Blogger Interview: Jeff Hamada of Booooooom.com

Jeff Hamada is the creative genius behind Booooooom.com. He’s also a talented artist with one hell of a portfolio!

Tell me a little bit about yourself!

When I was in elementary school I failed the third level of swimming and hated everyone who had their birthday party at the local wave pool.

What was your childhood like in Vancouver? Tell me one good memory of when you were a kid.

We would go camping every summer (still do), if you enjoy the outdoors this is the best place on earth.

What was your experience at Emily Carr like? Was it a valuable experience for you?

An artist named M. Simon Levin came and spoke to one of our classes and he talked about his work in such an accessible way that it excited me. There is often a lot of elitism in the art scene, an attitude like “if you don’t understand this then you are stupid”, and it was inspiring to hear from someone completely opposite to that.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone looking to go to art school?

Take advantage of the opportunity to learn, it’s a privilege.

I remember watching your Pecha Kucha talk, where you showed some of your early drawings. You said one of your major influences was children’s book illustrator Richard Scarry. Are there any other individuals who stand out to you as major influences in your life? And why have they impacted you so much?

My father, he was a landscape architect and is now a pastor. He taught me to work hard and to love other people.

For those who don’t know (which I’m sure is very few of you), what is Booooooom all about? And when did you start the site?

I started the site around May of 2008, it’s become a place where I highlight artwork and photography that I like, and host fun collaborative projects.

What was your reaction like when you heard that The National Post was going to do a feature on Booooooom?

At the time I had no idea it was going to be such a big article, it has been really helpful in terms of exposure across Canada and it has opened up a lot of opportunities for the site.

What’s the traffic like these days?

2.6 million pageviews this month

What’s one large unexpected city or country driving traffic to the site?

Istanbul.

Name a few artists you recently discovered, who deserve some attention.

Andrea Wan – her illustrations are amazing! She’s really nice too, had coffee with her the other day – I’m sure you’ll see her work spread like wild fire. Nike hire this girl! I fully endorse her.

What are you going to be up to for the duration of 2010?

I’m gonna keep most of the upcoming projects under my hat for now, but I am also working on a book.