Welcome To Glenn Jones Art
From our studio in Auckland, New Zealand, we create art with a sense of humour, a hint of nostalgia and plenty of Kiwi character. Whether it’s an art print or another product we’ve made, our aim is always the same: to make people smile. Glenn Jones Art is a family business. Glenn creates the artwork, Julia takes care of the business, and our three kids provide plenty of inspiration and the odd distraction. We love hearing from customers about the memories our art brings back, and seeing photos of where it ends up.
About Glenn
Glenn grew up on Auckland’s North Shore, next to a dairy and close to the beach and sports grounds. Those childhood memories of Kiwi life still find their way into many of his designs. Art was always his main interest. At school, he focused on art and technical drawing, then went on to study graphic design.
Graphic Design Career
Glenn’s first job was as a junior designer at a newspaper publisher in 1993. There was no internet or email in the studio. Artwork was drawn by hand, scanned or photographed, then pasted onto boards to send to the printer. Things were changing though. The business had just invested in Apple Macs, and a supportive boss gave Glenn the chance to teach himself early versions of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Glenn went on to spend five years at a design studio before heading to London on his OE, where he worked with a range of international brands. Back in Auckland, he joined a larger studio and eventually became Creative Director, working on some of New Zealand’s best-known brands. One of his projects was the 2006 Tip Top logo rebrand.
T-Shirt Design
In 2004, Glenn discovered Threadless, a US website where anyone could submit a T-shirt design. The public voted on the designs and those selected were produced and sold. It gave Glenn a creative outlet outside his day job, and as Threadless grew, his illustrations reached an audience around the world.
That led to an opportunity to create his own T-shirt brand with partners in Austin, Texas. In 2008, Glenn took the leap, left his day job and focused on Glennz Tees. He travelled regularly to the US as the business grew. Over the next 12 years, Glenn and his partners produced hundreds of T-shirt designs and related products. Glennz Tees designs were worn by celebrities and appeared on numerous US TV shows. Eventually family life took priority, the Austin partnership dispanded and the Glennz brand moved back onto the Threadless market place. www.glennz.com
Freelance
Glenn's T-shirt design work created a lot of exposure for his illustration style leading to freelance work mostly in the US for well known brands and publications such as Dropbox, Penske, Penguin, The Economist, Wired and Mens Health Magazines. The largest project was as the illustrator for the original Google Santa Tracker, working with an international team to ideate and then bring to life online games, interactive activities and colourful characters. Glenn's portfolio on Adobe's Behance network remains in the top 50 most viewed.
Glenn Jones Art
By 2014, we were juggling work and life with a toddler. We decided to put Glenn’s experience running an online T-shirt business together with Julia’s project management skills and start something closer to home. We began Glenn Jones Art as a home business, with Glenn creating his own take on classic Kiwiana and New Zealand culture. Two more kids came along, and eventually we moved into a studio close to home. Today, we work together on the art prints and products we sell through our online store, to other retailers and through licensing and collaboration partnerships with a wide range of brands, businesses and charities.
"Glenn creating his own take on classic Kiwiana and New Zealand culture"
