Today we interview Twin Srpnt, it’s always great to have the owners of brands open up to discuss their advice for new brands, their experiences, plans for the new year and their inspiration and brands in the industry they look upto.

Here we talk with Rob of Twin Srpnt to find out how they quickly moved away from being associated with californian gangs, their love of indie brands and bigger names, how they found the 12 Days of Xmas giveaway and their grounding in design work before they even started to design t-shirts.

Where did TwinSrpnt begin, and is there a reason for reducing the name down from Twin Serpent?

When we first started, it was only me (Rob) doing designs, logos and photo manipulations for friends, family and then with their customers. I started getting requests to do t-shirts, banners, magnets and stuff like that and that’s when my brother stepped in. We started Twin Serpent Mafia. We were designing all that stuff and outsourcing the printing.

We got bored and decided to start our brand. We then started doing t-shirt designs inspired by the Mafias and started selling on the streets, flea markets and online until we got heat from the cops. They actually thought we were a criminal group. Gangs are big in California so we didn’t want to be linked to gangs and we stopped. We decided to drop ‘Mafia’ from the name and tried to register a domain but twinserpnt.com and twinserpents.com were taken. Abbreviated Serpent and that’s how we ended it up with TwinSrpnt.

You sound like you had a good solid base in the workings of design before the brand. Do you think its good to have a grounding in design work before you begin a brand?

It’s not a must but it’s a HUGE help. You can always hire professionals who know what they’re doing. When we started, all I knew how to do was grunging up pics and Illustrator was a big mystery. Knowing how to separate colors for screen printing is also very important.

What tweaked your interest as a designer starting out were there a particular artist/movement that moved your designs the most?

Yeah, I stumbled across with the now closed emptees and it blew my mind. I felt uneasy comparing our then current designs with the ones being showcased. It was intimidating.

What brands inspire your work today? Do you prefer the bigger brands or have you got love for the smaller brands out to make a name for themselves?

When we re-branded, both of us were big fans of Famous Starts and Straps. I was and still am a fan of Hell on Earth, Zoo York and the work of Jeff Finley, Aaron Horkey and Gustave Dore. My brother prefers big brands and I prefer indie brands.

You talk about indie versus the bigger brands? Should indie brands stay indie or should they hope to outgrow and aim for the sky like brands such as Electric Zombie, Arkaik Clothing and Rebel8?

I think we’re all aiming to get big as some of the brands you mentioned. I think staying true to your fans is the key from selling out. To try to not become a corporation type of brand. The best example is Johnny Cupcakes. He’s big but he’s such a humble guy. Still talks to his customers, answers questions and is always helping out.

You were part of the huge 12 Days of Xmas giveaway on TTG this past December. How did that work out for you? What can a brand like yourself take from being a part of events such as that?

Well, we for sure got more fans on FB, some orders and tons of online traffic. Made lots of new online friends and loved how such a big world can come together though the internet. That was insane.

We know that TwinSrpnt is involved heavily online with social media, but how have you found ways to expand the brand offline and in your local area?

Right now we haven’t really started selling offline other than to friends, family and their friends. We recently moved to the Silicon Valley so we’re planning to start setting booths at local events. Big and small. We’re hoping we can get into the Warped Tour, the Renegade Fair and local rock shows.

What does 2012 hold for the brand, does the planning of new ideas/lines/designs campaigns take more time that the actual manufacturing and launching of new designs?

It depends, sometimes an idea takes months to develop and sometimes it takes a few days. For example, Aphrodite took 2 weeks or less from start to finish but a design we haven’t released took us close to 1 year. I had the sketches but every time I started to work on it, I just gave up since I wasn’t really happy how it was looking. I finally managed to complete it a week ago. For this year we’re planning to bring more designs inspired by Good and Evil, metal accessories and hopefully skate decks. Fingers crossed.

With skate decks on the horizon is that a whole new design challenge versus a t-shirt design? Is it possible to design a logo/image which is going to be plastered over various products. Or do you feel its better to design for each different product?

I think it’s a similar process. The only difference would be the medium you’re printing on. I think it’s a good idea to try to not put a particular design on anything and everything.

What was the initial plan when first launching the brand, Would you say that the brand has reached a level you are happy with or do you want to reach a more national and global audience?

The initial plan was to be like any other bmx/skate brand out there. We are happy that we’re selling to countries other than USA but we really want to have a bigger customer base locally and nationally.

Where have been the furthest afield your orders have reached?

Oh man, so many places it’s hard to remember which one. New Zealand probably. I know one order has traveled all over the place. My cousin bought a Libertas T-Shirt from me and sold it to her co-worker. She then gave it to her son who lived in New York and moved to Europe.

I think personally my design favourite out of your collection is the Aphrodite t-shirt. Has this been your most succesful design as a brand?

Yeah, she’s been seducing men and women all over the globe. Even a 60-65 year old guy came to the warehouse and bought one. He said, “My wife and daughter are gonna hate it, but I love this T-shirt.” So far Aphrodite and Quetzalcoatl have been the most successful designs. They were even tied in sales back in December.

Which people should we all be following on facebook and twitter? Which social media do you like to connect with friends and fans the most?

There’s so many but for now follow these guys.

Facebook: Raf the Might, The Art of Christopher Lovell & Joefentonartist.

Tumblr: Geno75

Twitter: @jeff_finley, @hydro74 & @jamespatradoon

Thanks to the guys over at TwinSrpnt for making this interview possible! Follow the guys @twinsrpnt on Twitter, Facebook & Tumblr.