John Michael didn’t create a business plan or spend years mapping out how to introduce his brand to the world. Instead, in 2019, he took a chance and just went for it. “[On] June 4th, I went out and bought around $75 worth of art supplies, which was [expensive] for me at the time,” Michael says. “That day, I made three different pieces and was having a lot of fun. I knew if I wanted to make any money back, I’d have to start an Instagram page, and that’s how 4x1111 came to be.” Today, the brand’s Instagram page is overflowing with single flat-lay images of the sometimes hand-painted, sometimes distressed, sometimes patchworked, etc., pants, shirts, jackets, and hoodies that Michael creates.
Outside of the occasional piece he posts and his first-ever made-to-order collection that he dropped mid-December, Michael likes his 1-of-1 pieces to be a collaborative design process with whoever is purchasing them. How it works is they Instagram direct-message Michael about a fabric they like that he has posted, and from there they work on a piece. “Drops happen as fast as I can get the material in. [They aren’t] official drops, [it’s] just whoever messages me first and picks what canvas they like,” Michael explains of the process. “It’s very hands-on, and you get a lot of say in what you’d like. We really have to work together to make sure everything from the sizing to the design is perfect!” 4x1111 is well-known (and loved) for their tapestry pieces that are made from woven throw blankets, of all things. These types of pieces are what has made the brand into what it is today, with Michael receiving DMs from the likes of Offset, FKA Twigs, and Sneaker Con.
Outside of the occasional piece he posts and his first-ever made-to-order collection that he dropped mid-December, Michael likes his 1-of-1 pieces to be a collaborative design process with whoever is purchasing them. How it works is they Instagram direct-message Michael about a fabric they like that he has posted, and from there they work on a piece. “Drops happen as fast as I can get the material in. [They aren’t] official drops, [it’s] just whoever messages me first and picks what canvas they like,” Michael explains of the process. “It’s very hands-on, and you get a lot of say in what you’d like. We really have to work together to make sure everything from the sizing to the design is perfect!” 4x1111 is well-known (and loved) for their tapestry pieces that are made from woven throw blankets, of all things. These types of pieces are what has made the brand into what it is today, with Michael receiving DMs from the likes of Offset, FKA Twigs, and Sneaker Con.
