Illustrator + merch designer, Los Angeles

AvaKarim

I design merch and make one-of-one clothing as Silly Little Wares.

Selected work

Merch

Tees, hoodies, stickers and totes so far, and always up for new kinds of merch.

SG Lewis, Greek Theatre

Client: SG Lewis
Show: Nov 4, 2022
Made: Tee, front and back

Sold at SG Lewis's show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on November 4, 2022.

SG Lewis wearing the cream Greek Theatre tee, seen from behind, facing the empty red seats of the venue — PhotoSG Lewis wearing the tee at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles

Flat mockup of a cream tee, front and back, showing the small chest print and the large blue vase print — MockupFront chest print and back vase print

Blue illustration of a Greek vase with a lion, a lyre player and a winged figure, lettered SG Lewis Greek Theatre — ArtworkBack design

Hand-lettered blue text reading SG Lewis, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California, with the date in Roman numerals — ArtworkFront design

SG Lewis, UK & Europe Tour

Client: SG Lewis
Year: 2023
Made: Tee, front and back

Commissioned by SG Lewis for his UK and Europe tour in March 2023: a large logo across the chest and a tour-date poster on the back. The back design also works as a print, shown framed.

MockupLarge chest print on the front, tour poster on the back

MockupThe back design as a framed poster

Orange and pink patterned lettering reading SG Lewis, with UK and Europe Tour in blue beneath — ArtworkFront design

SG Lewis, Find Real Love

Client: SG Lewis
Year: 2022
Made: Tee front

Commissioned by SG Lewis.

Flat mockup of a black tee with a green hand on a pink rotary phone and the words Find real love — MockupFront print on a black tee

Illustration of a green hand on a pink rotary phone labeled Hotline SG Lewis, with a yellow note reading Call 1-800-SG-LEWIS today — ArtworkFront design

Fields of Funk

Event: Festival, Oct 24, 2026
Status: In production
Made: Hoodie, front and sleeves

Merch for the Fields of Funk festival on October 24, 2026, in production now.

Black hoodie with a purple skeleton and starburst print reading Fields of Funk, and green prints on both sleeves — MockupHoodie with front and sleeve prints

Purple textured illustration of a skeleton, checkered-eye starbursts and the words Fields of Funk — ArtworkFront design

Long green organic shape with a starburst end, used as the sleeve print — ArtworkSleeve design

Friends of Film

Client: Friends of Film
Year: 2024
Instagram: @friendsoffilm

A logo for Friends of Film, run by photographer Savannah Harvey, designed to be printed on stickers, totes and more.

MockupDie-cut sticker

MockupMini tote

ArtworkArtwork

My brand

Silly Little Wares

My clothing brand. Every piece is one of one: reworked vintage, printed and embellished by hand.

PhotoHand-dyed dress, screen-printed original design, hand-embellished with rhinestones

PhotoThe same dress, flat lay

PhotoDrop 1

PhotoHeat-transfer vinyl of an original design, hand-embellished with rhinestones

More pieces

PhotoTurtleneck

PhotoDenim skirt, front

PhotoDenim skirt, back

PhotoCamo pants

PhotoCamo pants, leg detail

PhotoCamo pants, back detail

Drawing + layout

Illustration

Digital drawings, hand-drawn pieces and flyer layouts.

Digital

Illustration of a girl with long dark hair drawing at a red table in a pink and green patterned room — Digital

Two winged yellow lions flanking a pink checkered arch with columns — Digital

Gold swirling vine with orange stars on a dark green background — Digital

Black ink flash sheet titled Lucky: a bow, a heart locket, a lips shape and other charms on peach paper — DigitalFlash sheet

Black ink flash sheet of a butterfly, star, key, tricycle, rain boots and a black cat on peach paper — DigitalFlash sheet

Hand-drawn

Marker and gel pen

Marker drawing of legs on a purple ground with the words Don’t jump to conclusions — Hand-drawn

Marker drawing of a woman raising an arm on a teal ground: Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me? — Hand-drawn

Marker drawing of a woman holding a wine glass at a window: Are you lonely or are you alone? — Hand-drawn

Layout

Flyers formatted for Instagram

Estate sale flyer with large hand-lettered type on a red ground, collaged with stickers, a swan and glitter stars — LayoutEstate sale flyer, hand-drawn and finished digitally

Flyer for Silly Little Wares and ohmadforyou at Silverlake Flea, with pink and blue shapes and orange bursts — LayoutSilverlake Flea flyer

Ava Karim smiling at the camera, wearing an off-the-shoulder printed top and large gold earrings

About

Hi, I’m Ava, an illustrator and artist based in Los Angeles. I design merch, and I make 1/1 reworked vintage pieces for my brand, Silly Little Wares. I love experimenting with various styles of printmaking, embroidery, and embellishment.

Music, fashion, and nature fuel most of my work. If you’ve got a project that mixes any of those, let’s make something together.

Procreate
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Production-ready file prep

ava.m.karim@gmail.com