Ino Custom Cave's Story
Ino Custom Cave is an apparel, home living and accessory business aimed at vintage and retro tropical, nautical, surfing, Cottagecore, Coastal Cottagecore, and a few other exciting niches and aesthetics pertaining to nostalgic and inspirational trends. A recent niche I've began to explore through research is the Dark Academia Theme. That inspired my Time Traveler Of History Shirt that depicts ancient looking distressed history books with detailed texts that look like something out of an old archival library.
My graphics are meant to grab the viewer and inspire a feeling deep within. This is done through the careful production of digital imaging using a wide variety of tools. More importantly this is done through inspiration, and for lack of better words, a poetry in the soul. Vintage Hawaiian art has been a long passionate subject for much of the inspiration behind the graphics I produce, but this spreads out into Pacific Island influences such as the tribal arts of Papua New Guinea, Tahiti and Fiji. There's a historical yearning in this, of when cultures were separated by the vast expanses of the ocean and how humans cleaved to a natural world that was unburdened by modern industrial society.
I think we all yearn for that Garden of Eden. Fantasy is a big element of the inspiration, as we yearn for that nostalgic past that may or may not have existed, except for fleeting moments here and there. There's a real historical context behind nostalgic fantasy, and it's often brutal and bleak, but nostalgic reminiscing of the past provides and sense of warmth and charisma in the soul that's uplifting in our daily lives, and we should don that on our clothing. We can use art to spread that nostalgia to build a better world that isn't so bleak, such as in the days of colonization in the Congo and the South Pacific. We can do this by honoring and celebrating the diversity of culture in our world, and the origins of those cultures. Lets inspire each other to wear art pieces that celebrate a better tomorrow - a world without roads and cars, a world without polluting industry. It's so easy to put on a piece of clothing like the Hana Maui Shirt, a shirt in Ino Custom Cave's shop that imagines that distressed cottage in the rain forests of Maui's North Shore, and when we do, we give that sense of uplift, that yearning for the preservation of natural places. The Vintage Cottagecore Wildflowers Shirt is another piece that brings the beauty of nature to those around us. The only reason we might wear a shirt depicting a traffic jam is to present a satirical critique or joke of the juggernaut we've turned our world into. But we don't really want that, so in that way, the art in Ino Custom Cave is meant to rebel against the old industrial world, and imagine a better one.
Recently Ino Custom Cave changed it's name from Ino Designs Art to focus on custom designs that will bring in more customers, largely because I love designing graphics for people, and I want to know what they're looking for. For that reason, I'm not only offering customization options to add a name or year, but asking the customer to help in the design process. What do you want to see on your shirt? Imagine what's important to you. Join me in that same inspiration I get from creating designs for apparel and be the decision maker and the imagineer. That's why I recently listed the Custom Name Silhouette listing where you can let me know what inspires you. It could be anything. Maybe the silhouette of a wave with your favorite surf spot or your favorite dog breed with your beloved dog's name. I'm passionate about many hobbies so I can only imagine customers who love trees or astronomy or of course, flowers. Please take advantage of this and future shop listings that will build on these customization ideas. I've also started branching out into customized Christmas tree ornaments. That nostalgic vintage Christmas story can come alive hanging from your Christmas tree, giving you a keepsake for decades to come.
The inspiration of festivals and the seasons they pertain to is something magical to me. I'm not sure how many people have told me that Halloween is their favorite holiday . . . oh wait, but it's not a holiday, but it should be! I'm inspired by spooky designs, and you can be assured there will be many spooky designs getting churned out by my shop for years to come.
I've got quite a few comical shirts, which I'd like to expand in the future as well. I'm also thinking about that image or text that will bring laughter to those around you, and maybe even help you poke a little fun at yourself or your loved one. Gift giving is an essential part of all human cultures and sharing gifts that resonate with you, the gift giver, are very much intended in my designs. That said, the most important thing I'm thinking about is what you want for yourself, because in the end, that is what the recipients of your gifts will want too.
