Claudia Gold remembers how as a child, she and her sister would gaze out of the windows of her father’s Chevy Impala. They would be keeping an eye on the overpasses and highways of New York City for the mysterious graffiti tag of a foot that fascinated them.

Gold’s fame in the scene has seen her collaborate with brands from Nike to NASCAR, and her work even featured in last year’s Ocean’s 8. But when starting out in the early ’90s. it was a happy accident that led her to develop her trademark tag.

“Some of the people I was hanging out with were pulling out cans of spray paint after the club and catching tags,” Gold remembers. “I was like, ‘Oh shit! I’m The CLAW – pass me the can!’”

Adopting the high-school style of bubble letters, Gold threw up her new moniker wherever she could, embellishing the “W” with jagged fingernails.

One day, she noticed another tagger covering up her work but leaving the “W” untouched. She had an epiphany: “It’s a quarter of the paint and it’s still my name.”

The “W” quickly morphed into the iconic CLAW paw, which she used for shout outs, witticisms, graffiti beef, and status updates long before Instagram.