Kime Buzzelli, (that’s KimE, pronounced “Kimmy”), lauded artist and owner of boutique store Show Pony in LA’s Echo Park, definitely has an interesting outtake on life, art and the fashion scene. The self proclaimed “Type A” Scorpio with an Aquarius rising, throws her fascination of the hidden power wheedled by unsuspecting and pulchritude aloof Teen Queens into her art, which is showcased everywhere from art galleries, to magazines and books. I had the chance to phone-in with Kime and get her thoughts on being flexible, her next “big thing”, and how she got that “E” at the end of her name.

So, we pretty much answered the first question just a second ago, which was ‘how do you say your first name’…and it’s Kime (like Kimmy.)
My real name is Kimberley but my family always called me “Kimmy” and they spelled it K.I.M.E, so it just sorta stuck.

So it just sorta grew up with you?
[We share a laugh] Yeah, pretty much.

Most of what we’ve seen of your art is images of fashionable women created in watercolor, can you tell us more?
I started out in fashion illustration and I’ve always been inspired by fashion images. I’ve always been into clothes and when I was younger I was never really good at sewing, so I just wanted to be able to paint all these things that I’d never be able to make. As I got older I became more intrigued by female painters, a lot of my favorite artists and singers are women. I’ve just been drawn to the idea of narrating these secret lives of women, or telling different women’s’ stories through voyeurs and over hearing things. I guess also ‘cause I’m not really great at drawing men!

[Kime laughs at herself, showing she has a good sense of humor about her obstacles]

Right, well sometimes men can kinda ruin things.
Yeah, I don’t know, like, things that generally inspire me are like if I see a certain pose, or an expression or a color scheme, it makes me sorta want to make a painting. I do generally work from magazine pictures, but I usually collage a lot of the things so they’re always sort of different. I’ll take one element of a photo and then combine it with something else.

From what I’ve seen, your art has a bit of a “Lolita” quality to it, has your art ever been inspired by the novel?
Yeah! I’ve always been really intrigued by it. I was a fashion illustrator for a little while then I opened a store in Ohio in the late 90’s and most of my customers were young girls, 13 to 18, and it was interesting because my work transformed from drawing these really tall skinny women, to sort of more fleshy, cute girls. I didn’t really notice the transformation, but my work really started to go in this direction. Over time I realized that I was being inspired by my customers and this power that they had, you know they are at that age where they are just coming into who they are and what they like and there is something very care free about that. It’s a time when they are really coming in to their power as a woman, you know…seeing what your sexuality can bring you. The Lolita book is sort of a scary thing to men, and these girls are not that aware of how they harness that energy. I’ve always been inspired by it, but more inspired by the “tough girl”, I’ve always been interested in girls that know what they want and they go out and get it…the edgy girl who has a really cool stance, and you don’t wanna mess with her. When I was younger I was always into that one girl in the Horror movies that always makes it out alive, and can make a pulley and rig up a boat and do things like that.

[We share in a laugh]

Yes, but you do know as teen horror movies go, the last girl standing is the one who didn’t participate in abject drug use or have sex!
[We laugh again] Right! I know! I mean I’m pretty shy and I definitely surround myself with really aggressive, kinda controlling very smart women, and sassy. I’m more of the shy one.

Really? Well you express yourself through your art.
Yeah, I guess so…

I like that! I did notice that your art is a bit reminiscent Stina Perrson’s work, are you familiar with her work and has she or any other artists influenced you?
Maybe I’ve seen her, I can look it up.
[Kime takes a minute to search the web and look up Stina Perrsons’ art work]
You know I think she was in a book with me! We were in Fashion Illustration NEXT together. It’s a book that I was in like 2001, and she’s one of the artists in the book too. I don’t know her personally, but I really love her stuff now that I see it again. I’m pretty sure she’s in that book it’s by Laird Borrelli. When she asked me to be in the book I was so young, and my work is so different now, she found my artwork when I was doing really young stuff, and by the time the book came out I was doing stuff that was evolved. She really wanted to do my early work that was on stuff like paper plates and napkins.

We knew about Show Pony, your store in LA’s Echo Park neighborhood, before we knew about your art work. So, which came first? …the art, right?
Yeah, I’ve always been making art work, and in college I was doing a lot of fashion inspired installations with clothing and art work that I made, but the Show Pony came about because I was making artwork and making clothes for fun in the late ‘90’s, and a lot of stylists would ask me “Oh, is that Martin Margiela” or “Where’d you get that” and of course I would tell them that I made it. Then they would ask to borrow my stuff for their shoots, finally my friend and I found a space to work out of …we weren’t planning it as a store, but more as a work space for stylists, then it just switched over and grew on its own. I noticed that since I stopped making clothes that my art work has definitely gotten better, so I feel like I had to sacrifice one thing to get better in another way.

How would you describe your own personal style and what brands do YOU wear?
I definitely say my personal style is all over the map, I definitely sort of have an Annie Hall quality. I can go from dressing masculine to going really feminine, like I hardly ever wear pants, dresses are more me…

Me too!
I think my style is the best of the 20’s meets the 70’s. I’m very into the 70’s that tries to be 40’s. I will say that I like to have one piece that tricks-out my wardrobe in a gypsy way. I have a lot of crazy jewelry. The person I would love to look like, if I could because I can’t seem to be that minimal, would be a cross between Patty Smith, Jane Birkin…you know just that French aesthetic to make my life sort of plain, it would make my life easier.

[Kime gives shy giggle]

What types of brands do you carry at your boutique, any gems you wanna share?
There is this designer called Chromium Dumb Belle who makes these collars that are awesome. They’re embroidered and appliquéd neckpieces and they are so amazing because they are something you would see in the late 60’s. They’re like pictures and they’re stitched, and they look like you’re wearing a painting around your neck…I like stuff like that that tells a story.
We also carry Luxury Jones, a designer who makes all hand died shirts and wrap dresses, she has a very 70’s feel, and Battalion a very minimal designer line, they make a lot of batwing tops and dresses and they are really Eco –friendly.

When did you start designing and applying your artwork on tees?
I’ve always drawn, but I started making screens in ’99, I was doing these really primitive works out of my house, they were these really crazy colors and all these layers but those are the ones that singers like Nelly Furtado wore in some of her videos. Show Pony had just opened then and we were selling a lot to stores, and did some shows in Japan. Now that I’ve gotten better at it, we work with t-shirt companies like “Blood is the New Black” and I’ve done some stuff for Forever21 and a lot of bands too.

On your MySpace page you said you’d like to meet taxidermists? What intrigues you about taxidermy?
[Kime laughs] One of my favorite female artists is Annette Messager, an amazing French artist who does beautiful installations with taxidermied birds in these little hand knit outfits, there is just something about it…obviously creepy, but in a way about preserving things. I don’t own any animal taxidermy, but it intrigues me…

We heard that you’re working on a project for Urban Decay makeup, give us some inside skinny?
I just finished it yesterday! I turned it all in and they loved it, and I’m so excited because it was sooo fun to do! Their makeup is super-fun, so I got to do a whole range of girls in different poses and crazy eye makeup and they’re gonna make them into eye shadow palettes that are 5”x5”! So, it will be a special thing that has my signature style on it. A cool little kit for teens and stuff.

I have a random, but somewhat apropos question to ask that I got from Google, here it goes “Which is more important to you and why: flexibility or expandability?” Answer it just off the top of your head anyway you want.
[Kime deliberates seriously] I guess for me it would be flexibility, I like the idea of being able to go with the flow and not be restricted by guidelines and stuff. I like expandability to in a different way, but for me expandability is, like, is something that I’ve struggled with my whole life. I’m totally Type A, even thought I come off as sort of loose, I’m actually real hard on myself and really particular…

Are you a Virgo?
I’m actually a Scorpio, and I have an Aquarius rising, but I defiantly struggle with the feeling of “whatever, it’ll happen”. I have to get used to the idea of just letting things happen and being more flexible.

What is your next big thing? Anything you can share?
My next big thing that I’m super excited about is, I am taking over the gallery space- 1520 at Urban Outfitters. They made this huge complex across from Amoeba, and I’m taking over the space on March 6th for a month for a solo show called “Disappear Here” with all the artwork and clothes that I’m making! So I’m getting to do all the things I love again, like hand painted clothes, and paintings and sculptures. I’ll be making my paintings into posters and prints, so there will be some really affordable stuff, and also taking my favorite blog posts and making them into a book. Some of my friends are making photo books, and we’re having a band play in the courtyard, so it’s gonna be a really great event!

Kime can be found on her blog themoldydoily.com, and her art work can be purchased at www.kimebuzzelli.etsy.comand sometimes on her website www.kimebuzzelli.com.