Sunflowerman is a Fort Worth-based fashion illustrator, artist and cigar aficionado. Inspired by some of the world's best dressed, we caught up with Matthew earlier this year at Pitti Uomo.
What's the first cigar you really remember enjoying?
If I'm honest I'm mostly a social smoker and with that in mind, one of the first really enjoyable moments with a cigar was a Toscano, broken in half and shared with a new friend.
Your current favourite cigar and why…
I'm in a mode of experimentation. I typically like a mild smoke. I avoid anything with flavored wrappers or anything that's too robust. I lean on Austin Roberson and Blake LaBella for my cigar needs.
What have you done recently, for the first time?
As a transplant to Texas I had never experienced a Rodeo before. The show here in Fort Worth is a massive event and I went for the first time last year. It's an intense physical feat to rope a bull or ride a bucking bronco…
Perfect setting to enjoy a cigar…
Sitting out on my studio patio with friends and the Fort Worth sunset, glowing pink and reflecting all around. We smoke and talk and probably sip on something from Acre Distillery.
Most prized possession?
An intriguing question to be sure. It's not what I cannot live without, or what I get the most use out of, but what I prize the most. My wife says it's my phone but that's not so much of an emotional attachment as it is an addiction. It would have to be my Brew Watches Metric Chronograph or my Gaggia Classic Pro.
What's something always worth paying for?
Coffee. It's always coffee. I fear that I might hand over everything I own for a good espresso.
Favourite place to live?
My life has been largely defined as nomadic but I'd have to say that my heart belongs in Italy. I could live in Milan or Florence and be fulfilled as a person.
How did you first get into illustration? And what prompted the shift into the menswear scene?
I was born with a pencil in my hand. Drawing and painting were fated for me. After dropping out of a pair of art schools I took the dive into a full time art career. Menswear was incidental to me at the time. It was the height of #menswear on tumblr when I began to explore that universe. I focused all of my work on menswear to understand it. When I decided to step into that world I found that everyone in it was open and willing to accept what I had to bring to the table.
Which brands are you enjoying right now?
I'm all over the place here. Brew Watches, New Balance, Chieffalo Americana, Franklin & Anthony, and I just picked up a vintage Aquascutum overcoat that's been very nice.
A rule to live by…
Be yourself. Do I live by this? No, I am too anxious to actually be myself, but I aspire to it.
