Written By – Joseph Scaglione
Badaboöm Studio is a screen-printing online store created by illustrator Jean-Luc Bonifay. Jean-Luc is a Montreal illustrator blending digital and traditional media through screen-printing. He takes his traditional digital style and crafts it into keychains, necklaces, patches, pins, prints, and t-shirts. The products have a unique vintage style, which feels right at home today, where the public clamours for retro nostalgia. It’s as if Jean-Luc cut inspiration out of an 80s Avon catalogue or a night in watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, sporting vibrant colours and designs reminiscent of a good acid trip. A middle finger to corporate brands with more class than PG corporate rebellious Hot Topic fodder. The company started with a few prints on Etsy, growing into a full line-up of t-shirts, pins, cards, and totes.
The catalogue is littered with angst, certainly not for those afraid to make a statement through apparel. My personal favourite, “Let The Pizza Guide You Home” pins, tees, and patches featuring a slice of pizza in a lighthouse bringing home the strays. There’s a “Where’s Waldo” feel to each piece, as if it challenges you to find the meaning behind the product or create your own, but some of it is blatant and fun.
You can find Jean-Luc’s items on badaboom-studio.com, Etsy, or in local independent retailers like Scout on 405 Roncesvalles Ave or 1140 Queen Street east.