around downtown Rockford is a ways away… but I feel we are headed in the right direction. There needs to be a good retail presence downtown for foot traffic to increase; but there are so many negative issues with certain bars in the area. Sure, there are some great establishments that bring bring tons of business downtown, but it’s the bad apples in the bunch that tend to leave a bad taste in the mouths of both current and future small business owners and also residents.
I think we have to develop our own culture and feel. Don’t get me wrong. If I could walk down the street, sit outside and enjoy a delicious cup of coffee and a muffin, then go pick up a new t-shirt from a local boutique and some new art for my walls… I would be stoked. But unfortunately that’s not the case right now.
In my personal opinion, there are too many buildings in the area that are owned and yet remain vacant. Somebody bought it and they aren’t fixing it up to make it usable or even attractive from the outside. To a new Rockford resident or visitor its just an empty shell, left from the snail of a former resident. When I go to visit a robust “art” driven downtown community like say a Madison, or Milwaukee, I make an attempt to walk through their downtown area and check out their shops, grab a bite to eat; enjoy the new surroundings. Do you think people do that in Rockford? Just some food for thought!
C:
Yeah, I can’t say that many folks come downtown to do any of the things you’re talking about, but we know some who do right? LOL, right now it’s a pretty short trip from Kortman’s Gallery to Octane, that’s for sure. I agree that while bars and eateries are an important part of commerce in the area, it seems to me that there needs to be some retail shop owners willing to take a chance on the downtown area. I wonder how many of those vacant buildings sit empty because the owner wants a tax write off…
Whorehall never had this kinda crap.
JH:
Totally agreed. And I believe most of them are tax write offs, with the owners waiting for the downtown to take off. But instead of actually helping to build the area up they just let the buildings rot. If some day downtown does take off, then they can turn around and sell it at an inflated cost.
C:
Well we’re not gonna solve that problem here so… onto the questions! Do you offer any special packages to bands looking for some quality merch?
JH:
We do offer packages, I’m just trying to put some new ones together. For example… Shirts + Posters + Buttons for a smashing deal… Just working on the numbers.
C:
What do you rock out to while you’re doing a run of T-shirts or screen printed posters?
JH:
The music of Jarrod huh… Well mostly my music consists of running a rubber squeegee over the fine mesh of a screen. It makes a nice Whooossssh sound. I rock out to tons of stuff while printing depending on design or mood… Ranging from Paramore, Mozart, The Moment, Dave Mathews, 30 Seconds from Mars…etc…etc…etc… Very open to new stuff…
C:
And of course Sock Monkey Sound episodes as well…
JH:
Of course Sock Monkey Sound episodes… It was an interview test! You passed!
C:
Haha! What is it about screen printing that steered you towards this line of work? Was it the art of it; the skill involved?
JH:
The challenge of recreating or creating something on a wearable piece of medium is very exciting. The best part of it is seeing shirts you have printed years ago, and somebody is still wearing it around. The skill involved has taken a while to perfect. I’m still learning new ways and new techniques. Have to keep on top of the new stuff.
C:
Who’s the bigger hack: Andy Warhol or Roy Lichtenstein?
JH:
Who is a bigger hack? Hhhmmm… well, they both had similar styles… with the Pop art. But it’s hard to call either a hack… Roy used other peoples work to create his own. A lot of artists do similar things! I enjoy both their work so I cant call either out as a hack.
The Pirate-Ninja hybrid army will rise up and take you down!
C:
What can customers expect of Pirate Ninja Print Shop, do you have a storefront? If not, is that something planned for the future?
JH:
PNPS is planning a store front. Just waiting to find the right building to set up in. For right now we will continue the monthly events, and selling shirts at those events. Possibly getting shirts into some of the other local business to push the name. A lot is on the way from us. We also do events the First Friday of every month… we have two under our belt so far. We have a poster printing posse called Wearefatherless. Still getting everything planned for August 14 Green Light Nights show downtown.
C:
Headlined by Sophie B. Hawkins I might add. Cool, well how can people find Pirate Ninja Print Shop online or contact you guys so you can make stuff for them and they can give you money for it?
JH:
We like money… Gold Coins.. Rum…etc..etc. You can go to our website www.pirateninjaprintshop.com and it has all of our info floating around on it. Even if you’re not from Rockford you can still get a hold of us for all you screen printing needs!
C:
Awesome, thanks man!
JH:
Thank you!
