
Listen to New York Said wherever you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn
Krink: Graffiti, Art, and Invention should have been the title of this week’s podcast episode but it’s already the title of Craig Costello’s new book that just dropped with Rizzoli.
In this episode Craig and Amon talk about growing up in Queens, life in San Francisco, the birth of Krink, Alife, minimizing risk, field testing, racking and the challenges of growing a small business.

More About Craig
Craig Costello, aka KR, grew up in Queens, New York, where graffiti was part of the landscape and a symbol of the city. While living in San Francisco, he quickly garnered attention when his signature “KR” tag popped up throughout the city. As he became one of the more prominent figures on the streets of NYC and SF, he began to hone his craft by creating better tools launching his own line of homemade markers and mops, combining his moniker KR with the word INK. In Krink: Graffiti, Art, and Invention, Costello has compiled a visual memoir: from his early days of the ’80s and ’90s and launch with the hip New York City retailer Alife, which put his brand on the map, to his evolution as an artist and high-fashion collaborator.

More about the Book
The book showcases Costello’s seminal style and his extensive body of work, including site-specific installations around the world. It also chronicles his myriad collaborations with Alife, Nike, Coach, Moncler, Modernica, Marc Jacobs, Levi Strauss & Co., Mini (BMW), Carhartt, Casio G-Shock, Kidrobot, Medicom Toy, Stance, agnès b., and colette, among many others. Today, Costello’s reach and influence goes far beyond urban street culture. Krink has grown exponentially into a global artist materials brand with expanding collections of apparel, tools, and accessories; while Costello’s unique aesthetic can be seen on objects from sneakers to luxury goods to cars.
Krink: Graffiti, Art, and Invention is both stylish and informative, capturing the ethos of punk and hip-hop culture, and is sure to appeal to the fans of high/low cultural crossovers, as well as die-hard fans of street art and fashion.

Show Notes
- Craig Costello
- KRINK
- Taking Risks
- Conservative on the risk tip
- Minimized Risk
- Keeping KRINK a Secret
- Drippy Tags
- Didn’t write graffiti on trains in the 80s
- Ink tags
- Ditto machine
- Mimeograph
- Supermarket ink
- Grew up in New York
- Graffiti traditions
- Making ink
- Being resourceful
- Graffiti zines
- Skills Magazine #7
- TAKI 183
- Cornbread
- Silver KRINK
- The early process of making KRINK
- Field testing the product
- Stop racking
- ESPO
- The Art of Getting Over
- Alife
- Futura and Stash Recon Store
- Getting press
- The Fader
- Keeping costs down
- Learning things the hard way
- No plan
- Pigment in solvent
- Graffiti carries a lot of baggage
- Minimal actions
- The Red Door
- Sculptural piece
- Beyond the Streets
- Scaling up using color
- Using fire extinguishers
- Skating banks at JFK
- Infamy (Film)
- Kunle Martins “Earsnot”
- IRAK
- Dash Snow
- Giant silver drippy tags
- Controlling the narrative
- Keep things extremely simple
- Canon G7
- Curious Artist
- Ricardo Gonzalez – It’s A Living
- Shantell Martin
- Built in aesthetic
- “Don’t Blame the Tool, Blame the Fool”
- Hand made in small batches
- Keeping the standard
- Quality Control
- Trust yourself
- Self-doubt
~~~
We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode. Leave a comment on the Apple Podcast App and don’t forget to rate the show.
Comments 1