In honor of the opening of these two newest BK® ventures, we thought it was time to release some new BURGER KING℠ Studio artwork into the wild. We’ve gone a little old school, a little new school, and even a little bit of other type of school that hasn’t even been invented yet. Go check them out in the online store now! No seriously, right now.

Ahhhhh, we love the smell of fresh burgers in the morning! In celebration, we just handed the manager of the World’s First WHOPPER™ Bar the “World’s First” WHOPPER™ Bar t-shirt, designed by one of our Studio staffers and featuring artwork from our BURGER KING℠ Studio artists Joshua Davis, Revise CMW, Charlie Owens and Artillery. Oh yeah, we’re also going to be updating the site with some more new gear shortly, so slow your roll!

In celebration of the opening of the World’s First WHOPPER™ Bar, we at the BURGER KING℠ Studio were asked to design and build a boutique store at Universal CityWalk® in Orlando, FL. It had to come together fast, but we think you’ll dig what we were able to put together. We’ll have a bunch of your favorite shirts for sale, some new stuff that you haven’t seen, plus as a special treat, we’ve ported our little t-shirt creator from this website to some 24” touch-screens and updated the art library. If you’re in town, you’ll be able to design your own t-shirt and we’ll print it for you on our shiny new DTG (Direct-To-Garment) printer right at the BURGER KING℠ Studio Kiosk.

As we built the halfpipe for Deck of Kings, we thought it would be a cool idea to invite artists from the previous events to come leave their mark on this little (but heavy) piece of Burger King Studio history. So we sent out an email, ordered up some pizza and beverages and threw out a bucket of spray cans and other assorted arty goods. Revise did a sweet job tagging up a foundation, and was joined by Joey, Lana, Risk, Artillery, Flip, Tewz, and other members of the Studio extended family as we all painted well into the night.

To cap off the launch of the studio, New York-based artist and technologist Joshua Davis came New York to turn the gallery space into a proper King’s court, complete with stained glass window designs and towerering, dynamically generated tapestries. Rounding out the show, Lara Crooks, Joey Potts, and Eugene good each contributed large format posters and handpainted skate decks, and Zebo, Intel, and the Rabid Vinyl Monks, filled the role of the minstrels in the dj booth.

Visitors waited patiently in the chilly Chicago evening to get to talk to Josh about his work, techniques, and inspiration. Vistiors to the site will get to hear all about that from the comfort of their home soon, when we post some snippets from our interview.

To celebrate the launch of the first Artist Series of t-shirts, we sat down with artist/designer Angel D’Amico and talked about art, inspiration, and royalty. See what Angel has to say for herself, and then head over to the store and check out her shirt.

Where did you draw your inspiration from for the work you created for the installation?

I drew my inspiration from wanting to place the “iconic” king from the commercials into my Chicago artistic environment and give him a place here in the city.

What do you most try to convey to your audience through your art?

I just want people to view something beautiful, yet urban, always interesting, and colorful. I really want them to dive in, look around and see all the different little intricate pieces and layers, and become intrigued by the environment.

What did you dig most about being a part of the project?

I loved meeting so many great people! All of the people who were part of the team were awesome to work with, and the artists were amazing. They were really down to earth and I totally enjoyed, respected, and was inspired by each artists creative vision.

If you weren’t an artist, you’d probably be a…..and why?

I honestly can’t imagine myself as anything else because every part of my life revolves around art and creating, but I have played the piano since I was 4 and I would probably be a classical pianist.

How do you think The King would feel about all of this?

I think he would have loved the environment and atmosphere on Friday night, it was a blast!

Besides, the shorter shirt lines, the weekend also afforded guests the chance to take in the artwork at their own pace, and in a few cases, spend some quality time chatting to the artists, who were wondering in and out all weekend.

Last Friday night, the debute of the Head to Sole show made the Studio THE place to be. The gallery was absolutely packed, and latecomers had to take in the sights from the front windows instead (note: get there early next time!) Special guest DJ Peanut Butter Wolf turned the place into an instant party, spinning everything from underground hip hop to 80’s pop classics and everything in between. Everyone dug the customized crowns (which they took with them), exclusively souped up sneakers, and over the top mural installations courtesy of our extraordinary team of artists.

Later this week, we’ll get a full photogallery posted, but for now we just want to say thanks to everybody who shrugged off the chilly temps and came out.

For those of you who were unable to attend our launch event in person- or if you did and love your shirt so much you want another- we’ve got a cool little treat for you. We’ve taken all of the artwork assets and created a DIY shirt design tool in our online store. Play with it, tweak it, change, and when your masterpiece is perfect, submit your order. In a short time you’ll get a package with your one of a kind design, hand-screened by the Studio team in Chicago. Silkscreening is a blast, but hey- with this feature you get to see your design before you waste a fancy American Apparel shirt AND you don’t have to worry about getting ink all over yourself (it happens).

While it was a bit more relaxed for most of us in the Studio over the weekend, the silkscreening bar stayed busy as ever. Our shirts lasted until just before closing time on Sunday, so next time get their early if you want first pick. Besides, the shorter shirt lines, the weekend also afforded guests the chance to take in the artwork at their own pace, and in a few cases, spend some quality time chatting to the artists, who were wondering in and out all weekend.

The rainy Chicago weather didn’t stop over 600 people from packing the space on opening night! Zebo started the night off on the turntables, while arriving guests discovered the silkscreening bar. Featuring artwork elements from all of the show’s participating artists, this station allowed visitors to roll up their sleeves and create their own custom-screened shirt by hand. It was a bit more popular than anticipated, and the shirt making madness continued well into the night, with dance party beats served up headlining DJs E-6 and Matt Roan. Check back soon for a full gallery of all of the artwork featured at the show!