ABOUT US
Cotton Crustacean is a family-owned, pop-up
paleontology t-shirt shop and biology boutique based out
of Pacifica, CA (Bay Area); featuring original biological
illustrations drawn by company owner and internationally
published scientific illustrator, Aaron John Gregory.
Our shirts are screen-printed locally in the Bay Area on the
highest quality, super soft, premium fit t-shirts made by
WRAP certified brands like American Apparel, Bella Canvas,
Next Level, and Royal Apparel.
We’re sharing our passion for natural history, paleontology,
marine biology, and ecology in hopes of inspiring wonder and conversation in people of all ages. ​
The Cotton Crustacean family at one of their first events, SF Bazaar, Fort Mason, SF, 2014.
MEET THE OWNERS
AARON JOHN GREGORY
Aaron John Gregory has a Bachelor's Fine Arts degree in Illustration from the Academy of Art, University in San Francisco, CA, where he graduated as valedictorian in December 2014. He is also an alumnus of the legendary Kubert School of Graphic Art in Dover, NJ.
Aaron works as a branding consultant for TOHO Studios where he works on products related to the company's legendary Godzilla franchise. He also teaches in the Architecture and Design department of the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts highschool in San Francisco, and as a college history professor and illustration instructor at his alma mater, the Academy of Art, University, in SF.
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He is an active freelance illustrator, having been published by The Smithsonian Institute, Bloomsbury Sigma Science, Storey Publishing, IDW Comics, and several others around the world, and has had work featured in many smaller natural history museums.
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Aaron has been SCUBA diving for 21 years and dove professionally at Bay Area public aquariums like the California Academy of Sciences and Aquarium of the Bay. He has worked in the aquarium hobby industry since he was 16, and was the owner of the O’St. Aquarium – a high-end tropical fish store in Sacramento, CA - from 2001 - 2003.
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Aaron is also the founding member and front-man of the following acclaimed heavy metal bands, Giant Squid, Squalus, and Khôrada.
JACKIE PEREZ GRATZ
Jackie Perez Gratz has a Photography degree from The San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, CA. She is an audio director at Electronic Arts working exclusively on the SIMS games for over 12 years.
She is an accomplished cellist and songwriter, recognized around the world as a full-time member of three critically acclaimed, avant-garde metal bands, Grayceon, Amber Asylum, and Giant Squid. She is also the go-to session cellist for many of the most revered underground metal bands, such as Agalloch, Neurosis, and OM.
Jackie is an avid swimmer and lives in Pacifica, CA with Aaron, and their two daughters, Pearl and Pepper.