Lauren Hana Chai is known for contrasting her traditional Korean upbringing with her modern American life and including a personal story or cultural narrative to accompany each piece. As the first in her family born in America, she was raised by her South Korean grandparents in Hawaii. She moved across the Pacific to San Francisco to study at the Academy of Art University. After some time following the technique-based curriculum, Lauren says she relished breaking the rules and mixing abstract elements into the work.
EPTM had the pleasant opportunity to meet Lauren at an art battle hosted by Secret Walls, which is a creative service agency that hosts underground illustration battles and cutting-edge live art experiences.
With both EPTM & Lauren Hana Chai having Korean heritage, this collaboration came about as natural as ever! We wanted to create an image of the Korean tiger using inspiration from old Korean folk art. Lauren executed this effortlessly with her own unique twist.
After seeing Lauren's amazing work we were immediately inspired to create some items surrounding the imagery. We created Postcards, Pins, Stickers, & Water Bottles as limited edition promotional items for the summer.
The Lauren Hana Chai x EPTM
EPTM APP
There are more exciting products we intend on creating together and the launch of our upcoming mobile app will give us the opportunity to create limited and exclusive pieces for those who truly appreciate them! We will be launching at the beginning of September - So stay tuned for more from EPTM, Lauren, & More!
