SAVE EWKUKS GALLERY

Team fundraiser

John Moody and Mallory Ruiz are organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Ed Choi.

Donation protected

Hello, our names are John & Mallory - and we’d love to tell you the story of our best friends and peers EWKUKS.

In 2014, Ed Choi and Ron Shawler started a clothing and art hybrid brand called Ewkuks. Standing for “Everyone Who Knows Us KnowS…” the brand identity was rooted in accepting yourself. A creative brand made for other creatives, Ewkuks focused on melting the two worlds of clothing and art to dress you and your home. Ewkuks has become a beloved staple of the art community locally and worldwide, having been a place that gave a lot of artists, including street artists and graffiti writers a chance to showcase their legitimacy in the art world.

Driven by the desire to show the next generation that there is a career in creativity, Ed & Ron worked with artists from around the world of different levels of their career to put on shows every month for the last 8 years. Ed & Ron collaborated with a lot of the artists they featured in their flagship gallery on Fairfax to create collab apparel in addition to their own designs. As well as documenting the art culture throughout the world over the last several years.

The arts are what kept Ed and Ron out of trouble in their youth. And paying it forward is something that is very important to the both of them. Ewkuks worked with afterschool programs like LACER in Los Angeles to mentor students and held student art shows throughout the years to celebrate students’ creativity ultimately to encourage the kids to continue with the arts.

Ewkuks has also used their brick-and-mortar flagship gallery to put on shows that supported marginalized communities through their annual AAPI show and Juneteenth shows.

During the Fairfax riots in the summer of 2020, Ed & Ron fought to protect their shop, as well as their neighbor’s small businesses on the block. Using just his words, Ed stood out front of Ewkuks unarmed and turned away 6 waves of people trying to break in, some armed with weapons… until police started shooting smoke bombs and tear gas started being shot towards him to evacuate the streets.

It has been an unfortunate cumulative series of events that led to this point. Like a lot of the world’s small businesses affected by the pandemic, Ewkuks took a huge hit in sales due to the borders being closed and people not really coming out to physical art shows or to retail stores for shopping. The spike in crimes in the area during the pandemic also not only changed the landscape of shopping on Fairfax, but also deterred people from coming out to the area. In addition, Ed and Ron had to keep paying rent during the months they were closed during the pandemic while also not receiving any relief funding or PPP loans. They also invested thousands of dollars in each art show, taking a hit each time due to art show sales not being the same as pre-pandemic times. In the last few months, they also experienced a fair share of “lost packages” of artwork or cancelled purchases that added more expenses to their bottom line.

Ed & Ron used up almost all of their savings to float the business hoping that it would get better, but unfortunately, they are now at a point where they are being forced to shut the doors at the end of November, so that they can try to survive themselves.

Running an art/clothing hybrid brand is expensive, especially with a $60k yearly rent alone – especially in Los Angeles. With a goal of $60,000, this will hopefully be a solid cushion to cover costs while Ed & Ron figure out a way to keep Ewkuks going. Their goal is to be able to grow the brand and hopefully either stay open or be able to reopen again at a different location in LA. Even if they are unable to open another location right away, Ed and Ron plan to have pop-up art shows/events and hopefully be able to throw a mural festival in LA. 100% of the proceeds raised as well as anything above the goal will go directly to the business as additional aid during this transition period.