Vannen Watches

The highly anticipated first collection of Vannen Watches is here!

The inaugural Series 1 invites you to experience a new world where art meets fashion. And at £50 per timepiece, anyone can afford to have art wrapped around his or her wrist. 

Created on the premise that this genre of wearable art would never get made otherwise, founder David Stowe and an amazing lineup of artists have come together to bring Vannen to life. The first collection of Vannen Watches features designs by Buff Monster, Brian Morris, Chris Ryniak and Damon Soule.

Individually inspected, assembled and packaged by hand in the USA, every watch is treated like a true piece of art. Each selected artist is given a plastic watch as a canvas to showcase their original artwork and connect with the world. Constructing wearable art that is both functional and accessible - but still exclusive - Vannen has given the public a fun new way to show their taste in art and fashion and support a new movement in artistic achievement. And all artists design their own custom packaging.

The heart of Vannen Watches is to expose extraordinary artwork to people that may never have the opportunity to discover it, much less incorporate it into their lives. Each collection of watches is produced with one goal in mind – to support the global art scene by bringing awareness to each artist and invite the world to experience something new. Vannen is not only collectible art; it transcends all ages, genders and nationalities.

Art is limitless and impossible to define which is why Vannen is proud to present exclusive collections all designed by unique artists from around the world. Each original work of art is a moment in time that belongs to each individual artist. So when someone purchases or is given a Vannen watch, not only do they get a piece of “functional art,” they get an opportunity to share an artist’s history, experience and perspective.

Going beyond the realms of current art merchandising - Vannen Watches not only tell time, they tell a story. A new movement in art is about to happen. That movement is Vannen.

Series 1: The Artists 

Christopher Bettig

Christopher Bettig's work is a sea of pattern, repetition, geometry and natural forms used to make abstract landscapes. His work varies in mediums, but share a universal theme of recycling and reusing common objects. Chris is a French / American artist currently based in LA, who graduated from the Maryland Institute College of art with a degree in painting. His work has been featured in solo exhibits in LA, NYC & SF as well as in group shows in Japan, Australia, N. America and Europe. Several international publications have also featured his work such as Lucky Magazine & The New York Times. In 2004 Chris founded The Mountain Label, where he handles a wide range of design projects for: Analogue Books, Arden B., Carhartt-Europe & Japan, 2K, Circa, Converse, Fila, Nike, Nili Lotan, Poketo, Puma, Urban Outfitters, Threadless, Vannen and many more.

Buff Monster

Buff Monster lives in Hollywood and cites heavy metal music, ice cream and Japanese culture as major influences. The colour pink, as a symbol of confidence, individuality and happiness, is present in everything he creates. Buff is known for putting up thousands of silk-screened posters across Los Angeles and also in faraway places. When his original and one-and-only wheat paste brush was no longer usable, seven years of frequent poster missions came to an end. Having given up a very productive street art career, he now works exclusively on fine art paintings, collectible toys and select design projects. His works have been exhibited in numerous galleries, usually accompanied by large installations to enhance the paintings. Buff's art has been featured in a long list of magazines, and he has released loads of signature vinyl toys. Aside from his “Happy Creamy” Vannen watch, he has many projects in the works.

Brian Morris

Brian Morris lives on the southern side of Chicago, married, eats a lot of red meat, prefers pinot noir, favorite color is black, draws because he likes to, second favorite color is black, born in '76, works in advertising, '62 Cadillac in the garage, dead kitty's name tattooed on his wrist, believes in people, heavy metal poser, country music, Sharpies, Faber-Castells, doesn't correct his drawings, tattoos, beard, deep in love, early to rise, saver not a spender, knows you can't take it with you, raised in a small town, college degree, practice makes perfect, lover of toys, collector of HotWheels, enjoys the darker side, steak, potatoes, breakfast with his wife at the Ramova Grill, not a big fan of TV, would go to bed at 9pm if he could, smokes too many cigarettes, doesn’t smoke enough cigarettes, loves black cherry Kool-Aid, won’t design you a tattoo, boobies. Trying to get back to the basics.

Chris Ryniak

Chris Ryniak was born in 1976 in a safely distanced suburb of Detroit. He spent his childhood basking in the warm glow of Saturday morning cartoons, monster movies and flipping over rocks in search of insects and reptiles. In his teenage years, Chris' attention would shift to the world of skateboarding and the artists associated with the skate community, which later led to interests in commercial illustration. A graduate and former instructor at the Ringling School of Art and Design, Chris is now a painter and sculptor of all manner of critters that grace canvases as well as toy and print platforms. Chris' work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the US including Miami, LA and New York City, as well as Montreal, Rome and Hamburg. His paintings have also been published in numerous books and periodicals throughout the globe. Chris currently resides in a coastal Ohio Dutch Colonial with his wife, two children, cat and frog.

Damon Soule

As a child Damon Soule became so engrossed with drawing that it became a distraction; at age 16 he dropped out of school opting for the immediacy of a GED. At 19 Damon moved to San Francisco and enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Program at the San Francisco Art Institute. In 1996 Soule became the Art Director and Co-founder of FIT Skateboards and Civilian Clothing. After art directing the brands for a number of years, he sold his portion of the business to pursue art full-time. Soule's art has been featured in group exhibitions in San Francisco at 111 Minna Gallery, Punch Gallery, Southern Exposure Gallery, Rizzoli Gallery, Culture Cache, New Langton Arts and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Recent shows also include "New Works by Oliver Vernon and Damon Soule" at BLVD Gallery; "Green Art Exhibition" at Robert Berman Gallery; and "Stories From the Wonderland" at Dorothy Circus Gallery.

 

Dirty Donny

"Dirty" Donny Gillies was born with a brush in his hand. Growing up in Ottawa, Canada, Donny spent his time skateboarding, drawing and listening to punk rock and heavy metal. He cut his artistic teeth, razor blade sharp, drawing for some of Rock and Roll's greatest underground bands. These jobs eventually led Donny all the way to San Francisco. Donny’s art has transgressed through multiple mediums and has included: toys, skateboards, record covers, paintings, pinball machines, statues and cars. These days, Donny spends his time working on his '69 Plymouth Satellite, writing for various magazines and doing what he loves best - art.