We had the good fortune of connecting with Pico Mirandola and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pico, what do you attribute your success to?
Success is indoor plumbing, love and reliable wifi. Everything else we can improvise.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Dead Poets hard Wear is a novel business. We put the faces of dead poets on t-shirts and we expect people to wear them. We also have a line of dead jazz musicians. I’m in charge of our nascent tote bag line. Now, if you had asked me if poets and jazz musicians were the best choice, I think I would have suggested athletes or rappers, but basically, I’m just an employee. Seriously, I haven’t read a poem since high school and I don’t personally know anyone else who reads poetry. Heck, I don’t know anyone who reads books! As far as jazz … please, give me a break! Jazz is about as relevant as Latin mass.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First off, I would take any guest to L.A. to The Plausible Deniability Art Bar. It’s over in Frogtown and it attracts the coolest wannabe hipsters in the city. They serve terrific appetizers (my favorite is their matzo pizza) and the cocktails are understated and very high quality. Another spot that give the right flavor of Los Angeles to a tourist is Vico’s Cartesian Taco Truck on Pico and 4th. It’s actually not technically a truck, it’s more of an SUV with a hot plate but it has great food and it attracts a great crowd.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to the great poet, Girolamo Benivieni. If you’re not familiar with their work, start with “Trees Are My Friends.” It’s a very accessible book of free verse contrapuntal sestinas. I discovered his work when we shared an Uber a couple of years ago and we have been friends ever since.

Website: https://deadpoetshardwear.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deadpoetshirts/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0ONKehM-rQ

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.