Shawn Hazen, Robots, T-Shirts, Artomatic, Skateboards and Sabatinos: 28 Hours in Chicago
Andrew Wagner
Last week I was in Chicago for just over a day. Though time was short, regardless of how long I'm there, I always try to get together with my friend Shawn Hazen. I've always known Shawn was a great graphic designer (that's one of his t-shirt designs below)
but I wasn't fully aware of the depths of his creative output until this last trip. Being that I was going to be in meetings until 10:00 or so and since Shawn is the proud husband of Lisa Hazen and the happy father of two boys (Finn, 4, and Cormac, almost 1), I told him I'd come over to his house in Irving Park and we could just have a quick nip in the kitchen and I'd be on my way. However, upon getting to the Hazens' around 10:30 Shawn suggested we head out for a drink after all since the rest of the family was sound asleep and he didn't want to wake anyone up.
We decided to keep it local and walked around the corner to Sabatinos.
This is an old school, family-style Italian spot that, as Shawn said, is fairly infamous in Chicago for, among many things, the various cars parked on the front lawn every night. That evening a beautiful '60s era Corvette graced the 10' x 30' swath of grass seen below but unfortunately sans automobile.
Shawn claimed it was nothing compared to the other rides he's spotted there in the past (a Bentley, a Rolls, etc.). Mysterious. We headed in and sat down at the bar, taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the roaming violinist who I never heard play a single note. A wee bit intense (were we wanted or were we intruding on some other business being conducted?) but none-the-less the perfect spot for catching up.
I shared my recent adventures since coming to ReadyMade and Shawn explained how much he loved the magazine. He told me of all the various projects featured in our pages he had taken on since subscribing years ago. His favorite, he said, were the wall clocks shown in issue 20 (that's one of Shawn's below)
(as well as in the ReadyMade book, "How to Make Almost Everything") and he told me how he had made plenty of them but, as most ReadyMade readers are wont to do (and should do) he tweaked the project extensively using balsa wood, an embroidery hoop, rub-on transfer numbers that he had salvaged from several architectural supply stores (below)
and the help of the ReadyMade suggested Klockit. (That's another of Shawn's clocks below.)
"I've given these clocks out to so many people for gifts," he said, "and I've even dreamed of getting a booth at the Renegade Craft Fair in September and selling them." Apparently, things had progressed well enough for him with the wall clocks that he even invented a company dedicated to their production, Graphicron.
I was impressed, but this was just the tip of the Hazen ice-berg.
After another drink, Shawn suggested we get a night-cap down the street at McNamara's, a good little Irish pub and restaurant. We snuck in right at last call and over a final beer Shawn told me how this is where he and his oldest son Finn (seen below) had launched their new company Robotcha-co and that this is where they hold their brainstorming meetings every Sunday over brunch.
As Robotcha's site explains, "Robotcha is robot t-shirt design company. It is the brainchild of Finn and Shawn Hazen. Shawn is a grown-up and Finn is his kid. Finn loves robots, and came up with the name for the company. He also comes up with many of the ideas for new robot designs. That explains why many of them involve ice cream." That night, Shawn explained in a little more detail: "Finn comes up with the ideas for the robots and then art directs me as I draw them on the computer. We're still arguing over the proper way to 'build' the Alphabots—a series whose bodies are big letters.
Finn isn't happy with the options I've shown him for heads and arms. 'They don't look real' he says. I can't really say 'well, robots AREN'T real...' Anyways, we go to McNamara's once a week and bring a little Moleskine and some pens. We come up with new robot ideas there. The latest is a ketchup and mustard robot locked in mortal combat. Should be good."
"So how do you actually produce the shirts?" I asked. "The company that does the on-demand printing of our shirts is Spreadshirt. It's a cool company and an even cooler process. There are restrictions on what you can print (nothing photographic, for example) but that just means you have to think graphic."
By this point, McNamara's lights were bright and the floors were being mopped all around us—time to call it a night. But before taking off, Shawn wanted to show me a few more things he'd been working on. We stopped back by his house and not so stealthily wondered down to the basement where Shawn does much of his work and his kids keep much of their toys. "Check out some of my collage stuff.," he said.
He also showed for me some of the work he had done for
"these guys that sell tiny art pieces out of old vending machines," he explained. "They rehab the old machines and get artists to sell their art in them worldwide. Mine were in a machine at the
"It's the reason for the huge mess down here, and it begat the idea for the clock project." In later correspondence Shawn sent me these little animations and a little film he did for an exhibition. "I made flip books of a couple of the collages being 'built,'" he explained. He also showed for me some of the work he had done for Art-o-Mat, 
"these guys that sell tiny art pieces out of old vending machines," he explained. "They rehab the old machines and get artists to sell their art in them worldwide. Mine were in a machine at the Whitney! In the gift shop, but still!"
"these guys that sell tiny art pieces out of old vending machines," he explained. "They rehab the old machines and get artists to sell their art in them worldwide. Mine were in a machine at the Whitney! In the gift shop, but still!"
Shawn also gave me the run down on a newer company he's working on starting, essentially a "print on demand" skateboard company. The deck below can actually be used as a ruler. Nice!
He's been checking out Boardpusher and is hopeful that they can handle some of his design ideas but is still looking for other ways to get some of the designs produced. If you've got ideas, he'd love to hear them!
And finally, as I think we were both on our last legs, he gave me a run-down of his various web sites he's been working on. "Strictly speaking," Shawn said, "they're not entirely relevant, but a lot of my 'DIY' energy has been going to these lately: Bookworship, theflavor and Chicagotype."
I made it back to my hotel and was in bed by 3:00, definitely feeling like a total slacker! I don't think I've ever learned so much about so much catching up with an old friend. I'm looking forward to what's in store for me on my next visit.
