Claw Money

Claw Money (born 1968, New York) is a New York-based graffiti writer turned fashion designer and author.

Claw Money, whose first name is Claudia, was born into a Jewish family in Fresh Meadows, Queens and Roslyn, New York and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology until she dropped out in 1986. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s her icon, a fat paw with three claws, could be seen all over the New York graffiti landscape, as she bombed walls and trains with the graffiti crews TC5 and FC at a time when the scene was dominated by men. Claw became her nickname due to her spunky and steadfast personality during childhood. She came up with the Claw throw up because it was the W in her name. She has been influenced by numerous other graffiti artists such as Zephyr, Dondi, Revolt, Sharp, Dontay, Devo and MQ. Zephyr especially had an influence because they were friends and he showed her some of New York's most illusive outlaw artists. From there she went on to become the fashion editor and director at Swindle Magazine. She got her job at Swindle Magazine because Roger Gastman and Shepard were former street artists as well and heard good word of mouth about her work.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1995 and started styling, which led her to become a vintage dealer. She then moved back to New York in 1997 and started making clothes. She made two collections in 1997, but they were not successful and it was not until 2002 that she started designing again

Today she runs the eponymous clothing line, Claw Money, which has a celebrity following that includes M.I.A. (artist), Kanye West and Santogold^{[citation needed]}. She has been part of collaborations with major brands including Calvin Klein, Mark Ecko and Nike, with whom she designed two styles of Claw Money custom sneakers. Her graphic designs are influenced by influences that mostly come from her childhood: Peter Max, the Smurfs, Strawberry Shortcake, Bugs Bunny, comic books, Hello Kitty, video games, and pop culture in general. While designing she likes to listen to mostly to oldies, lots of ’50s girl groups, Bill Withers, hip-hop pre-’95, disco, and punk rock. In 2007, Bombshell, The Life and Crimes of Claw Money was published by powerHouse Books. She is also working on a second book titled Shady Lady that is going to be about eye wear

References

• http://nymag.com/daily/food/2007/10/graffiti_goddess_claw_money_starts_with_a_bagel_finishes_with_champagne_and_cupcakes.html
• http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-02-27/art/claw-money-honey/
• http://www.formatmag.com/features/claw-money/
• http://www.streetsaresayingthings.com/interviews/2680
• http://www.fullfrontalfashion.com/style/questions-for-claw-money/

Persondata
Name	Claw Money
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1968
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death