Meet the Vendor: Adam JK!
We love to celebrate our vendors here at Goodly. They’re the reason we do what we do! June is Pride Month, and to celebrate we’re featuring LGBTQ+ creator Adam J. Kurtz, perhaps better known by his professional name of Adam JK. We love Adam and his work in part because he believes in self-care and recognizes its importance, just like we do at Goodly. But we can’t leave out the fact that his heartfelt creations are simply outrageously funny.
Adam has said, “For me, it's all about making honest, accessible work that is functional, colorful, and maybe a little too real.” We’re pretty sure that bright yellow balloons that say, “sorry I am such an asshole” in great big letters embody that statement!
As you may know, Goodly is a small business, and we love to support other small businesses. Adam JK is so small that it’s literally a one-man show! Just one more reason we’re shouting his name from the rooftops here.
What started out as smaller side projects (like postcards and zines) has turned into a full-time career creating books, keychains, stationery and more. In fact, his first book, 1 Page at a Time: A Daily Creative Companion, has been translated into 15 languages!
“My imperfect illustrative work embraces the world with ‘backhanded optimism’ and a dark sense of humor. I'm hopeful but realistic. I'm ‘positivity-adjacent.’ I’m interested in the ephemera of daily life, a nice little thing that makes you feel better for some reason (that paper you keep in your wallet for three years) and creating honest, accessible work.”
“I don't have it all figured out, but if you can live a relatively-happy, creative life of making art that helps yourself and others, that's pretty fucking cool.”
We’re so thrilled to collaborate with artists like Adam, because we also want to spark joy and creativity and encourage self-care. At first glance his creations may look like pure whimsy, but the sentiment beneath speaks loud and clear! Encouraging you to hang in there, to think and most of all to laugh. We’re hopelessly in love with Adam JK’s offerings and think you will be, too!
