Every month we will interview the boldest craftsmen who are living the Pig & Hen lifestyle. This month, we have the story of...
Tjeerd Braat''
VISUAL ARTIST
Every month we will interview the boldest craftsmen who are living the Pig & Hen lifestyle. This month, we have the story of...
Tjeerd Braat''
VISUAL ARTIST
VIDEO
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’ve always been doing creative things, I was always drawing a lot of stuff and later did some graffiti art as well. I went to the graphic design school in Rotterdam, but because I liked to party a little bit too much, that ended pretty soon. So, then I went to, my now new hometown, Amsterdam. Started working in one of the top fashion stores in town and that’s where I met most of my friends. At one point I wanted to do more with my life and decided to go back to school. I started Just Another Nerd as a one-man-band creative agency and it grew out into a fully functioning production company. The funny thing is, that I always wanted to work for an ad agency, without even knowing what that meant exactly. It’s funny when you think about it, with my creative agency I create video ads and commercials so in a way I’m actually doing what I always wanted. An unconscious boyhood dream came true.
How has the “living out of your suitcase” worked out for you? Has it evolved into something new perhaps?
At one point I just thought, I’m getting rid of all my clothes and donated my furniture to my ex-girlfriend back at the time. The funny thing at the time was I also made a deal with Zalando, so there were also clothes coming in, while I was getting rid of my clothes. Brands were also sending me clothes through Instagram for a while, so that didn’t help either. So, it kind of went both ways. I was also moving into a room in New York and I was travelling back and forth between New York and Amsterdam and my suitcase was always full. So, at one point I got a house in Amsterdam again as well, so I could store some of my belongings there and it turned out to be nice to have my own place again. I still think about the idea of living out of my suitcase one day, when I see guys travelling the world, but for now I’m happy with my own place.
What are your dreams for Just Another Nerd, can you paint us a word picture?
The funny thing is that I started this production business and I just thought I had to make it successful, so I could kind of fade into the background and do my own creative thing on the side. Reality has showed me that this plan is a little bit more complicated. Everything is going pretty well nonetheless, and I’ve got some nice jobs with Just Another Nerd. I use Brvvt as my personal brand, to do my own creative things. I don’t know what the future holds, for now I’m focusing on a rebranding for Just Another Nerd, updating my photography portfolio, tuning up the website and keeping things up to date. Now that I’m in the Netherlands again, I’ve got some more time for that.
What’s next for Brvvt the artist?
For now, I’m doing photography work and graphic designing. Brvvt started as a creative output next to more corporate and commercial projects at Just Another Nerd. Brvvt is a better example of who I am personally and what my style of work is as an artist. I’ve also always wanted to make art. So, last year I developed an art installation, I’m working hard on that at the moment. I’m kind of going back and forth between the art world and the commercial world. They are very different from each other of course, but I feel like I’m part of both worlds, so instead of trying to decide on one, I try to make the best of both.