DELIVERY 3. (Part 3-The Visionaries)
These 5 collaborators represent the last batch of individuals that I have worked with on the 10th Anniversary collection. Like how I used to save the mashed potatoes for the end of dinner...the best comes last. This collection is special not only because of what they possess as individuals...but what REALLY sets them apart is their ability to shake the ground they walk on. Their actions are not subjected to their hood/city/state/country. They operate on a universally global level. The earth is their stage and everyone watches their every move. I like to say these people are your favorite tastemaker's, favorite tastemaker. This group is so cool, they're nerds. So white hot, that it's freezing cold. Cream of the crop. Allow me to proudly introduce them....
Since I can remember, I have been cutting Nike ads out of magazines and putting them on my bedroom wall, locker, and Trapper Keeper (remember those!?!). When I entered Parsons School of Design, my first choice of major was Industrial Product Design. But when my counselor took a peek at my apartment walls and saw Nike ads EVERYWHERE, she said "You don't belong in Product. You belong in Communication Design." So without even knowing, John Jay already had changed the course of my life. John is currently Executive Creative Director of Wieden+Kennedy which means he is responsible for a lot of decisions you are making on what to buy and what not to buy. Jordans vs Iversons? Coke vs Pepsi? Sportscenter vs Local News? Nike vs Adidas? Nokia vs LG? Sharp vs Pioneer? You'd be surprised to know one man and one company is behind all of this. A little scary right? Well good thing John is one of the good guys. He is a supporter of independent arts, culture and the entreprenurial spirit, especially amongst minorities. I grew up idolizing John without even knowing it. Then I went to design school and studied his achievements. Then we work together directly and indirectly for companies like Nike and Brand Jordan. Then his son and his best friend are in MY class at Parsons. Then we're sharing a stage together at the AIGA in NY. Does life get any cooler than this? John Jay was issued the anagram FLESH/SHELF. It was interesting to me, this idea of peddling wares, gear, clothes, kicks etc...When you're given the job of how to make products fly off a shelf, its interesting how different people approach similar goals.
Is there anything that Bobbito Garcia cannot do? When I was in high school, Friday morning was rough for me. Why? Because you can bet that every Thursday night; I was up till 4am listening to WKCR / 89TEC9 with Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito The Barber with my finger on the pause button of my tape deck. You can also bet I was at every Rocksteady Anniversary event he hosted back in the day. Fast forward a few years and I'm starting this little t-shirt thing called Staple. Bob has a store in the East Village (3-2-3 East 9th St! Coconut Custard Pie!) called Bobbito's Footwork. And as the legend goes, little asian dude shows big puerto rican dude catalog. Puerto Rican dude shits all over Asian dude's catalog and I...I mean...this asian dude walks out of the store in tears because his idol just sonned him. Couple of more weeks at the drafting table and round 2. Asian dude musters up whatever shred of confidence he has left to go at it again. Puerto Rican dude likes what he sees this time and the rest is history. Even though I'll never forget what Bob did, I appreciate him all the more for it. It drove me to be better than what I thought I could be. Around the same time, Bob asked us to create a shirt for his shop. We did the now classic MLF design (Major League Footwork). Funny thing is, I don't think we ever used the word "collaboration". There was no such category yet! We just did this project together and that's it! It's rare when we redo a shirt from the archives, but this time, it felt fitting. The Bobbito Footwork classic tee...re-flavored in 3 colorways with the O.G. white version available. One of the few artists that didn't get an anagram cuz he's just that special.
Sarah from Colette is a very similar story to the Bobbito story. For years, we sent Colette a Staple catalog and for years we never got them to order. There could be many reasons for this. Maybe we sucked. Maybe they weren't ready for us. Maybe Paris wasn't ready? Who knows? But it forced us to try and be better and better. And the hard effort finally paid off. Stores like Colette really paved the way for this new evolution of what a retail store is. People all of a sudden realized that a store didn't need a bunch of crap in it to make make money. Imagine operating a store where everything in it is what you're actually into! While today that seems obvious, 10 years ago, that was an anomoly. The most influential store in the entire world? Hands down? Colette. Who would you vote for? That led to the anagram we gave Sarah and Co.: TO ELECT/COLETTE!
Not far from Paris is London. And there is one man that literally runs London: Raoul Shah founder of Exposure. Raoul and I only recently met maybe about 2 years ago but we have a great friendship and business relationship. I think in Staple Design, he sees where he was when he first started Exposure: The raw energy. The limitless possibility for both great success and great failure. I see in Raoul and Exposure the future. 150+ employees. Running an entire block of real estate in London. Taking over small boutique agencies left and right, working with the best clients in the world. And in this, we see a little and a lot of ourselves in each other. Its cool to be able to do that. Raoul's t-shirt design was lifted from a small little eatery in the middle of Soho with the same namesake. Don't forget to always put on your RUPEE SOX.
The word "influencer" is tossed around a lot these days. You can influence someone to buy something, sell something, wear something, support something. But can you have an influence on someone's honesty? Someone's intergrity? Someone's modesty? If you are ever blessed to know Hiroshi Fujiwara, then that is something you will learn about him. Everyone knows how great this man is. But its not because of his business accomplishments. Or his posessions. Its because of how true to himself and to others he is. Imagine the innocence and pure excitement of a child coupled with the knowledge and experience of a wise man. Then you can begin to imagine what he might be like. I first befriended Hiroshi in 1998 and my life can pretty much be divided into 2 sections: BHF (before HF) and AHF (after HF). I assigned the anagram NIGHT/THING to Hiroshi because for some reason, usually when we meet, its REALLY late at night. He seems to operate best in the late hours. And also of course because of his DJ past. Its available in Black and White but look out for the White with Yellow edition that is a Japan exclusive. Oh no you didn't. Oh yes he did.
Some people have said to me..."Oh this must have been an easy season for you guys since everyone else did all the design work!" Let me just tell you that I would rather design 25 tees myself than do this again. Of course it was a joy to plan and design with all these special people...but can you imagine juggling the schedule of these people's lives?? It was mind-boggling to say the least. Well, I did want to get one of my own in there. The anagram I issued myself is HOURGLASS/RUSH GOALS. The main thing I learned in the past 10 years is to have PATIENCE. Don't rush into your goals. Take your time. If it's meant to be, things will turn out the way they were meant to be. Like ketchup, Good things come to those who wait.
Thanks again to everyone who made this possible!! PEACE!!
Since I can remember, I have been cutting Nike ads out of magazines and putting them on my bedroom wall, locker, and Trapper Keeper (remember those!?!). When I entered Parsons School of Design, my first choice of major was Industrial Product Design. But when my counselor took a peek at my apartment walls and saw Nike ads EVERYWHERE, she said "You don't belong in Product. You belong in Communication Design." So without even knowing, John Jay already had changed the course of my life. John is currently Executive Creative Director of Wieden+Kennedy which means he is responsible for a lot of decisions you are making on what to buy and what not to buy. Jordans vs Iversons? Coke vs Pepsi? Sportscenter vs Local News? Nike vs Adidas? Nokia vs LG? Sharp vs Pioneer? You'd be surprised to know one man and one company is behind all of this. A little scary right? Well good thing John is one of the good guys. He is a supporter of independent arts, culture and the entreprenurial spirit, especially amongst minorities. I grew up idolizing John without even knowing it. Then I went to design school and studied his achievements. Then we work together directly and indirectly for companies like Nike and Brand Jordan. Then his son and his best friend are in MY class at Parsons. Then we're sharing a stage together at the AIGA in NY. Does life get any cooler than this? John Jay was issued the anagram FLESH/SHELF. It was interesting to me, this idea of peddling wares, gear, clothes, kicks etc...When you're given the job of how to make products fly off a shelf, its interesting how different people approach similar goals.
Is there anything that Bobbito Garcia cannot do? When I was in high school, Friday morning was rough for me. Why? Because you can bet that every Thursday night; I was up till 4am listening to WKCR / 89TEC9 with Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito The Barber with my finger on the pause button of my tape deck. You can also bet I was at every Rocksteady Anniversary event he hosted back in the day. Fast forward a few years and I'm starting this little t-shirt thing called Staple. Bob has a store in the East Village (3-2-3 East 9th St! Coconut Custard Pie!) called Bobbito's Footwork. And as the legend goes, little asian dude shows big puerto rican dude catalog. Puerto Rican dude shits all over Asian dude's catalog and I...I mean...this asian dude walks out of the store in tears because his idol just sonned him. Couple of more weeks at the drafting table and round 2. Asian dude musters up whatever shred of confidence he has left to go at it again. Puerto Rican dude likes what he sees this time and the rest is history. Even though I'll never forget what Bob did, I appreciate him all the more for it. It drove me to be better than what I thought I could be. Around the same time, Bob asked us to create a shirt for his shop. We did the now classic MLF design (Major League Footwork). Funny thing is, I don't think we ever used the word "collaboration". There was no such category yet! We just did this project together and that's it! It's rare when we redo a shirt from the archives, but this time, it felt fitting. The Bobbito Footwork classic tee...re-flavored in 3 colorways with the O.G. white version available. One of the few artists that didn't get an anagram cuz he's just that special.
Sarah from Colette is a very similar story to the Bobbito story. For years, we sent Colette a Staple catalog and for years we never got them to order. There could be many reasons for this. Maybe we sucked. Maybe they weren't ready for us. Maybe Paris wasn't ready? Who knows? But it forced us to try and be better and better. And the hard effort finally paid off. Stores like Colette really paved the way for this new evolution of what a retail store is. People all of a sudden realized that a store didn't need a bunch of crap in it to make make money. Imagine operating a store where everything in it is what you're actually into! While today that seems obvious, 10 years ago, that was an anomoly. The most influential store in the entire world? Hands down? Colette. Who would you vote for? That led to the anagram we gave Sarah and Co.: TO ELECT/COLETTE!
Not far from Paris is London. And there is one man that literally runs London: Raoul Shah founder of Exposure. Raoul and I only recently met maybe about 2 years ago but we have a great friendship and business relationship. I think in Staple Design, he sees where he was when he first started Exposure: The raw energy. The limitless possibility for both great success and great failure. I see in Raoul and Exposure the future. 150+ employees. Running an entire block of real estate in London. Taking over small boutique agencies left and right, working with the best clients in the world. And in this, we see a little and a lot of ourselves in each other. Its cool to be able to do that. Raoul's t-shirt design was lifted from a small little eatery in the middle of Soho with the same namesake. Don't forget to always put on your RUPEE SOX.
The word "influencer" is tossed around a lot these days. You can influence someone to buy something, sell something, wear something, support something. But can you have an influence on someone's honesty? Someone's intergrity? Someone's modesty? If you are ever blessed to know Hiroshi Fujiwara, then that is something you will learn about him. Everyone knows how great this man is. But its not because of his business accomplishments. Or his posessions. Its because of how true to himself and to others he is. Imagine the innocence and pure excitement of a child coupled with the knowledge and experience of a wise man. Then you can begin to imagine what he might be like. I first befriended Hiroshi in 1998 and my life can pretty much be divided into 2 sections: BHF (before HF) and AHF (after HF). I assigned the anagram NIGHT/THING to Hiroshi because for some reason, usually when we meet, its REALLY late at night. He seems to operate best in the late hours. And also of course because of his DJ past. Its available in Black and White but look out for the White with Yellow edition that is a Japan exclusive. Oh no you didn't. Oh yes he did.
Some people have said to me..."Oh this must have been an easy season for you guys since everyone else did all the design work!" Let me just tell you that I would rather design 25 tees myself than do this again. Of course it was a joy to plan and design with all these special people...but can you imagine juggling the schedule of these people's lives?? It was mind-boggling to say the least. Well, I did want to get one of my own in there. The anagram I issued myself is HOURGLASS/RUSH GOALS. The main thing I learned in the past 10 years is to have PATIENCE. Don't rush into your goals. Take your time. If it's meant to be, things will turn out the way they were meant to be. Like ketchup, Good things come to those who wait.
Thanks again to everyone who made this possible!! PEACE!!
posted by jeffstaple | 2:42 AM
1 Comments:
I think that all it took for Colette to become an international powerhouse was to actually give more freedom to their buyers and to let them flirt with the streetwear industry. Bamford and Sons in London will definitly becoma a contender now that they're designing themselves after Colette.
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