Johnny Cupcakes

On my way to Los Angeles this morning, I encountered a loud, stern, yet funny airport security guy. As I walked through wearing one of my shirts, I took part in the following conversation;

“Nice Johnny Cupcakes shirt! I know him.” — “Thank you. I am him.” — “No shit! I loved On Broken Wings. I remember when you used to sell your shirts at hardcore shows back in the day. I see people with your shirts coming through here all the time. Have a safe flight – I’m proud of ya man, you’ve come a long way.“

…Even tough guys have a sweet spot for cupcakes.

I am now in Los Angeles at my new place and will be here for almost 2 weeks. I will be sure to make an appearance in my shop for most of the day this Saturday + Sunday… as well as next Saturday + Sunday… and at random times throughout the week. Come say hello!

Despite the very recent great white shark sitings, my friends, family, and I – all had some perfect beach days + BBQ’s on Martha’s Vineyard / South Beach last week. Horseshoes, volleyball, and Johnny-Toss were the three most popular beach activities. Since I’m the smallest + lightest out of all of my friends, they decided to see how high / how far they could toss me in the ocean. It was pretty fun. I felt like I was getting shot out of an old fashioned circus canon. Thank goodness I didn’t do a belly-flop… or any flop for that matter!

Summer went by pretty quick — or did it? I spent most of my summer(and spring and winter) going back + forth designing and getting my new shop up and open. I’m glad I took as long as I did though – It definitely wasn’t something I could rush. I wanted to create a memorable shopping experience that portrayed both my brand and my personality. I wanted to bring the kid out in everyone. If you haven’t been yet, try to make plans to!

I’m in love with this end-of-summer/fall weather that has been starting to blow through Massachusetts. And even though I didn’t experience the whole college life, I get excited seeing students from all over the world, move into the city of Boston in prep for the new chapter of their lives. It’s sorta like going to camp. Anyways, new chapters are good. Change is great, as long as it’s for the better.

As summer reaches an end, I’m conjuring up many recipes for the fall and the future. A lot of very exciting stuff. I promise you that it will only get better! Get ready to read, see, and experience some new chapers of my brand/life. Everything up until this point has merely been the beginning.

Just a few of the many treats my friends and I engulfed on our trip. Most was created by my Uncle Eddie. My stomach hurts just looking at all of this. Homemade mac + cheese with 9 different cheeses (I didn’t know that many cheeses existed!), homemade cream puffs that tasted as if you were biting into a cloud from the heavens above. I did not get to photograph some of the other meals, simply because I was too hungry to let my food get the least bit cold. My ultimate favorite was Uncle Eddie’s ‘Oysters Florentine’. Freshly picked from the ocean 2 hours prior to our meal, baked with melted cheese, spinach + olive oil. In a caveman-like manner, I literally cleaned every shell + the pans with my mouth.

What do these two great guys have in common? They both shopped at my Los Angeles location in the past couple of weeks. It feels weird yet awesome, that two people I look up to – shopped at a place I created. Hopefully I’ll be there next time they come in – and we can get burgers next door.

I’ve been on the hunt for my home away from home. I’m hoping to find a nice place in West Hollywood — nearby my Melrose location(Thank you Kellen, for being a part of Team Search U.S.A.!) I’m going to try to head to LA for two weeks, every month or so. It’s important for me to split up my time between my shops and to hang with my employees and customers. I wouldn’t be here without them!

I’ll be out in LA on the 29th of this month, then heading back to Boston on the 10th of September. I may be busy moving into my new place (hopefully), going to meetings, and doing a few magazine interviews. I should be at my Los Angeles location on the weekend(s) in between my visit. Come say hello!

Wish me luck on finding a cozy place in LA…

While on my most recent trip to Martha’s Vineyard, I brought some fun gifts for my little cousins. Just like me – they love toys, monsters, pranks, and pretty much anything random. Above are just a few of the many wacky gifts I presented to them.

I remember when I was 5 or so years old, I used to be so excited when my auntie Linda would visit. She’d always bring the most rad gifts. Auntie Linda contributed to 92% of my He-Man / Masters Of The Universe collection. Stinkor was my favorite He-Man villain. He even smelt like a skunk! For some odd reason, I like the smell of skunks. Perhaps it has to do with that Stinkor toy from my youth? My passion for packaging and details was definitely spawned from my youth. Same goes for my weirdo-ness! Thank you mom, dad + auntie Linda!