Compton-made custom printing + design
Da Mouse Trap Graphics was built from art, opportunity, street-level creativity, and the kind of Los Angeles stories that stay with you.
Da Mouse Trap Graphics was created in 2019 after a part-time job at the legendary Custom World inside the Compton Fashion Center, also known to many of us as the Compton swap meet.
That place carries a lot of memories. Some are good, some are hard, and a lot of them belong to friends who grew up around the same energy. It was a place where you could see hustle, fashion, music, art, neighborhood pride, and survival all moving at the same time.
Being around Custom World opened the door to moments that felt bigger than a regular job. Meeting and crossing paths with people like DJ Quik, Eazy-E’s family, Volume 10, 2Mex, and other creative voices helped shape the way we saw design, music, culture, and opportunity.
Those experiences taught us that artwork is never just artwork. It can carry a story, a neighborhood, a record, a brand, a family, a memory, or somebody’s first real shot at being seen.
Some of us stayed close to the hood. Some of us were searching for a reason to make it out. For me, graphic design became the escape. It opened doors to rooms and places I otherwise may never have reached.
Once design got me into those spaces, I kept looking around for something else I could learn. I wanted another craft, another process, another way to turn ideas into something people could touch.
Screen printing became my favorite form of printing because it still holds on to its artistic ability. It captures artwork through a combination of labor, chemistry, pressure, timing, and sunlight.
It is not just a button you press. It is a process. You prepare the artwork, expose the screen, line up the garment, pull the ink, watch the print hit the surface, and see the idea become real in this physical realm.
Years later, Da Mouse Trap Graphics is still here because of everyone who placed an order, trusted us with artwork, visited our humble workspace, and spent time around some of the most creative individuals in the Los Angeles area.
Now we get to help people the way I needed help when I was younger and hungry for an opportunity: creators with an idea, brands trying to launch, artists getting ready for a release, businesses that need to be seen, and people who just want their vision treated with respect.
How we print
Whether it is a shirt, transfer, sticker, banner, logo, album cover, or full merch idea, we approach it like the art piece it deserves to be seen as. We care about the design, the file, the material, the finish, and the feeling somebody gets when they finally hold it.
