Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay and Riki Rivera.
Hi Jay and Riki, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York. During the 90’s in the Bronx, graffiti was in heavy rotation and an essential part of hip-hop culture in New York City. Along with tagging, I worked on my skills and began painting murals by the age of 16. I entered the military in 1997 as an Infantryman and traveled the world. I did three tours in Iraq and due to complications of combat, I was medically retired in 2015. In 2017, I began painting again. Riki Rivera was born and raised in Southern California. Riki and I began painting together in 2018 and simultaneously launched Laced and Found Graffiti Murals. In 2018, they launched Laced and Found, which provides murals, custom artwork, clothing and so much more. Since its launch in January of 2018, we have painted over 300 projects including murals and custom work. All of the work done by us is done primarily with spray paint, keeping true to the style and culture of graffiti artists. We have really become known for our mixture of graffiti lettering, cleanliness, and speed in creating our murals.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
For the most part, it has been very smooth. We didn’t know much when we first started in regards to the business side of things, i.e. how to charge for murals and such. The things we didn’t know we researched, and the things we knew we became better at. Some struggles we encountered was how to get our name out there and let people know what we do and what we have to offer. Luckily for us, word of mouth has been our best ally. Since launching in 2018, every last one of our murals have been from people passing on our info, sharing our posts on Instagram, and simply seeing our work and looking us up.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We specialize in larger scale murals of all styles. We are known for our collage style of work, where we incorporate some old retro images along with new modern images and sprinkle some fun colors and lettering. We are most proud of the fact that we have helped so many small businesses become the key players in their prospective fields. About 80% of our clients are small businesses trying to launch and they have helped us become the key players in our prospective fields as well. Our ability to paint really fast has truly set us apart from others. Just about all of our murals are done in one day with the exception of really large murals. For example, we have done murals ranging from 10 ft. x 8 ft. to 40 ft. x 10 ft. in one day and murals as large as 70 ft. x 22 ft. in four days.
What makes you happy?
The fact that we love what we do and we are able to do it together as a married couple is truly the best thing. We have built something that brings joy to so many and helps so many businesses. The personal and custom projects we get are special to us as well as the client. The fact that people reach out to us to inquire about our work is rewarding.
Pricing:
- $15-$25 per sqft (depending on detail and size)
Contact Info:
- Email: getlacedandfound@gmail.com
- Website: www.lacedandfound.com
- Instagram: lacedandfound
- Twitter: lacedandfound
- Youtube: Laced and Found
Image Credits
Daniel Martinez
