Today we’d like to introduce you to Trevor Wayne.
Hi Trevor, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
As a kid, I was inspired by merchandising. You just weren’t cool if you didn’t have a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper, and I thought that someday I’d like to have my art on merchandise all over America. I was also heavily influenced by Saturday Morning Cartoons and began drawing at a very young age. I later attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and then moved to Palm Springs, where I opened my own store and gallery.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been incredibly hard. I wanted to start with wholesale, so I had to have inventory on hand. So any money I had leftover from actual jobs sunk into that, and when that made a little profit, that money went back into expanding. So it always shows Im taking a loss, even though Im not, because Im investing in new merch. Banks don’t like that, however, and they also don’t give loans to musicians or artists, so I had to build and build with no help financially, except for friends here and there. Good friends were definitely key. Finally, I was ready to open my own store in Jan 20. I was on a high trajectory. Wholesale was good, online was good.. Opened my store and sales were phenomenal. I finally was in a really good spot- and then the pandemic. It has affected me (as it has everyone) pretty harshly. I’m still here, but I lost almost all wholesale. Stores either shut down or couldn’t afford my price increases because of inflation. I also went crazy into debt keeping it going after the shutdown and loss of international tourism. It’s had me waking up at 2AM in a pure panic so many nights, it was just normal for me. The pandemic has set me back 5-8 years in my financial plans, and it’s still stressful, but Im staying the course. I am very lucky to even be here at all, and it’s because of everyone who has come in and supported my art, and introduced my art to friends and bought presents for friends at my store. My mission statement with my art has always been “fun” and to “make people smile”. That is still what keeps me going.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think what you surround yourself with in your home is important. I want to create art that is just simply fun. I do like to play on dark imagery and flip it. The best example of that is my “Horror Banana” series. I love horror movies. In my early 20s, I was totally that guy who had horror movie posters everywhere. As silly and fun as I thought horror was, I realized that the desensitization and dark imagery in my house wasnt good for any mindset. I mean, you shouldn’t be seeing it all around you at every waking minute, I do think deep down that does something to your subconscious. I decided that I wanted horror art that was fun, that even if you didn’t like horror, you could hang it and people would crack up when they see it. In that way, it takes the power away from something negative. So I thought, what’s the most ridiculous thing I can place in iconic horror scenes – of course, a banana! I have so many people who collect that series who hate horror. I love that, because that’s exactly what I set out to do – make something that’s scary to people fun and light.
What are your plans for the future?
My plans for now, are to just stay the course with my store. I do hope to open another location in the future. I have to see how the economy and consumer spending play out over the next few years to make any big decisions like that.
Contact Info:
- Website: TrevorWayne.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/TrevorWayne.PopArt
- Facebook: Facebook.com/MrTrevorWayne
- Twitter: twitter.com/TrevorWayne
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@trevorwaynepopart
