Jun Kim (left) and Henri Ghosn (right) of Arnis Purple. Pic: Krys Osei

Creators from a young age and international by life experiences, Henri Ghosn, born in Switzerland, and Jun Kim, from South Korea, are making a name for themselves through illustrative bag design.

The two merged as business partners upon graduating in Media and Communications from Goldsmiths in 2013, when they decided to make graduation gift bags for their fellow course mates and received an overwhelming positive response.

Ghosn says: “We took the feedback seriously, and wanted to further establish a platform for artists to unite.”

Birthed out of creativity and consciousness was their company Arnis Purple. After eight months of creative development, the company will launch at the Strand Gallery later this month.

Arnis Purple Logo

Concerned with social divide, the marginalisation of ethnic groups and city gentrification, but inspired by the cosmopolitan nature of London, the artwork aims to challenge the stereotypical view of the city. Ghosn says: “There’s more than one London. It is not just double decker buses and Big Ben, but a creative inspiration hub. We are currently working with people from all corners of the world including Taiwan and are working to further expand into South Korea and the Far East in May.”

Kim adds: “Art is not easy for the public, if they don’t see functional use of a piece, it often gets disregarded.”

The company makes great efforts to offer up-and-coming creators work opportunities and pays artists for their limited edition custom made prints, a £75 commission to encourage them to keep chasing their dreams. “Finding a job is already difficult, but with an art degree, it can be extremely rough,” says Kim.

Currently, the two are both completing MA degrees at Goldsmiths, Ghosn, MA in Political Communications and Kim, MA Brands.

Join them at their three-day exhibition “Re-Imaging London”  from February 21 to 25 at the Strand gallery and celebrate the movement “for artists, by artists.”

Arnis Purple are on social media, including Instagram and Facebook.