HOST WITH THE MOST.

Today we wrapped up the shoot for ESPN's, "It's The Shoes". I mentioned last week when we shot the first half. This time around, the show's host, Bobbito Garcia came to Reed Space and did some introductions. Perfect timing too, since we literally just reopened with the new look yesterday! It's crazy to see behind the scenes of how TV is made. The key is to basically create this little world of perfection within the lens of the camera. Everything outside of it can be whatevs. People pickin their nose, yawning, cables and poles everywhere, it don't matter. I guess if you do a good job, the viewer sits at home watching the show thinking everything in your universe is picture perfect. Props to Bobbito, whom I've looked up to for well over a decade now. Still doing his thing like always. We were reminiscing about when I first started Staple, and I went to his store, Bobbito's Footwork, to show him my first line. It was basically a folded up Kinko's xerox piece of paper with like 6 designs on it. He flat out rejected every single one. But it was that dejection that made me push harder and better...and for that, I thanked him.
I believe this episode airs April 11th. Tivo that shit!

RE-REED.

I know...been out of touch recently. Mainly been busy working the renovations of Reed Space (along with 83.602 other things that need to get done). But the wait is over. Reed Space is open for business. C'mon down.

Reed Space
151 Orchard Street (b/w Rivington and Stanton) or
156 Allen Street (b/w Rivington and Stanton).
We go straight thru the whole block!
http://www.thereedspace.com/
Live Webcam
Open Everyday 1-7pm.
Smell the fresh paint.

FAVORITE T.

So Paul recently asked me (and I gather a bunch of other people) what my favorite t-shirt of all time is. And to send a photo. He's being mysterious about what he's going to do with them all. But I thought I'd share with everyone what my favorite tee of all time is. It's by a company I used to work and intern for called PNB Nation. This brand goes way back and most of you probably never even heard of it. But it was one of the original brands that really had a family-like fanatical following. For example, if you were walking down the street and saw another dude wearing PNB, you could almost stop and give the man a pound. Anyway, for reasons that go beyond bottom line sales figures; PNB, to me, is probably one of the Top 5 most influential brands in all of streetwear culture. It's hard to articulate why, but those who know..just know. So anyway, this tee they did was the perfect culmination of what a t-shirt should be.

1. FIT: Not too slim. Not too baggy. Definitely riding on the hip-hop side of the fence, but you don't feel like an 11 year in this either.
2. CONCEPT: The shirt's theme runs deep. Minority athletics, the Olympics, Berlin, The Black Panthers, Rebellion, Pride etc... Definitely not for the light hearted.
3. EXECUTION: Smart, subtle and just THERE. Not beating you over the head. Not too subtle. Small text under the graphic reads "Intention. Deed." The title of the shirt is "Indeed". Fucking poetic.
4. BRANDING: Hits on the back and sleeve remind you who you repping. The Nation.
5. LABELING: Concepts even ran deep in their label! It reads "FREE THE LAND" with different quotes hidden under it.
6. LONGEVITY: This shirt is over 12 years old. The durability is there since I have worn and washed this hundreds of times and the print still looks great. (Stash, did you print this?) The concept also stood the test of time as I feel relevant wearing this as I did 12 years ago.
Anyway, this represents what every t-shirt should strive to be. Recognize.

RAINBOW.

Thanks to Chris at Nort Berlin for facilitating these kicks for me. It was tough to narrow this pack down to my top 3, but these are the ones I went with. Chris threw in a Nort 5950 for good measure. What really intrigues me is the one box that the Grayscales came in. It's like the old school Red/Blk/Kraft Nike box but with some weird ass label on the side. Very peculiar. Can anyone shed light?

NIKE CORTEZ.

COMPANY: Nike
STYLE NAME: Leather Cortez
ALIAS: None
COLOR: Met Gold/Red, Midnight Navy
STYLE #: 102011 761
SIZE: US 10
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: Taiwan
DATE MANUFACTURED: 06/08/97
CONDITION: B
ACQUIRED: Kichijoji, Japan.
OTHER COMMENTS: The amazing thing about these kicks are their birth date. These blingin' joints date back to 1997...way before any notion of Bapesta's, patent leather and bling culture. These were done for the Summer Olympics. Nike usually does a gold medal themed shoe with red, white and blue trim. Love that they took an old school joint like the Cortez and showed it love. I dug these from their grave at a small shop in Japan, about an hour outside of Tokyo. This small city is known for having some ill deadstock spots for sneakers. Don't even bother asking me where it is, cuz I will not give up the info. I usually keep these on ice but occasionally do break them out for special occasions. I think the last time I wore them was in 2002 for the opening night of Reed Space.

MODEL BUILDING.

Much of this weekend was spent renovating Reed Space. Tough work for sure, but it helps when beautiful super models drop by to help put together some furniture. Jessica White came thru and put some elbow grease into furniture making. She was suprisingly damn good at it too! Very meticulous and fast. It's nice to know she has a bright future in carpentry if all else fails. After work, I rewarded her hard work with dinner at Noho Star. (FYI: She ordered a hot fudge sundae as her appetizer! WTF?!)

WEEK OF THE 22nd.

Apologies for the lack of updates. It's been a hectic week. Mainly due to the massive renovations going on at Reed Space. For everyone that's been asking, we should be open towards the end of this week. Hope y'all come thru. I think you'll notice some significant improvements...


A lot of people have been making mucho noise about the Shuttlemax vinyl toy by Bill McMullen. It's well deserved...I've known Bill for many eons now (one of the most talented designers of our generation) and he was nice enough to save one for me and personally drop it off. Thanks Bill! Everyone should head over to Kid Robot the 30th for a signing and release party.


In other toy news, I got a shipment from Burton Japan/Atsuyo who blessed me with this Evil Mickey in a dope clear sparkly resin. Thanks AK!


I think that same day, Kimou from Zoo York came as well. He dropped off some more Zoo York x Staple decks and picked up a Uniqlo design he did. Me and Kimou go way WAY back. We met when Mass Appeal did an article on me and he was hired to do the illustration. From there, I started giving him freelance work in magazines and since then, he's blown the fuck up. He's also guest lectured at my Parsons classes. He's one of the few cats in this game that is a classically trained graphic designer first, "street" artist second.


Also this week, ESPN's & Bobbito's, "It's The Shoes" show came and did an interview on my story and sneaker collection. Kevin, the producer, did the interview and we were just gettin' stupid. It was a lot of fun. Can't guarantee it'll make the cut on the air, cuz I can be pretty boring in front of the camera. We'll see. Be nice in the editing room Kevin!


Finally, David Gensler from The KDU / The Royal Magazine dropped by to give us the new issue and chat for a bit. Peep his interview on Weekly Drop which came right before mine. Alright, Dave, now get the fuck outta my chair and stop actin' like you own the place...haha.

GOODIES DU JOUR.

Finally getting sorted thru the moutain of mail I got while I was away. Here are some highlights:




Puma just sent me their newest edition of 5x12. In case you don't know about this, it's a 5-piece vinyl set that they have been doing for the past 3 years and giving away a 1000 or so pieces for free at Winter Music Conf in Miami. Staple Design has designed the last 2. I'm pretty proud of this one. We went hardcore industrial steez. A little secret about the 5 piece set: If you lay them all out in a certain order, it forms a puzzle on the front and another one on the backs. Just a little sumthin' sumthin' for those that like to display their wax. Not sure how you can get your hands on these unless you are a DJ or something...more shots on Freshness.


Talk about a long distance collaboration. Subzero Canadiennes, Goodfoot teams with 89° and sunny, Kicks/Hawaii for a dope t-shirt. Very clever front: Aloha Eh! Good lookin, Matt.


The fellas at SB continue to do some ill shit. Peep this sock. It's got the Eire Dunk sublimated onto the sock and the dopest part is that it comes in this mini SB box. (Keys are in the photo for scale. I care.)


Finally set your Tivo and DVRs for Spike TVs world television premier of JUST FOR KICKS. I'm going to be featured in the DVD release version...but not sure which one Spike is showing. A great documentary though.

WEEKLY DROP.

I'm super nasaly, extremely congested, had 101° fever and I sound like Kermit the Frog...but regardless, it's live. Weekly Drop. Check it out and let me know what y'all think. Thanks to Jeff and Rob again for giving me the opportunity to share some insight. Enjoy.

LAST DAYS.

View from the top: Harajuku and Omotesando as seen from the top of the Celux balcony.

So last day in Tokyo... Heading back to NYC. I've done this trip over 60 times in the past few years and the same feeling always hits on your last day. It's like a pulled duality of emotions. On the one hand, you're leaving the best city in the world and you want to stay longer. On the other, you're going home to the best city in the world and you can't wait to go back. It's a case of the grass being green on both sides of the fence.
Some final images/people on my last day:


There's a store in Omotesando Hills that specializes in RC cars. Little do people know that way in the back, there's this insane carpeted racetrack to race your car on! It's so dope. See the hand holding the black pole? They have this cute little girl who's sole purpose is to use that stick and poke at your car in case it gets stuck. I swear...only in Japan!


I've got the Honda Zoomer and it's dope. But this thing is like another beast. I have no idea what it is. I want it.


Had coffee with Uniqlo's Press Team. (taken with cameraphone)


then had lunch with Base Station's, Yoshimi and Yoshi. Cool people. Cooler things to come...


Finally grabbed a final midnight snack with Lala and her band, Love Travelers. Keep your ears out for these guys.

CELUX x FRED PERRY.

The day before I left Tokyo, I went by to Celux to check out the new Fred Perry collaboration project they had on sale and display. Apparently, most of the pieces sold immediately. They asked artists and designers such as Duckie Brown, Chatav Ectabit, A Love Movement, Roland Berry and Numero Uno to customize limited edition Fred Perry polos done exclusively for Celux. I asked Levi's to come in and help dress the bottoms of the displays so they weren't pantless. That would have been odd.


Oddly enough, Gatorade sponsored this event to keep in mind the thought of "athletics" and the tennis tradition. Did you know that Gatorade in America did NOT pass FDA Safety Guidelines in Japan? They had to bottle their own version which tastes much better ours.




Looking for the perfect sheets to go with your new Tempurpedic mattress? Try Manrico from Italy. A full sheet and pillowcase will set you back about $4500.00. The finest cashmere sheets money can buy. The packaging is SICK. Magnetic closure leather bound cases...

UNDERCOVER.

Jun and Aiko (formerly of Undercover, but now with Celux.)

Last nite, fellow Honeyee employee, Jun Takahashi of Undercover held a screening of his new collection at their office. Their office is bananas. I can't even really begin to describe it. But you know that guy Stan from the Eminem video? Imagine, he hit the lotto and became president of a country. His house would look some thing like this. Madness.





Michael and Fraser on the barely functioning wheels of steel.

Some nice daytime photos from Israel.

MEDICOM.

It was a busy ass day with meetings taking up every hour on the hour..but I made sure to race over to Medicom to meet Oka. Their office is sick! It's amazing how they've built this empire on toys.


The front of Medicom world HQ.


Oka. General Manager of Medicom aka Toy Hustler.


Daft Punk 12" figures. With outfits designed by Dior Homme's Hedi Slimane! Damn....


Will the madness never cease?! Medicom x Tempurpedic?!?! Oka, please send me the slippers!


Nike SB Medicom 2007 edition. Sorry kids, can't show em yet. They are smokin tho.
Clockwork Cock/Rocking Chair. (That hand from above is so creepy.)
Pushead x Kaws Mickey....obscene...
Evil Mickey...awesome.


In case you missed him last time, Nike's Global Brand Energy Leader, Fraser Cooke. With Chucky. Actual Size.

YONE.

(Peep the binders. He's got hundreds of them just filled with cute girls that want him to take their photo.)

Some of you might be familar with a Japanese magazine called SMART GIRLS.It has since been shut down, but it's one of my favorite magazines. The man responsible for the amazing photography is Yonehara. I've know him for a couple of years now but never really chilled with him till now. He's a busy man. He's got regular photo columns in Tokion, Nicola, Eyes Cream, Roots, Dazed & Confused, Warp and Cool Trans. He just wrapped up the Blondy catalog campaign and is now getting ready for an American Apparel promotional book. Wowzers....This dude is living the life we all could only wish for.


See them boxes? I thought they were filled with film, but they're not. The're filled with even more polaroids of girls! If he were a DJ, he'd have a million records. But thankfully for us, he's "Yone" and he can bless us with millions of hot chicks.


Always able to ride the fine line between smut and art. He shoots videos of girls just brushing their teeth. What a genius.

POW. WOW.

After a very long day of back to back to back meetings...me, Nike and HF sat down to some dinner and discussions. A "Pow-wow" is what they call it? Is it cuz we're supposed to hit people over the head and make em say "wow"? Anyway...a meeting of the minds to say the least.


The Cast: Fraser, HF, Me (behind the cam), Richard and Jesse.


The Evidence: Desert Woven Boot top. Footscape bottom. Can you say "Frankenstein"? I pickup these Grey Seude Footscapes today. Fraser test driving the Undefeated AF1s, coming next month I believe.


The Transport: HF's SLR Batmobile. New samples from the lab. Are you seeing dots? I also picked up this North Face Japan Cape. It's literally a cape. Packs into a tube the size of a hotdog. It's dope.


The Accomplice: When you have a Rolex and wrap it in leather so no one can see it...you've obviously got too much money. John Jay stopped by after to fuel the talks. It was good to have everyone in one place at the same time.

POSTCARDS FROM THE EAST.

Caught Omar and Dennis chillin in Harajuku.Tellin' you...everyone is here this week. This is Lala...trust me, she can make a different face and it's quite cute also. Shin from Uniful and Soar interviewed me for his upcoming DVD. Good lookin! Grabbed dinner with Hiromi. Taku and NF Crew chillin at the after party.


Left: Shisamo. This might look like a devil worshipping tool but actually, it's food. And it's good.
Right: Omotosando Hills. Shopping to the nth degree. Amazing interior design.


Picked up some more limited edition Kit Kats which I will ebay for thousands of dollars. The top one is French Milk Chocolate made by famous Patissier, Takagi (or so the box says). Bottom one is Kit Kat Petit. Like the iPod Nano, but chocolate.


Went to visit DJ Muro's new crib. This man has a bad disease. Vinyl Fever. It's retarded how much wax dude has. One of the best DJs on planet Earth tho.


Jesse repping the new Nordic Court Force that Staple designed. On some Scandanvian wool sweater steez. You're gonna flip when you peep the sockliner. It's part of an entire Nordic Pack. Holiday 06 kids...the kits just keep on coming.

HYSTERICS.

One of the more progressive Japanese brands in the past few years has been Hysteric Glamour. I always liked them cuz they did things there own way. And their mens collection-HG, does some cool pieces here and there. Tonight they had a opening party for their new Roppongi Hills location. One thing about these guys...they fucking know how to throw down. This party was crazy and proof again, that I am getting too old for this shit. I met up with some Nike heads there and it was an adventure from there on out.


Ladies of the night.


We spent ¥4000 in a cab going to a bar about 1 mile away from where we were. Frasier was acting as translator, navigator and negotiator all at the same time. This photo pretty much sums his frustration with our white-gloved friend.


While this may look like all fun and games... we are actually discussing the deeper levels of sneaker consciousness in today's youth market. It's hard work people. Oka from Medicom even stopped thru to discuss the finer points of...um..well, beer. P.S.: Jesse isn't sleeping in this photo. He's just about to let out a really really big sneeze.

JEANIUS.

Plans tonight called for dinner with Mike from Levi's Japan and a visit to the office to check out what goodies they were working on. They really have some amazing things being created out of there. Pretty much wipes Levi's US all over the floor. Keep an out for Levi's FLU. It's a new series focused on the idea of sports and denim. The concept that young people should be able to play sports anytime, anywhere. Even in their jeans. This pair he gave me which was endorsed with the futbol star, Nakata; features stretch denim, major articulation in the side seam, pocket flap and D-Rings for keeping your shit safe, and silicone gel appliques to keep traction of the ball (but for me, it works so my Blackberry doesn't slide off). Definitely THE most comfortable pair of jeans I have ever owned, hands down. A Tab Device exclusive.


Right: A pair of LE Peter Saville designed Levi's. Left: The FLU denim I described above.


Team Levi's JP, going thru the samples...Peep this chair too...wow, only at Levi's can this shit happen.

ROLEX.

Hiroshi invited me to come to a Rolex auction event where someone's ridiculous collection of vintage watches were being auctioned off. It was a very upscale atmosphere to say the least. And when Hiroshi showed up, he was mobbed by reporters and photographers. Funny to see all the different circles he rolls in. I was looking for the Swatch section, but to no avail. I did manage to spot Edgar from 24, but Hiroshi didn't believe me until he saw with his own 2 eyes. Of course my luck, I left before we found him again.

HARAJUKU.

The main purpose of this trip to Japan is to oversee the Staple Fall 2006 Collection which debuts in Japan this week. In Japan, the fashion business works a little differently than in America. In the States, we hold these HUGE massive tradeshows like MAGIC, ASR, PROJECT and the rest...In Japan, its a much more private affair. A handful of brands, and sometimes, just one brand holds their own private show where they invite potential buyers and shop owners over. This goes on for like 3-4 days. So this week we are holding ours in Tokyo. Weird isn't? Spring 2006 isn't even in stores yet and here we are showing our Fall/Winter collection already. When I get back to NY, we have to get right on Spring Summer 2007!!




Behind the Scenes: Getting ready for the show and setting everything up. Transporting your whole collection 5000 miles away is no easy task.


Kota from BQE stopped by for a surprise visit. He owns a shop called Cluster right near Reed Space. Our exhibition is held in Laforet Museum. A gallery space sitting at the top of a very popular department store in Harajuku. A shot of me in front. (In that North Face Denim Goretex jkt y'all liked so much!)


My man Miyoshi (Manhattan Records) putting dibs on some Staple Fall pieces. Also met Mr. Homma...a real cool dude who runs The North Face Purple Label. Not a bad job huh?

After completing the set up of the exhibition, I met up with some Nike heads who were also in town from Portland. We did the retail rounds in Harajuku. I bought nothing. I must have a fever.



Jesse, Richard, JB and Jamie...4 dudes responsible for keeping Nike like crack.



Later on that day, I met up with Hiroshi. His new MacBook Pro was already on the fritz...(can't sleep. Just like its owner.) So we went to the Apple Store and tried to see what the Genius' at the Genius Bar could do. Basically nothing...
For dinner, we met up with Riko, my partner who's in Japan at the moment and AK from Burton. We had some Chinese food that was unlike any Chinese I've ever had in my life. Extremely good...


Table for 4. HF, Me, Riko, and AK.


Red Grouper. Reconize.


HF is gangsta. Ummm. Like literally! Yo put that away! We in a Chinese restaurant!


Match the kicks to the owners: Hello Kitty Prestos vs Nike AF1 Supreme Ostrich Leather.

16 HRS LATER.

And here I am again. Tokyo. The flight from JFK to Narita has become a usual commute for many people including myself. It's like taking the train to work and running into people you know. Two times before I saw Big Jay (Green Lantern's manager), last time I was on the flight with Damany, and this time it was Mike Malbon from Frank 151. The flight was horrific. You know when there's turbulence, and then there's the type of turbulence when people scream? We had the latter. One of the scariest flights I've ever been on. I'm in my hotel room and I feel like I've been on a boat all day...you know that weird swaying feeling you get? After settling in and attempting to compose myself in some way, I headed out to a scheduled dinner meeting with Celux/LVMH, Asako and my partner Riko. Korean BBQ...Why do the Japanese have to do everything better? Italian is better, Chinese is beter, Korean is better, McDonald's is better. I think honestly, the only thing they have not yet perfected is the breakfast egg. For some reason, they can't do that right. Anyway, I'm wrecked...Sayonara till next time.

With the people and things you see in Japan, you sometimes forget and think you're hangin' in NYC.

Chowing down Korean stylee.

NRF ALL STAR.

NRF just celebrated mid season by having it's annual All Star Night. It was a fucking blast. Amazing night.
Results to be posted shortly: http://www.nikerecessfederation.com/allstar/
Great wrap up report of the night from Rich.
And yes, I play ball in my Pigeons. (And yes, I need to workout...Damn! Can't even play some ball without having Hatorade thrown all over me.)

N-CHYNK.

Imagine Blackberry lost that court case. We might actually be having conversations right now!

This evening I met up with Dao-Yi and Matty-Ho at Hotel Rivington. We gathered to form the groundwork for our upcoming Asian Boy Band.
Nah, I'm playing. But we DID bring a black dude and a white dude, just to keep it P.C. Prior to this meeting, we had a little discussion about where to meet up. We definitely needed to talk business so we wanted a private-ish cool spot. Dao suggested Spotted Pig and La Esquina but to me, they were way too high off the "hipster chart". So I proposed Hotel Rivington. Luckily, we ONLY ran into Lenny Kravitz, Claude Grunitzky, Sung Choi (formerly of PNB Nation, DC, Clae, etc, etc), Adam Glickman, founder of Tokion and some fly ass make-up chick that Dao didn't introduce us to. Alright, next time...we're doing Applebee's.

LE MAIL.

Got some cool items sent to me recently.
Gabe Urist (aka The Sneaker Jeweler) and Trust Nobody (the dopest store in Barcelona) collaborated (somehow) and did a t-shirt on Nike's tab. Nice packaging. Wish there was actually jewelry in it tho. Then, I got a tube that contained this poster which was actually an invitation. But each invitation was hand signed and numbered 1-500. It's for a SCION party in Miami featuring Masters At Work and Jazzy Jeff amongst others. I just found it interesting that now even party invites are "limited edition", "signed and numbered". God, how I long for the days of sweatshops and mass industrialization.

ICP.

Last night, Dan and I went up to the ICP to celebrate the opening of Andrew Dosunmu's photo exhibition. As you might have seen, Dan and I are cooking together on a project. That project happens to involve Andrew as a central figure. He's known for his music video and film work, but his photography is also from another world. Just google his name and discover his dopeness. The show was mad impressive and the ICP is an amazing space to show in.