Master Plastered: Dominic Johnson-Hill of Plastered T-shirts

After 18 years of roaming Beijing’s hutongs, Dominic Johnson-Hill (along with his brand, Plastered T-shirts) has become an icon for China’s exploding creative retail sector. Dominic met up with Agenda to shed light on his inspirations behind his company and T-shirt designs in Nanluogu Xiang, where his story began.

Tell us the story behind Plastered Tshirts.
I started with an idea to plaster a woman in a bikini on top of the iconic great wall T-shirt. I was walking around the hutongs one day and saw someone wearing the “I climbed the great wall” T-shirt and thought, “Wow, that shirt has been around for 15 years and hasn’t changed a bit – How would I change it to make it cooler?” From there the plastered design sprouted all these other ideas. I decided to open a shop at Nanluogu Xiang, and that’s how Plastered came to be.

How do you come up with your designs?
I began with iconic images because I don’t paint or draw, but I have quite a unique foreigner perspective on the city because I have lived here for half my life. I witnessed and bought second-hand collectibles as the face of Beijing changed. A lot of objects in my home that I bought over the years turned into T-shirts, from old tickets to cups and detergents. They were my little babies at home, so naturally they started becoming immortalized onto T-shirts.

After three years, people on the street started copying my iconic designs. So then I moved into other design directions to give the brand more depth and excitement. Now I work with local artists within the community to collaborate and design. My inspiration now comes from the people around me and my life in China, but I don’t see why Plastered can’t move in any direction in the future. I just always want the brand to be playful, cheeky, beautifully-made and be able to make others laugh.

Did you ever foresee Plastered’s success when you first opened up shop?
I certainly didn’t see Plastered and Nanluogu Xiang becoming as popular and successful as they are today. I just put my heart and soul into it and discovered that when you work on something you are passionate about, the chances of success are huge. In my heart, I thought Plastered was an amazing idea for a business, but I never thought it was going to catch on like this and have such great reception.

You often team up with Chinese rock bands and design and retail their T-shirts. What do you think of the local Chinese musicians and why do you support them?
I have been following the rock and roll scene here for 16 years and I wanted to be involved with local Chinese musicians. So when Plastered became more profitable, I saw an opportunity, approached the bands and offered to design and sell their T-shirts. It’s an obvious branding move too because Chinese music is a cool, underground scene and I’d like to keep Plastered that way as well – teaming up with rock musicians seemed like a natural progression for us.

How have you helped transformed Nanluogu Xiang?
When I first opened my business, I went to the local government for support. I got money to hold the first festival in Nanluogu Xiang, complete with storytellers, magicians, and other street performers. The event was a huge success; 30,000 people turned up and it was a turning point for the street. And because it was a creative festival, people who later came to open businesses here were mainly creative types. Nanluogu Xiang suddenly exploded into this creative and popular street that is becoming more commercialized and touristy everyday.

Having appeared on Lu Yu’s talk show on Phoenix TV and the Beijing Evening News, what is it like being a celebrity in the Chinese media?
It’s a bizarre experience that just happened as I went on these big talk shows, and now I get recognized and stopped on the streets and in the hutongs. I never wanted to be famous, but it’s nice because I’ve taken quite a good stand in the community and I’ve just been selected to be in the Chamber of Commerce in the local government. I’ve always done a lot of work with the local government but now I’ve actually been officially recognized and I’m the first foreigner to be in the local government. It’s quite an honor.

Is Plastered a local Chinese brand?
Absolutely. Young Beijingers bring friends from out of town to the shop because they know we celebrate Chinese images. Though I am originally from England, I consider myself a Beijinger. I started Plastered here in the hutongs and my inspiration continuously stems from my life here.

How did you see market potential in stamping a subway ticket onto T-shirts?
The subway ticket was something I loved years before I started Plastered. Maybe eight years ago, I was taking the subway home, subway ticket in my hand and I thought, “wow, I love this,” and impulsively decided to make it into a present for my wife. I got off the subway station, went to a print shop, blew the ticket into a meter-long poster and framed it. It’s been on our wall for the last eight years and it became a T-shirt because of that. I loved the retro and cool subway ticket design, but I had no idea whether anyone would like the actual T-shirt. I was purely celebrating with my wife what I loved about China and all the things that were icons in my eyes.

How do you maintain a carefree attitude in spite of the pressures that come with being an entrepreneur in Beijing?
My inspiration and creativity comes from being happy, from Beijing, from walking, from meeting people. At Plastered, we continually re-create our designs – the face of the store changes every week, the T-shirts every two weeks. Our strength lies in our creativity and the only way I can stay ahead of the competition is to be happy and inspired and enjoy life in Beijing. You lose that, and then you lose the blood of the business.

What are your favorite restaurants in Beijing?
My favorite restaurant in Nanluogu Xiang is the Korean bistro Saveurs de Coree, which was started by a great entrepreneur and a really good friend of mine.

How do you explain Beijing’s sudden fascination with all things retro?
When I first opened my doors, the Chinese customers didn’t get why I was plastering objects in their everyday lives onto T-shirts. But about two years ago, the Chinese generation coming of age began looking back and reminiscing on the things that they had when they were kids, like old lollipops. It was also the 30th anniversary of China opening up its economy, and we started looking back at all the old products, so retro was born in China.

Plastered T-Shirts Daily 10am-10pm. 61 Nanluogu Xiang, Dongcheng District. (134 8884 8855) www.plastered.com.cn
东城区南锣鼓巷61号
Saveurs de Coree Daily noon-10:40pm. 29 Nanluogu Xiang, Dongcheng District. (64016083) 东城区南锣鼓巷29号