POW new stuff added - closing down sale

The diatribe of the year! still plenty of time for I hate thatcher to take the lead

I can't say I disagree with you. I would be far less pessimistic if every single print release wasn't instantly swooped upon regardless of whether the person likes it or not.

Happy flipping 2018!

i wrote a really long and detailed response, but somehow managed to accidentally delete it so here's the short version.... I think POW genuinely started with the best of intentions, but they sort of created a monster, but it was the passive "collectors" - people who see no contradiction of buying "street art" as a status symbol or as an investment, yet don't seem to know the history or the ethos of what graff originally stood for - let that monster out of the cage. and now it will probably never go back in

the fact that some truly shitty prints would sell out instantly yet prints by amazing artists like Bast, Pins, and Blu sat around for years is very telling. It's hard to think of that as all POW's fault, though they're certainly not not-guilty.

In the end, what I'll take away most from POW was that they introduced me to a lot of artists, and because of that, I've been able to become real life friends with many of you guys over the years... the memories are worth more than even the most expensive, hand-finished, multi-colorway'ed, glittered up, VIP only, AP stretch version prints

Preserved for posterity:


THE POW STORY

POW was started sixteen years ago by a loose collection of graffiti artists and illustrators shunned by the controlling influences of the day. Working from borrowed office space in East London we set about producing, promoting and distributing our own art.

The invention of the internet and the cardboard tube enabled us to circumvent the centuries-old grip of the established art world and we laid waste to their cronyism and vested interests and good taste. We delivered a new generation of art directly into people’s homes. Well, the Royal Mail did most of it.

Somewhere along the way we mastered our craft and many POW prints have become benchmarks within the industry. We pioneered the use of foil block, embossing and glitter colours and we were the first in the industry to use non-solvent based inks. We never put anything down the drain except effort.

Throughout it all POW has remained an independent, artist-run operation, organising landmark exhibitions and pioneering the concept of a shit pop-up shop long before it became fashionable.

However, inevitably disaster struck - and many of our artists became successful. Street Art was welcomed into mainstream culture with the benign shrug of a hippy parent. The clocks didn’t stop, society didn’t seem to improve or even care and the art we produced became another tradeable commodity, despite our best efforts at poor customer service and price fixing. Regrettably some POW prints have now become worth tens of thousands of pounds.

So this is it, the writing is on the wall. POW has proved unwilling or unable to become the sort of professional retail outlet that services a demand whether our hearts are in it or not. Its time to call it quits. Well, it was time to call it quits about three years ago, but hey...

Thanks for your interest, your patience and your custom. Please join us in our next venture.

x POW