The Good Guys: Grant Heinlein

Meet Grant.

A born-and-bred Midwest boy ripening out on the East Coast, Grant is the guy to keep your eyes on in the coming years. Rather than getting snared in the talons of the Kansas Jayhawks, he opted out and fled the state for art school.

He's mad talented—far more than we ever were in undergrad—and earned his spot at RISD. It's no surprise that he's at one of the top schools for design studying graphic design and photography.

When I asked Grant about his style, he reflected on stories of high school habits we can relate to. You know: the standard slouchy basketball shorts, Jordans and hooded sweatshirts. Like us, he was that guy.

"Between my freshman year uniform of basketball shorts and hoodies and the over-saturated preppy, country club wannabes, I had to break out and develop my own sense of style."

But he didn't quite feel the jam of having reptiles, wild game or flying critters plastered over his heart...

"My whole thing is simplicity. I think that also stems from my artwork, but it's definitely what I would describe my style as if I had to choose a word. It's this relatively small mix of simple items that are going to last, like my denim, boots, Barbour, etc. I definitely don't wear many bright colors. I'm a neutral guy, keeping it simple with browns, greys, and mostly navy blue."

Someday, Grant would love to be an art director. His passion and creativity for seeing the bigger picture of how each art form is used and displayed stimulates him like nothing else. If the opportunity arises one of these summers, he'd love to intern for Kinfolk or Inventory. He recently accomplished quite a feat that many photographers attempt but never complete: the 365-day photography blog.

"The whole point is to get better, push yourself and your creativity. Once I got into it, I got addicted to it. The feeling of capturing a photo a day that portray emotions on what I was feeling that day, or hell, even a cool thing to look back on, was enough to keep me going. I was tested in my patience to take the time to do it each day and try new concepts that I developed."

I don't even have the dedication to shower once a day for a year. Let alone dream a concept, put it in action and publish the results every single day as a tool to grow, learn and push myself.

You can find Grant and view his stunning flickr account over at flickr.com/grantheins, on the Tumblrs at formelle.tumblr.com and on the Twitterwebz at @grantheinlein.

On Grant: quilted navy vest by J.Crew; wool crew neck pullover by Gant Rugger; button-down by J.Crew; navy wool trousers by Pendleton; Iron Ranger boots by Red Wing.

Photos by Jarred Donalson.