JOHN MOORE

President /Creative Director

John Moore (aka Juan Mas) made his first major footprint on the fashion and apparel industries with Abercrombie & Fitch. In 1999, John was handpicked to create the third concept for A&F. He conceptualized the brand identity, store concept, directed clothing and graphic design, and named it Hollister. Opening its doors in 2000 and driving most of A&F's success over the last decade, Hollister is arguably the most successful retail rollout of all time. John quickly rose up the corporate ranks to Global Conceptual Director of all businesses at A&F. Six years later, he went on to become Creative Director of the much-heralded label Modern Amusement where he used his retail knowledge and cultured style to elevate the brand from a little known Southern California street wear label to an in-demand premium collection, available in the very best accounts globally. He quickly became known as the California kid with the golden touch, the go-to-guy who was paving his own way in the fashion game. In early 2008, John launched the Pencil on Paper Studio (the POP studio) on the platforms of Brand Engineering, Creative Therapy and Concept Design. Less than two years in operation, The POP Studio has worked with a diverse list of clients such as Liz Claiborne Inc. (Mexx Europe and Lucky Brand), PepsiCo, Quiksilver, Urban Outfitters, Cherokee Inc., Splendid and Ella Moss (VF Contemporary Brands). Through a long-term strategic partnership with BSP, John holds the dual-title of Chief Creative Officer of the firm's strategic acquisition, incubation and consulting activities. A conceptual storyteller, John believes that a good narrative is essential to every great concept. Always assigning equal value to art and commerce, John can best be summed up as the “Merchant Creative Director.” John proudly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Westmont College in Santa Barbara.

RAMEZ TOUBASSY

President & CEO of bsp

Ramez oversees all of the firm's day-to-day operations and charts the strategy for long-term growth. He is responsible for managing all of BSP and the POP studio's acquisition, incubation and consulting activities and takes a roll up the sleeves role in the resulting businesses that are created. Ramez also serves as the CEO of BSP portfolio company Shabby Chic Brands and is hard at work directing all aspects of the development of that business. Prior to joining BSP, Ramez served as the head of Business Development for private equity backed Indian Motorcycle Company in Gilroy, California where he was responsible for all non-vehicle businesses including Indian's licensing program, the dealer-channel apparel and merchandise businesses, and the company's eCommerce efforts. Previously Ramez was a principal at Evolution Global Partners, an investment firm focused on partnering with Fortune 500 companies to develop and build new businesses based on under-leveraged corporate assets. Ramez has also spent several years advising senior management of a variety of global corporations in his positions at Deutsche Bank and Price Waterhouse. Ramez holds a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Pomona College.

MICHAEL ABBEY

Vice President of Design

Michael Abbey has been in the garment industry for fifteen years, with extensive experience in the contemporary market. He began his career with a summer internship at Levi Strauss & Co. That quickly won him a design job with the denim pioneers, first in San Francisco and ultimately bringing him to their Tokyo office. Returning to his hometown of Los Angeles, Abbey designed menswear and womenswear lines for Earl Jeans, Joie, Three Dots and Op Classics. Abbey also served as the Senior Denim Designer at Juicy Couture, and the Design Director for men’s & women’s at Modern Amusement. A most prolific designer, he is interested in the slight twists and nuances of design, be it achieving an authentic vintage denim wash or tweaking seam lines and proportions to reinvent basic knits. Through the auspicious meeting of John Moore while working at Modern Amusement, Abbey has joined the POP studio to be the Men’s Conceptual Designer.

KATEIGH AXNESS

Conceptual Director

Kateigh Axness began her career in 2005, designing menswear for premium sportswear label Modern Amusement. It was here where she mastered the art of conceptual design. Within her first year in the fashion industry, she was off to join Juicy Couture's concept design team at its inception. Over the next three years Axness was a major influence on Juicy's seasonal inspiration, trend analysis and resource development. During her time there, these tools were key in increasing cohesion and overall sales for the half-billion dollar giant during their most dramatic period of growth. And now, it's the opportunity to weave art, music and travel into dynamic conceptual projects for The POP Studio that keeps Axness passionate and inspired. That, and a truly great pair of new shoes.

YUSUKE TSUKAMOTO

Art Director

Yusuke Tsukamoto works as the art director, designer, and artist in residence for The POP Studio, with focus on brand identity and packaging, web sites, ad campaigns, book design and printed matters. Born in Chiba, Japan, Tsukamoto has been living and working in Los Angeles as an artist known as Katsuo Design since 2001. His design collaborations are extensive and include Cosa Nostra by Jeffery Sebelia, Habitual Jeans, Beams T, 2K by Gingham, Commonwealth Stacks, The Quiet Life, and North Face among others. His artworks and illustrations have been featured in an impressive array of publications including Arkitip Magazine, Swindle Magazine, Re:Up Magazine and 55DSL in the U.S., So-en and +81 Magazines in Japan, and This-is-a-Magazine in Italy. Most recently, his artwork has been shown at exhibitions in Beams, Paul Smith and Rocket Gallery in Japan, New Image Art in the U.S., and Mu Foundation in the Netherlands. He loves to create primitively and digitally, his motto is to make things right! Feels right! Looks right!

MIKE LOHR

Art Director

Mike Lohr graduated from Art Center College of Design in the later half of the 1990s. Armed with a kaleidoscopic sense of color and modernist design sensibilities, he parlayed a student internship at short-lived but much adored Bikini magazine into a full time job at Fresh Jive in Los Angeles. In 1999, he traded up and began working as an art director for Warner Bros. Records. In 2001 he switched gears to start his own design company, Semiliquid, which allowed him to explore design in every aspect of the corporate spectrum from ad agencies to t-shirt design. His client list included Hollywood Records, Nokia, Wieden + Kennedy, Oprah's OWN network, Penguin and Walt Disney Records. He designs logos, album covers, websites, magazines, wrapping paper and pretty much anything he can get his hands on. In October of 2009 Mike joined The Pencil on Paper Studio. In his spare time he designs t-shirts under the name Big Deal. Mike likes color, drawing patterns, cacti, typography and fried eggs over easy with bacon and toast for breakfast.

MARK WIESMAYR

Creative Director

HANNAH HENDERSON

Conceptual Designer / Co-Founder

Hannah Henderson has been honing her craft since early childhood. Always a student of fashion, she learned the art of effortless style from her hippie commune-like upbringing in the deserts of Arizona. This fashion infatuation eventually brought her to Los Angeles where she started her own label, The Dirty Romantics. After selling through in such sought after accounts as Ron Herman and Fred Segal Flair, she expanded on her skills of design by styling for her friends in the fashion world. She has consulted and styled Los Angeles based labels Kova & T and Modern Amusement to name a few. Having mastered the delicate balance of laid-back style and high fashion, her taste level and natural sense of what's next is an asset to all things creative in The POP Studio.

ANN GORDON

Conceptual Designer / Gallery Director

Ann Gordon holds a degree in Fine Art from the College for Creative Studies, and built her professional reputation as an artist and gallery director, as well as an acclaimed art critic/documentarian. Born and raised in Detroit, Ms. Gordon departed the Motor City in 2007 for Europe and the Middle East, eventually settling in Berlin for a time. From there, she moved to Los Angeles and founded the LA-based art blog/conceptual critical project, TRYHARDER (tryharderart.com), and fashion inspiration blog, TRYHARDERPANTS. She has contributed to numerous publications, and has been written about by the online arms of the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Interview magazine, among others. Ms. Gordon does not eat blue foods or chew gum; she occasionally Rollerblades when no one is watching.

ZURI MAGERS

Merchandiser / Quiksilver

RAUL MONTANO

Production Manager