THE FLU IS BACK.

My nominee for one of the most improved brands of the year? Peep the re-release of Levi's FLU Collection. It was first conceived as Levi's answer to a need for an outdoor street style athletic collection. The first collection went a little too tech. (Think back to the days of Verso. Yeah admit it. You know Verso.) The new collection is driven by Ewan from Playford and Okazawa from Cycle and Honeyee. The improvements are immediately evident. Subtle details, simple styling, great fabrication and a fit that doesn't make an American dude feel like an overgrown giant. Props to the FLU team for making this collection dope again. Peep the site, you really just need to see the line itself though. The photos don't do the clothes justice.

PT3: ROUND III

Back in '06, when myself, Tyler from Rude and Puma sat down to concieve of a tables tennis get together; we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. After all, who knew there were so many damn nerds in Manhattan? Well, this Spring, Puma is stepping up their commitment to the game. For the third installment of PT3 (Puma Table Tennis Tournament); we grow the brackets out to 32 teams. As always, the players consist of NYC's creative underground featuring the likes of Formavision, Syrup, Psyop, Rude, 2x4, Flavorpill, Truth & Soul Records, Beautiful Losers, Comedy Central, Plus et Plus, Theme Magazine, Fat Beats, Turntable Lab, LTD Mag, Rockstar Games, Vice Mag, Complex Mag, XLR8R Mag and more.
In addition, they have produced this limited edition set of balls and paddles with Johan Liden from aruliden—a very dope product design shop based in NYC. The set is dubbed the PT3 ULTRAMAGNETIC COLLECTION (due to the sick magnetic closure system of these joints).
This weekends festivites kicks off Saturday 28th at 12 noon.
Venue: NYTTF 384 Broadway @ White Street.
Supported by: Vitamin Water and Tiger Beer.
For more info: www.puma.com/PT3
HOLLA AT 11!

VANITY vs EFFICIENCY

Aloha, HI


SF Bay

I just got punk'd.
In the last 48 hrs, I have visited Tokyo, Honolulu, San Francisco, and New York City. Needless to say, I don't feel very good. And in the process I have learned some valuable travel lessons. Here's the deal: I was offered two options on my return leg from Narita to JFK:
1) coach seat and direct.
2) first class and routed thru said cities above.
Vanity vs Efficiency. I opted for Vanity because I figured I could get a ton of work done on the flight and it was nice to go first class all the way. Some things I didn't realize at the time:
• If you travel for more than 10 hours, you get a good plane. If you travel for less than 10 hours, you don't. Meaning even first class doesn't have power outlets and personal screens! Its the type of plane where there are like 6 first class seats in total. And this was true for ALL THE CONNECTIONS of my trip. I was stuck on wack planes from Tokyo to Hawaii to SF to JFK.
• Honolulu Airport is actually a glorified hut. And everyone who works there has 1/8th of a brain. But I must admit, if you're gonna be hanging out in any airport, it might as well be Honolulu because half the airport is outdoors.
• Don't sit in San Francisco airport while the Warriors are upsetting the Mavs in the NBA Playoffs unless you like beer being spilled on you.
• Don't land in NYC on a Monday at 7am. Unless you really, really like the BQE.

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One that helped cheer me up was getting these Reebok Pumps from Blends in the mail. Both black and white. A nice simple sneaker with good detailing. Thank you very much, Tak for hooking these up.

JOURNEYS AHEAD.

After an unprecedented 6 weeks at home in NYC, its back to Japan for a quick trip and; what amounts to two meetings. Some would think that in this age of Skype, Virtual Offices and Video Conferencing, face to face meetings are unneccesary and archaic. So while a 15 hour flight to go to a meeting may seem ridiculous, it is also irreplaceable. Man has yet to create a technology that can beat a face to face sit down meet over a nice meal.
6 weeks at home has honestly been the longest amount of time I have stayed in one place for over a year now. And it feels pretty good, but lots of airtime awaits in the near future. Tokyo understands its spring already, unlike NY which thinks it's still December. But its definitely nice to be back in my second home.


Lots of people were in town including Paul M. and Kaws. Also Dennis and the Crooks & Castles Crew. We've never really sat down to break bread since they are LA based and the last few times I ran into Dennis was in Tokyo. Fans of Reed Space know that Crooks is one of the most well represented collections in the store. Big up to the work they've been putting into their brand.


Apparently if you don't ride a fixed gear bike, you shouldn't even bother applying for a job at Fragment Design. Here's the entire company in full two wheeled force. Kazuki, Hiroshi, Kojiro and the newest member, Qoo-chan.


HF played a very nice live set in Komazawa Park where he did a few songs and covers. A perfect day for a performance out in the park. Check out the Kangol he is rocking here. Hmmm...Fragmental Kangaroos??

KOBE vs SONYA.

The onslaught of asian athletes continues! Move over Yao, Wie and Ichiro...
This is so good. So well deserved. And a stroke of marketing genius.
Someone please give these guys a shoe deal.

RAINY DAYS & SUNDAYS...

...always get me up.
I really love rainy overcast days. I don't know why...I just do. Waking up to the sound of rain hitting the NYC pavements and cabs splashing thru is music to my ears.




20mph winds. 5 inches of rain in one day. 39°F. You gotta love spring in NYC .

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Angela from Playford Equipment came by the office for a visit. Her brother, Ewan is the founder and CEO of Playford and now lil sis is gonna help out with the brand. Looking forward to hopefully seeing more of Playford in the States.

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Thanks to my new found Graniph friends for bringing me this souvenir from Japan. It's a Mickey Mouse x Zeebra collaboration marker...complete with Mickey ears on the cap. I love it when I get just the perfect gift from new friends. Thanks!

I HEART CLAW.

Congratulations to Claw Money on her new book release. That's some major shit right there and she deserves all the props she is getting. This launch was supposed to be at Reed Space which would have totally rocked, but we just couldn't get our iCal's in alignment. So she opted to hold it at the Nolita hipster-chick spot, I HEART. I only stayed for 8 minutes because I have deadlines growing out of every orifice of my body at the moment. But I did manage to snag a signed copy. Thanks Claudia!





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One of the reasons we couldn't do Claw's launch is because we're currently holding the Graniph Pop-Up Store at Reed. Speaking of, we just received a new shipment of new tees, fresh off the Nippon Expressway.

DELIVERY 2.

The second delivery of our 10th Anniversary Collection has just dropped in Reed Space and at your local Staple Authorized Dealers. (Or unauthorized dealers as the case may be.) I like to give some background information on how these collaborations came about. I think it'm important in today's age of "Collabs Du Jour" that associations with different people are fostered on actual relationships.


Many of you are fans of Swindle Magazine and a lot of times, Shepard Fairey gets credit for the entire mag; but the actual founding art director of Swindle is none other than Florencio Zavala aka Flo. I first met Flo when he had his solo show, "Diamonds & Pearls" at Reed Space NYC back in May of 2004. I've always been a fan of his witty wordplay and playful illustrations. I gave him the anagram "Friend/Finder" and he created this highly complicated algorithm as the design.


You know when sometimes you know someone thru so many other people that you completely forget how you met them in the first place? That's the case for Young Kim aka Suitman. Was it from John Jay? Adam Glickman/Tokion? Educated Community? Hiroshi? Ease? Gas Books? I can't remember! Young, if you can remember, let me know! Anyway, his Suitman inspired artworks are just awesome. A great commentary on the public workforce and that everyday struggle we all go thru. For his anagram, I really wanted to incorporate the word SUITMAN into it and it just so happened that TSUNAMI was a perfect match. When I first commissioned him for it, natural disasters were really big in the news so it was fitting. He rocked this ill concept where the t-shirt has a hidden surprise when you see it in the dark.


You want to talk O.G.? Brian Siswojo has been repping Hong Kong since before the Brits had control. He was repping HK way back when you thought Japan and Hong Kong were, like, the same country and shit. Hip-hop, skateboarding, streetwear...Brian and his brand Know1ledge and store, 852 have been laying deep roots in Asia for a long time. And now with the internet, the world can share in his spoils. One of the nicest gentleman in the game. His anagram was a no brainer: SHOE/HOES. I think sometimes, when you get a design assignment that is so obvious, coming up with a dope solution is tough. Brian killed it with this one.


And to round out the 2nd Delivery, we present none other than the legendary Alife Crew. When Alife first opened on Orchard Street back in the day, they were really trailblazers in this neighborhood. They got kids to cross over The Bowery and side step crack needles and used condoms to get their Air Wovens, Surface to Air rings and KR prints. Then they followed that up with the most bit store concept ever in history. They practically carved out a completely new category of retail. A lot of people assume we are rivals but in fact the respect we have for each goes deep. There's enough room in this industry for all us to have our own flavor so it's all gravy. I gave them the anagram, "CENTS/SCENT"...in other words, the smell of money. Jest and Co. did this hilarious "inspired" design but used pennies instead of whatever is usually used...10K diamonds or some shit. The result is genius.


I guess this would be the equivalent of a hyperstrike. We just decided to link up with my man Tyler Askew at Rude Movements and re-release their legendary RUDE t-shirts. As seen here by the ever lovely Delia @ Staple in monochromatic black on white and white on black. Check out their next party on April 17th with Karizma @ APT.

Everything is available at Reed Space...ummm...NOW! See ya soon and thanks for your support as always.

NEWSTODAY.

It's funny how the fashion world operates. On the one hand; I am reading on websites about the launch of Staple's Spring 2007 collection dropping at stores. (Like here, here, here and here.) On the other hand, I just spent an afternoon at a 25+ year old printing facility putting the final touches on our Fall/Winter 2007 catalog. Its a little bit sad (as fashion always is) that I never really get to fully sit back and enjoy a collection. I put in due diligence on the creation of a line, and then before it even hits stores, I should be finishing up the following season.
Anyway, this is one of the joys of my job and one of the things I find most inspiring. I love watching craftsmen do their job. They take such pride and skill in it. Its what I strive for in my work. I don't normally like to drop info early, but I will say that the Fall/Winter 2007 will be in the form of a newspaper—a dying breed in the world of editorial and print design. But nevertheless, an artform that will never completely disappear. The machines that make these papers are unimaginably enormous. Its like stepping on a battleship. You can literally walk inside, under, around and on top of these monsters. When the catalog was printing, and as I was standing under the machine, I literally felt like it was being created all around me. Like I was inside the belly of a beast. Kudos to these fellas for taking the time to print my measly little catalog when they should be creating "All The News That's Fit to Print."

GRANIPH @ REED.

This week, I am really proud to annouce the US PREMIER of GRANIPH. Reed Space NYC will be hosting a 2 month pop up shop featuring the supercool Japanese brand. I've been a fan of Graniph ever since I have been visiting Japan and I discovered it about 5 years ago. They feature ill t-shirt designs, on great fitting bodies, and are very reasonably priced. We kick off the launch this Friday with a global gathering. RSVP if you want to get the jump on some next level t-shirt designs!

Opening Reception:
Friday, April 6th, 2007 · 7pm
RSVP Required: mrreed@stapledesign.com
Space Is Limited.
In association with Scion, Tiger Beer and Staple Design
151 Orchard Street, b/w Rivington and Stanton.

DIRT & NAILS.

I am always inspired by the creativity and aspiration of other people. A few days ago, John from Theme took me into BK to visit the headquarters of Joe and his infamous company Brooklyn Machine Works. You remember a few years back when Supreme was broken into thru their window and the red bike in their display was stolen. That bike was made by BMW. Anyway, BMW is about to get itself a new look and has some ill shit coming up in the near future. Like us, Joe is celebrating his company's 10th Anniversary this year as well...hmmm...







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Another creative nut job is Charlie Becker. I told him he is sitting on a million dollar idea with this fuzzy nail application he developed. The ladies will flip over this! Hit him up to make an appointment! Pictures don't do this justice. You gotta feel to believe. Here they are being displayed on Genevieve. You might have heard about her as she is one of the most vocal victims on that recent 11 hours JetBlue fiasco.