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Memos to Kevin re: Banana Republic

March 20, 2014 By In Uncategorized No Comments

“Hi Abandoned Republic! I’ve the day off so wanted to get these treasures to you ASAP. They sort of tell a story of a starving artist (me) negotiating the perilous deep waters of the business world in the big city of  San Francisco during the early 80s. “

–Kevin

From the archives of staff artist Kevin Sarkki we are delighted to share this glimpse at the life of a young artist working for the rapidly growing company Banana Republic. Be sure and read Kevin’s earlier interview as well as Mike Madrid‘s recollections of life in the BR offices.

These artifacts really do tell the story of growth as the stationary and memos become more and more polished and sophisticated and the relationships more professionalo. The back and forth of salary negotiations is fantastic to witness.

Click through the images and commentary using the arrows below.

Banana Republic Inter-office envelope

Image 1 of 11

Inter-office envelopes were common at all kinds of companies and were usually recycled repeatedly as they carried documents between offices. This charming example of a BR envelope went from Mel to Kevin.

 
 
 
 

About The Author

Robyn Adams
Robyn’s fascination with Banana Republic began in 1984 when her Alaskan adventurer father began buying their clothing and giving her their catalogs. She loved the clothes, and as an artist, she was drawn to the illustrations. Robyn went on to study illustration at an art college in Banana Republic’s hometown of San Francisco, CA, and she worked for years as a background artist for animation. She is now based in Oakland, CA and works as a graphic designer and illustrator. She has been collecting and archiving at Abandoned Republic since 2011.