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In 2002 Hardy was approached by Ku USA, Inc. to produce a line of clothing based on Hardy's art. Hardy appreciated the Asian sensibilities of the Ku collection and a license agreement was signed. Within two years, the collection had drawn the interest of large clothing companies. A decision was made by Hardy and Ku USA to form Hardy Life LLC, which holds the trademark ownership as well as the copyrights to all his images.

In 2004 Christian Audigier licensed the rights to produce the Ed Hardy jeans line, which is based on Hardy's imagery. Prior to the Ed Hardy jeans line, Audigier was the Head Designer at Von Dutch Originals, which marketed the imagery of legendary Kustom Kulture artist Von Dutch. Audigier has attempted to replicate the marketing techniques employed by Von Dutch Originals, by marketing directly to celebrity clients and by opening stores in high profile fashion districts.

A Southern California native born in 1945, Don Hardy revived a childhood determination to become a tattoo artist and underwent a tattoo apprenticeship while simultaneously receiving a B.F.A. degree in printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1967. Tattooing professionally since then, he developed the fine art potential of the medium with emphasis on its Asian heritage. In 1973 he lived in Japan, studying with a traditional tattoo master he was introduced to by his primary mentor in the medium, Sailor Jerry Collins of Honolulu. He resumed these studies in Japan throughout the 1980s. Since 1974 he pioneered the emphasis on unique tattoo commissions at his San Francisco studio.

In 1982 he and his wife, Francesca Passalacqua, formed Hardy Marks Publications and have written, edited and published over twenty-five books on alternative art. They moved their primary household to Honolulu in 1986, where Hardy resumed painting, drawing, and printmaking. He maintains the studio Tattoo City in San Francisco, with younger artists continuing to evolve and carry on his unique work format. Hardy's primary focus is on creating and exhibiting works in more traditional mediums, including porcelain painting. He began developing this body of work in 2006 in a traditional Japanese setting.

In addition to showing his own works, Hardy has curated a number of exhibitions for both galleries and nonprofit spaces and frequently lectures at museums and universities. His work has appeared in numerous periodicals, books, and films internationally. In 2004 "Ed Hardy", a major fashion line featuring his artwork, was launched internationally. Hardy and his wife now divide their time between Honolulu and the San Francisco Bay area.

In 1982 Hardy and his wife formed Hardy Marks Publications. Under this marque, they began publishing the five book series Tattootime, notable for the high quality of both the articles and the full color images inside. Tattootime was one of several publications, which along with later publications by others, such as Modern Primitives (ReSearch Publications, San Francisco) and Body Art, did much to promote and popularize tattooing with new audiences. Hardy Marks publications include catalogs of Hardy's work and that of Sailor Jerry Collins, as well as other alternative art subjects.

Today Hardy is retired from doing actual tattoos, but oversees and mentors the artists at his San Francisco studio, Tattoo City. Since the 1980s, he has concentrated heavily on non-tattoo based art forms, especially printmaking, drawing and painting.

Hardy is most notable as a fine artist for his enduring exploration of the intersection between the graphic traditions of “low culture” tattoo art and refined sensibilities of “high art” aesthetics, a common feature of postmodernism.Hardy pioneered the pop-culture tattoo-as-art space decades before the worldwide boom in tattoo art that permeates popular culture. In addition to showing his own works, Hardy has curated a number of exhibitions for both galleries and nonprofit spaces and frequently lectures at museums and universities. His work has appeared in numerous periodicals, books, and films internationally. In 2000, he was appointed by Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown to that city's Cultural Arts Commission, and awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the San Francisco Art Institute.

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Ed Hardy