MOOD BOARD
Inside the slightly sinister, delightfully demented and totally talented mind of the mad scientist behind Carson clothing label TVA or Die.
Ricky Alvarez is a multi-hyphenate. No joke. When people typically call someone a creative, the subject's adept at one thing.
This guy knows his way around the guitar, stand-up bass, drums, sings, shoots and edits videos, plays with photography and, last but not least, he's the mastermind behind Carson clothing label TVA or Die (Technicolor Vision Apparel). It's original designs, feteing a real point of view, hand done out of the TVA lab.
"I like doing shit a little differently," Alvarez said.
That goes from the freebies he'll often stuff in orders −think candy on Halloween and a myriad of stickers and pins − to lending his expertise to just about anyone who asks.
You could pick his aesthetic out of a line-up. He'd characterize it as "grimy," and it's earned him a spot as the go-to for bands' flyers, music videos and more. How he finds time to do it all, is anyone's guess.
Oh, and he's down to Earth and unbelievably humble. You'd never find him bragging about what he does or hustling TVA elevator pitches. That's not him. The more you get to know him, the more you realize everything he's good at is the result of being self-taught, surrounding himself with a cast of characters just as talented in bands and running their own brands with TVA headquarters functioning as a modern-day salon of sorts.
Some four years ago, Alvarez schooled Paradigm readers on the how-to of screenprinting, from his living room. Today's he's got a dedicated workshop, burgeoning wholesale business and a growing fanbase. Perhaps Carson has the next Supreme on its hands.
"And I’ll charge $70 for a sticker pack," he said in response to the idea, before quickly clarifying, "Yeah, right."
Enter the TVA lab, if you dare.
TVA: BUSINESS OR HOBBY?:
"I mean, yes on the ideas and not taking a lot of it serious. At the same time, I find myself having to go out before work to ship shirts or whatever. Or, even sales. When a sale comes out, it gets pretty heavy [fulfilling orders]. If I notice myself on my days off all day doing this then, yeah.... It’s still fun though. I guess I’m seeing it as more of a hobby."
![SELF-TAUGHT, SELF-MADE"In this little [fashion industry] scene, or whatever, a lot of people are really secretive about what they do or how they do it. It’s all competition [to some people]. They see you in a different way like, ‘Oh, this guy might …](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53a7284be4b044c4de45abe2/1554876331663-VDIT77X5MLLH5K9M249L/DSC_4269.JPG)
SELF-TAUGHT, SELF-MADE
"In this little [fashion industry] scene, or whatever, a lot of people are really secretive about what they do or how they do it. It’s all competition [to some people]. They see you in a different way like, ‘Oh, this guy might outsell me,' rather than ‘Oh, cool another brand. We can work together, collaborate.' I don’t know. Some people are just like that. It’s like with skating. You don’t show someone your spot. You don’t show how you got there. You just do it and if somebody asks, ‘Fuck it. Figure it out yourself.’ And, for me, I was like ‘Fuck. Yeah, I will.”
On Designer’s Block
"Before, it was weird. I’d have like a writer’s block and I couldn’t think of anything. All the designs I was doing were basic, and then I made the logo with the 40-ounce and the VHS tape. I got a good reaction with that. After, I started doing more stuff like that. Just random, and I started doing more cut and paste, like scanning stuff. More like arts and crafts and it helped out because it gave it a different look. Lately, if I get a designer block, I’ll look at covers – album covers and movie posters. Or, sometimes walking around the Fashion District [downtown] and seeing what different shirts there are to print on gives me ideas."
FAST FACTS
LOCAL BANDS HE HAS ON REPEAT:
▶ Deviated State, Alter Boys and RecOi!l
BY THE NUMBERS:
▶ Prints 20-30 pages of stickers per week.
▶ 15 stickers per page
▶ Pushed over 5,000 stickers of the Herman Munster-inspired design since inception.
▶ A 700-sticker run took 3 days to hand cut, all just to give out for free.
GET SMART
"We have this dude trademarked, so we can stamp this on any one of our designs and it’s automatically trademarked."
WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU'RE CUTTING THESE STICKERS?
"Usually, it’ll be like this. I’ll have people kicking it or hanging out. Sometimes, if I’m by myself I’ll be like, 'What should I do with this? If I give them, out, should I give it for free? What if I make a little sticker pack or should I make it limited?' Sometimes, I’m just like, 'Damn, I need some stickers.' Before, I would make them and then every time someone ordered them, I would cut them. But, nah. I’ll get lazy. So after we print them or the day after, we start cutting. Because eventually they’ll end up laying there and you’ll have 15 pages to cut and I’ve got five orders waiting [to ship] because I haven’t cut them."
![SEEING PEOPLE IN TVA"We were vending at a show and some guy came up wearing a [TVA] crewneck he bought in L.A. He said ‘I got it from Savers.’ It’s a thrift store. I’m like, damn, that’s a come up. That’s tight."EVER APPROACH A STRANGER WEARING YOUR…](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53a7284be4b044c4de45abe2/1554877466906-K2VVI9OW2D4O03ZCFPWN/DSC_4260.JPG)
SEEING PEOPLE IN TVA
"We were vending at a show and some guy came up wearing a [TVA] crewneck he bought in L.A. He said ‘I got it from Savers.’ It’s a thrift store. I’m like, damn, that’s a come up. That’s tight."
EVER APPROACH A STRANGER WEARING YOUR LABEL?
"Nah. I know people that do that. I like being anonymous. I’m kind of secretive and shit. I’d rather just look at this guy kind of weird. I was in class and some chick came in wearing the [TVA] tie-dye shirt. I was like what the hell? Her friend, every time I skateboard, she’s like ‘Oh, TVA or Die. That’s cool. Do you know him [the founder]?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, I know him.’”
LESSONS LEARNED:
“Patience. To be patient with the brand. People expect you to do a lot in four years, like grow up or something. Bands blow up within four years. In those four years, I’m like be patient with everything. Don’t rush anything. Take your time because that work reflects on you. Not only that, but to have the patience and take the time to make your next fucking design or collection. Earlier, we were talking about a design block and it’s true. That shit sucks when you get it and then something sparks it. I guess, just keep going, you know?”