In Autumn last year we announced the first 'Connoisseur Creative'. A new competition brief. The debut creative was simple. Design a t-shirt based
on staunch Connoisseur favourite Frank Serpico, or at least Al Pacino's portrayal of him in the 1973 Sidney Lumet classic.
We had a great bunch of entries from all over the place from Australia, Sweden, Germany, Lancashire, Leeds and Wales. It was a very difficult to
pick a winner as all in their own right could have been a tremendous addition to the Connoisseur portfolio! However it was Welsh artist Minty who
caught our eye the most. His entry - an original oil painting and a real mix of the connoisseur ethos of an iconic image with it's own twist and quirk.
His design wins the first creative and has now had a full general release.
Connoisseur Creative Competitions
Last year we announced the first 'Connoisseur Creative'. A new competition brief. The debut creative was quite simple - "Design a new T-Shirt"
based on staunch Connoisseur favourite Frank Serpico, or at least Al Pacino's portrayal of him in the 1973 Sidney Lumet classic.
Without further ado it's time for number two! This years competition is to design a tee based around the Beastie Boys theme.
What you choose to do can be anything you like, a take on artwork, logos or based around lyrics. It doesn't matter how obvious or loose the
connection is as long as it ties in and it's new and original artwork from yourself. As last time; anyone can enter :- young or old, amateur or
professional. Send them in via email. We'll add the entries together and give people around six weeks to get theirs in.

This will be given a full limited release which will see a percentage of all sales going  to a relevant cancer charity.

This will also be dedicated to the memory of Leeds fan, Beasties fan and Connoisseur forum member and friend's brother who sadly
lost his recent battle with cancer - Johnny R. 1971- 2012.

We've been asked in the past for a tee paying tribute to the hardcore punk-cum-hip-hoppers, however with the recent sad news of Adam Yauch
passing on this became another topic of discussion. Rather than us appear to jump on some sort of bandwagon, this gives us a great opportunity
to let passionate and hardcore fans have a bash at something unique and creative. So let's have them entries in and raise some funds.
SUBMITTED BY DAVE G.
SUBMITTED BY SEAN H.
SUBMITTED BY SEBASTIAN.
SUBMITTED BY PETER O'T.
SUBMITTED BY PETER G.
SUBMITTED BY ALAN M.
SUBMITTED BY TOM.
SUBMITTED BY ADAM G.
SUBMITTED BY RICH P.
SUBMITTED BY GIANMARCO,
VITTORIO & DIEGO.
SUBMITTED BY CHIMP.
SUBMITTED BY MINTY
SUBMITTED BY JOHN C.
Yesterday would have marked the 48th birthday of Adam Yauch AKA MCA. Who's sad and untimely death in May shook the music world. Yauch who as well as being a
funding member of the Beastie Boys was also a film director, directing many of the Beastie's influential videos under the pseudonym 'Nathanial Hörnblowér' and setup his
own independent film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, as well as being a human rights activist was also a practising buddist and was an
important part of the Tibetan independence movement. Creating a charity and organising concerts to help with Tibetan independence.
The second Connoisseur Creative was to design a Beastie Boys tee with a tribute to the memory of MCA and for a donation from each sale going to a relevent cancer charity.
We received thirteen entries for the Design a Beastie Boys tee all told, each one as different as the next.
For this competition we decided to let it go to the public vote with just shy of 3000 votes being cast.
After initial steady voting on each entry it became a three way battle with the Italian trio's hand drawn piece pitting itself against Peter O'Toole's Adam Yauch tribute and
John C's citrus infused 'No sleep 'til Brooklyn'. Eventually it became a two horse race between the latter and in the end the public decided our own resident artist
Peter O'Toole's piece was the deserved winner coming out on top perhaps most fitting with the tee being a tribute to Adam.
Congratulations to Peter. We'd like to thank each and every submission for taking time out to get creative, it's great seeing all the different entries, commiserations to those
who missed out and better luck with the next one.
The winning tee will be going into production over the coming month or so, you'll hear the next update here, so check back soon.