Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erykah Townsend. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Erykah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Authentically being myself was one of the most significate risks I’ve ever taken. Although it may sound cliché, it holds a significant meaning for me and has impacted other areas of my life. I used to feel uneasy about my personality, interests, and way of living. However, when I entered high school, I decided to embrace who I truly am and stopped caring about what other people thought of me. Unfortunately, being myself has led to instances of bullying, misunderstanding, mistreatment, imitation, and misrepresentation – even to this day. Although with all those cons come the pro of freedom. The freedom to do what I want, say want I want, listen to what I want, wear what I want, make the art I want, and much more. It is significant for every artist to be themself and not be restricted to fit in.
Erykah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Erykah Townsend and I’m a conceptual artist from Cleveland, Ohio. My art boldly confronts and questions the role of pop culture in our lives. Within my branding, I refer to my art studio as Milk Crate Studio. My inspiration for Milk Crate Studio came from ready-mades and industrial style design . Milk crates are objects that connect deeply with my childhood. Often, they are in urban communities, stores, and workspaces. Many people use milk crates as seating, basketball hoops, shelves, bike baskets, and more. This relates to how I see milk crates like the ready-made; they are mass-produced objects that generally experiment with versatility in function. As an artist, I take inspiration from industrial spaces and objects to use within my art, designs, and interior spaces- which made me want to sell milk crates of my own.
My new store Milk Crate Shop will be launching in August of 2023. The items I will be selling are foldable milk crates. The options of color will be black, red, yellow, blue, green, RGYB, and white. The white milk crates will give buyers a blank canvas to make their own designs using oil-based markers and clear coat spray (included with each white crate). I will be selling pin-back buttons , and stickers as well . To sign up for a newsletter for the launch date, please visit Milkcrate.shop.
Contact Info:
- Website: milkcrate.shop also Milkcrate.studio
- Instagram: @milkcratestudio
Image Credits
All the photos are by Erykah Townsend