They’re sticky, fit in the palm of your hand and come in all shapes and colors.
These days, stickers have become “the” business card among Gen Z and millennial artists. North Texas artist Fernanda Cavalcanti said she has 100 stickers from Japan, Italy, Poland and France.
“It’s a way for people to know about my work,” she said. “It’s something that sticks, literally, with people.”
Stickers are a practical way for artists to promote their work since people can easily put them on laptops, water bottles or even the walls of a dive bar. Rooted in street, skateboarding and protest culture, stickers are also a way for people to connect with one another.
Fernanda Cavalcanti “Ferfetz” - art teacher, graffiti artist
You might consider Fernanda Cavalcanti a sticker fiend. She loves stickers because they’re versatile and easy to carry around.
Her love of stickers started back in the 2000s in the street art community of her home country, Brazil. Now, living in Farmers Branch, she continues to make her own stickers, which reflect her artistic style inspired by anime.
She’s even designed a sticker for her partner Pakco F., a musical artist, whose sticker includes an embedded QR code that links to his professional website.
Jona Blanco “Acme Slaps” - sticker maker, graffiti artist
Four years ago, Jona Blanco turned his childhood fascination with stickers into a sticker-making small business.
Back in the day, he said it was common for artists to draw on blank stickers. But now he’s upgraded to using a top-of-the line printer-cutter that can make batches of stickers at a time.
“With this machine, I have good quality and the colors and everything are just so good that I just enjoy making them for everybody,” he said.
Blanco typically prints packs of 100 or 500 stickers for tattoo and graffiti artists.
Adrian Garcia “Her.Manos Photography” - photographer
Garcia commissioned illustrator Christopher Machorro to design his sticker.
“It's kind of like free marketing,” he said. Though people might not be able to see his work, he said people often say “ ‘I remember seeing that logo,’ and then it kind of starts a conversation, too.”
Not to mention, stickers are affordable. Garcia said he can get 1,000 for about a nickel each.
That’s why it’s common to see stickers posted in public spaces. His favorite spots to see stickers are the Double Wide Bar and Charlie’s Star Lounge in East Dallas.
“It's also become kind of a territorial kind of thing when it comes to stickers,” he said. “Same thing for graffiti, kind of like claiming spots or knowing this artist hangs out here a lot. Then different artists will kind of post up and put their stickers.”
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