We recently connected with Brandon Patrick and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My very first job out of college was working for Rachel Berks who owned Otherwild in LA & NYC, which was a hybrid retail space / community center / creative studio / queer exploration of all that could be. I met her through one of my college professors, A.L. Steiner, and they took me under their wing. It was the best education / sense of belonging that I could have dreamed of for that time of my life! I got to watch and work with artists and creatives from all kinds of backgrounds, while also learning how to operate a successful business. I also had the opportunity to bring my own little side projects and fledging products into the shop and test out the entire process of making something from the ground up to sell to a customer. This came with a lot of guidance and tweaking, which ultimately honed my more DIY / punk method of designing into something more polished and substantial.

The three most essential things I learned were:
-If you can dream it up, you can find a way to make it (which often requires asking for help or seeking knowledge within your communities).
-No matter how niche, there will always be an audience that appreciates your work, so refuse to compromise your vision under the weight of capitalism.
-Always keep learning, and stay curious. Some of my best ideas came from people, places, experiences, and mediums that I never thought to connect to my own creative practice.

Brandon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Brandon Patrick, and I own Holler Greetings alongside my partner Michael Wooldridge. Holler Greetings is primarily a stationary / paper goods business, but we also have our own little creative studio where we design product packaging, brand identities, provide freelance support for other small businesses, and have each of our own traditional studio practices.

We both engage with retail through a radically queer lens, experimenting with what we think can slip through the filters of what’s deemed an “acceptable” commodity in a largely cis/hetero/white/patriarchal landscape… But we also want to laugh our asses off while doing it! Our practice is half love letter to our intersectional communities that we feel are still mis/underrepresented, and half manifesto about how we’d like to see the playing-field shift as these conversations continue.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Abolish the idea that artists have to suffer for their craft. Recognize creatives as an essential function of every aspect of society.
Pay us what we’re worth, and continue to compensate us fairly (and monetarily – no more payment through exposure) for our contributions.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Here’s a few texts / projects I think everyone should dig into:

Fritz Haeg’s Salmon Creek Farm (there’s some beautiful documentaries and interviews available for free online).

Sisters of Jam’s book A Piece of Land

Audre Lorde’s essays (Sister Outsider is a great place to start)

The Tiny Minotaur Tavern

The Little Gay Shop / Redeemer Small Batch

Contact Info:

• Website: hollergreetings.com
• Instagram: @hollergreetings