Mellow Tanto is all about blending cultural elements (underground music, extreme sports, urban art) and bringing visual nostalgia. You can find an influence from 90's underground music, board sports, urban art, graffiti & touch of Japanese culture.
All designs are created by Mia Simova, founder of Mellow Tanto, Czech graphic designer / visual artist who is based in the Netherlands.
Big thanks to brand name co-founder Rivane Cissoko!
Dedicated BMX warrior!
ABOUT THE CULTURE OF MELLOW TANTO
MUSIC
Sharing good taste in music is a biggie!
ART
Playful illustrations and storytelling graphics that bring a sense of nostalgia with a fresh point.
SPORT
Support of extreme sports - board sports, street sports, BMX etc.
AWARENESS
We respect other cultures and are aware of social and environmental issues. We are cultivating healthy habits, caring about nature, animals, ourselfs and each other no matter on cultural background, religion, skin color or gender.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mia (Miroslava) grew up in the Czech Republic during a time when a huge wave of subcultures was developing, which was a result of the Velvet Revolution that ended communism in her country in 1989.
All different styles of music were brought from abroad as an influence and formed into subcultures. You could find punks, 90’s hip hop crews, people of rock, metal, techno, reggae and more. And like that underground culture in the Czech Republic was blooming. From a very young age, she was into underground music and mostly hip-hop culture.
"There was not an easy access to a good music at that time, so we all depended on a bunch of friends where there was always someone sharing pirated music on DVDs. In my social bubble, we were fans of artists like: Wu-Tang Clan, Biggie, Onyx, Mobb Deep, Lords of the Underground, The Fugees, Nas, Black Sheep, KRS-ONE etc."
Musical inspiration remained with her even after graduating from art and graphic school and was reflected in her work many times. Traditional printing techniques, canvas and mixed media became her passion. In the Czech Republic, she created posters for small music festivals, created wood carvings for skateboards, experimented with printing, painted on canvas, all in her spare time in addition to her full-time job as a graphic designer in a publishing house.
When the time came, she emigrated abroad to broaden her horizons and discover other cultures from the inside. First it was Spain. Here she lived for a short time in the urban district of Madrid, Malasaña, where the retro clothing culture intermingled with street art on shop windows, market vendors with vinyl records, mostly accompanied by the music of street singers with guitars.And then she lived in the south of France. Here she found a very similar cultural background, a very strong underground hip-hop culture that constantly inspired her work. Among other things, she was also captivated by the south of France's slow-paced lifestyle of sun, sea, mountains, great drinks and food.
After 5 years of living in the Netherlands, a country full of job opportunities, she was finally able to combine her life-work experience and lay the foundations for a project that can continue to improve!
When all the pieces of her vision fell into place, Mellow Tanto was founded!
Big thanks to a brand name co-founder Rivane Cissoko! Dedicated BMX warrior!
