About Us!
We LOVE dinosaurs!
Creating highly artistic, conversation starting dinosaur gear is our obsession!
Based in Burbank California, The Dinostorus is dedicated to raising the bar in the dinosaur apparel space. Our designs are not the typical mass produced dinosaur products. Each piece is a meticulously designed, head-turning piece of art, designed to bring a smile to your face! Founded by 25-year-old L.A. artist Dario CiVon, all artwork is created by him, and a small team of hand-picked artists from the Los Angeles animation industry.
It’s very important to us that we source our products ethically.
Because of that, our blanks either come from the U.S. or certified non-sweat shop facilities, and all of our printing takes place in the U.S. Soon, we’ll be able to offer Global Organic Standard t-shirts. Our goal is to keep adding more organic products as they become available.
-Thank you so much for supporting The Dinostorus. Our goal is to bring color and joy to you and your child's life!
-RAAAAAWWR. (That’s dinosaur for YAY!)
Origin Story
The Dinostorus was founded by 25 year-old Dario CiVon. Constantly doodling in class while growing up in Southern California, a career in the arts was inevitable. On break from attending Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, it became crystal clear what Dario enjoyed illustrating the most: rich forest landscapes filled with his favorite childhood subject matter - DINOSAURS. Gigantic creatures inhabiting a primordial earth? It doesn’t get any better than that for an artist that loves color and shapes!
Influenced by Jurassic Park and nature shows like Planet Earth, his imagination sparked when he thought about all the different ways dinosaurs would have interacted with each other - in pristine streams, cooling off under waterfalls, dashing around ancient trees, etc. And, because he was also wildly interested in animation, he thought about all the different ways to personify and cartoonize them!
“Dinosaurs are a blank canvas. They can be portrayed as these monumental creatures, or they can be drawn as more lovable cartoon-like, doggy creatures. The blank canvas quality is what makes them so attractive. Not to mention they are an iconic part of our culture at this point!”
So, Dario began to think... kids love dinosaurs… he loves drawing dinosaurs- he’s seen every episode of Shark Tank- maybe there’s an opportunity to be an artist and an entrepreneur!?
After showing early mock-ups to some young neighbors and seeing their faces light up with excitement, The Dinostorus was born! (...or should we say hatched?)
The Dig Team
Based in Burbank, California, The Dinostorus is comprised of a small team of dinosaur-lovers.
In his spare time, he enjoys traveling with his mom. So far they’ve climbed Machu Pichu, wandered the jungles of Costa Rica and Australia, and eaten Escargot in France (the art was pretty cool there too). He also has some not-so-secret funky hip-hop ambitions.
Dario’s Fave Dino: “Utah-Raptor, because it was 20 feet long, and could run 40 mph… which makes me very glad to live in the 21st century.”
Emily J. Greenfield – Illustrator
Emily studied Entertainment Illustration at the Art Center College of Design (at the same time as Dario) and now works in the animation industry. She has worked at the Cartoon Network and Stone Circle Studios making joyful drawings for children’s TV shows, animated films, and children’s books. In her spare time, she creates whimsical characters out of hand-cut paper.
Emily’s Fave Dino: “Brontosaurus because they are adorably big, cute, and dumb looking. ”
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