The catalog from Alive showed up at my door this week. The layout for my watch looks great! Thank you for including me. Everyone that pre-ordered the watch from me they still are not in yet. Alive said they should be shipping mid month. Once I get them I will send the pre-orders out. Thanks for your patience.
The Freeman Transport site just went up. They have a lot of really nice product available with the logo I created for them. Check out the on-line shop to get some for yourself. They said a box of stuff is in the mail for me. Guys, I am waiting....
New stickers are in. I got a little Rasta with the colors this time. As always If you want stickers paypal me $5.00 to this e-mail and I will stuff an envelope full for you.
The first look at a pursuit track frame that Mash has been working on with Cinelli is being shown at Interbike this week. I am happy to have a hand in this project. I was responsible for the designed of the bike. The custom paint and frame stickers are meant to resemble the shape of the Mash lighting bolt and give the bike a feeling of speed. Cinelli's classic head badge worked perfect for the collaboration. Unfortunately they did not have the artwork for the crest anymore, so I had to redraw the entire thing. When the bike gets back from the trade show I am going to make some more changes to the art before it goes into production.
Highsnobiety re-launched their website today with a re-branded logo that I created. When I was asked to work on the project I was more then excited. Highsnobiety is one of the premier online magazines for street fashion and seen by thousands of people everyday. The new logo utilizes the H from their name and is shaped into a custom crown icon. The "H Crown" icon symbolizes the quality of product and features they report on. We decided to update the wax seal, from their old logo, to keep a consistent image. I really like this logo and I am proud to have been part of the re-brand. I was also asked to be a part of their columnist. You can keep up with my column on the new site here.
The new Mash site is up. The site includes a video of the Austin, Texas trip we took to meet Lance Armstrong. I designed the intro graphic for the video and the shirt for the trip. It was a pleasure hanging out and riding bikes with Lance! Thanks to everyone that made it possible.
I am so stoked on these hats. It is the first time I am offering a 5 panel in the line. I learned a lot and had a good time sourcing the fabrics and vendor. The hats are done in limited run of 100 pieces and crafted from a vintage ticking fabric. The quality is amazing. Check the gold detailing of the side vents and the gold metallic lurex thread. They will be available in a month or so with the first drop of the fall / winter line.
Alive Tokyo recently released images of the watch project that I am a proud to be a part of. My watch design includes 2 gold exhibition medals that are meant to signify a cross-continental handshake between SF and Tokyo. Other details include: paper plane second hand, gold detailing, SF coloring and paper plane argyle patten band. Contributors of this project also include good friends Dustin Klein (Cadence), Yohei (WBase) and Tyler Lepore (Super Champion). You can check out the other watches here. It looks like they shot the watches in Tokyo's Wbase display case if I am not mistaken.
Adrian sent in this photo of his Hundreds X BG screen savers. He got both of his screens covered. You got to give it to him for consistency. Thanks for the pic!
This season is shaping up really nice for the upcoming line. Here is a sneak peak of something new to the collection. Gold lurex thread detail on 5 panel caps. More pics to come..
I recently answered a few questions for the "Let's Talk" series on French website Computerlove. They are a bi-monthly series that interviews artists, designers, photographers, etc. in a conversational way. Check how the conversation went here. I appreciate them taking the time to talk to me.
The Latest Issue of Vapors is available. I like how they are running a specific theme for each issue. This issue focuses on sneakers where the last one was all about bikes. I answered a few questions about a couple of sneaker projects I was involved with. Thanks for the support guys!
Here is the first look at the Doughboy fitted. It is part of the Fall / Winter line that will be available soon. The inspiration for the hat comes from Ice Cubes character in the seminal ’90s flick Boyz N The Hood. It doesn't get much better then that movie. It is one of my favorites of all times. The hat will be available in 2 colorways, both are satin lined with a tonal paper plane argyle print. I am really excited about this one and already wearing the sample.
getting an online store up on my site is more work then I knew it was going to be. I have gotten a few requests to sell these collab shirts. Until I get an online shop on this site I am going to make them avaible through me. If you are interested you can paypall me $35 for the Black Chamber (black or white) or $20 for the Roughneck shirt (black only) to this e-mail. Please don't forget to include your shirt size and address. All orders get stickers and includes US shipping. If you are international add an additional $10 to the order. Very limited sizes and quantities.
I got this sample in the mail recently. It could be available for ipods, phones, laptops and all that. I am not 100% sold on it and making some revisions to the sample. Let me know what you think.
Keith called me this week and asked if I wanted the keep the pieces from the Twist / Adidas Project we worked on. I was more then happy to own the display and met up with him to get it out storage. I am not sure what to do with the desk, so for now it sits in my storage unit instead of his. It might be nice to donate it to a gallery and re-install the display. Here are a few pics of the desk. It was nice to see the desk and pieces again. I had a lot of fun working on that project.
WOW! This all I got to say. My friend Don-P told me to check Calvin's Blog to see his birthday cake. Calvin got a good lady to make him such an elaborate cake. It's an exact replica of the Miami BG hat. I hope you saved me a piece. Happy birthday and you better hold on to that girl.
I am about to leave for a wedding in San Diego. As I was packing I received this updated pic of the watch I am working on with Japanese watch company Alive Athletics. I am so pleased with the way the watch is turning out I had to share the pic. Have a good weekend - i'll be back Monday.
Here is a sneak peak of some hats I got in the works. I am currently juggling the clothing line and client work. It's time for me to put my head down and get through it. Honestly I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I will manage it. I have some really exciting projects in the works for myself and for clients.
A recent addition to my stockist is Kingdom in Stockton, Ca. I need to get them added to the dealer list on this site. Thanks for the support! If you are in Stockton please stop by and check them out.
My friends at DQM sent me these pics of a customer that was shopping in the store. She adapted the etch-a-sketch skyline to represent NYC. It's amazing that the skyline, I created for HUF, makes it way around to rep different cities. To me it will always be about SF. The etch-a-sketch styled empire state and chrysler building are awesome. Too bad Huf doesn't use the art anymore, this tat would have made a great collab graphic between Huf and DQM. Here are some other adaptions of the etch-a-sketch 1, 2, 3, 4. Please keep the images coming!
This morning I got a great e-mail, about a custom laptop, on Days That End. Good looking out! I never had a laptop, but if I did it would look like this also.
I will continue to highlight shops that stock the line. Todays post is about Philadelphia's WTHN. Philly is one of those cities that I have never been to, but always wanted to visit. Most of my family is from NY so when I am in the northeast I end up visiting family and spend all my time there. Philly is so close to NY and is a famous city for skateboarding. I can't believe that I have never made the trip. It might be time to session philly and check out the shop. Thanks for carrying the line!
I sent a package of shirts and hats to my friend Justin, who recently moved to NY to work for cnet. Check out the shirt he is rocking during a product review. Makes me want to buy the hardrive that much more.
Mash forwarded this picture of Lance Armstrong and me on our Texas Trip. It was a pleasure meeting and hanging with him when we were in Austin. Remember the Mash Texas shirt I created for the trip? The yellow option symbolizes Lances LiveStrong Foundation. It is now available at Lance's shop. More to come on what is brewing between the team-up soon...
I have been busy working on the new season and tightening up the line. It's all about the details. Expect everything to get a little more pro as it progresses.
The Vault, in Harlem, is stocking the current season now. Here is some pics from their photo shoot to promote the line (click pic for details). I also have been helping them out with their personal apparel line. Check their shop for new Vault shirts soon and my current season. I'll let you know when I get the samples in.
The new issue of Vapors is out. This issue is dedicated to bikes. I answered a few questions for the magazine and had a few products highlighted also. The press section, on this site, is updated with the full article. It's a good issue with a lot of good friends in it.
The boxes for the collaboration shirt I designed for Black Chamber showed up at my office today. It is important to support the the people and shops that support you. Black Chamber approached me to create a shirt for their 1 year anniversary. The graphic is based on a play on words with our names and came up with the Black Gold theme. The oil rig is in the shape of a large number 1 to symbolize their first year in business. Happy Anniversary! This is half of the production run. I will eventually make these available in my shop after i get all the software in place. For now you can get them through their shop in Singapore. They also have some of the BG line available.
Speaking of Freeman... after I posted the hat sample they sent me some pics of the headbadge and frame branding I designed for them. I need to update the project section of this site with these pics.
This hat for Freeman is coming out soon. It is part of Estate La's new Heritage collection. I designed the F on the hat as part of the Freeman identity. The guys from freeman recently showed me pics of the bike builds and I can't wait to see them in person. They are really nice. Freeman was a pleasure to work with and we have become good friends through the whole process.
The The Fizix, in SD, ran a little Mind Control Feature on me for their site. They asked me a few questions right before they put out the Summer line. They still have some of the line available in their store. Thanks for taking the time to interview me MIke! The beard and scar on my face in this picture are FINALLY gone!
Last November I traveled to Japan with Mash to premier the video. While I was there Dustin from Cadence, Yohei from Wbase and I met with Alive Watches to discuss a watch series based on cycling. The concept behind the collaboration is to pay homage to San Rensho (which translates to 3 time champion) and the 3 cities that we are from (San Francisco, Seattle and Tokyo). Here is the first preview of what mine is going to look like. More pics to come when all the bugs get worked out of my design.
Last week I was traveling with my family. We had a great trip to Jamaica and Miami. See more pics from the trip on my blacklodges blog. I had a chance to stop off and visit MIA, in Miami, to see how the line is doing at their shop. Glad to see it was just about gone. Check them out if you are around. They are great people and a great shop!
It's been a long time in the making, but I finally have a new site. The new site includes my design portfolio, dealer list for the clothing line, selected press and of course the daily blog. The blog will remain the same with sneak peaks of projects that I am working on and all that. Take a look around and let me know what you think. I am going to be traveling the rest of the week, so don't expect many updates till I get back.
I have been talking about this ad for awhile now because I am still blown away from all the support that the SF heads showed for this. The new issue of Transworld Skateboarding Magazine is out. TWS and New Era got together to give me an ad for the Fitteds I designed. I could have done anything, for the ad, but figured it would be great to show what the SF scene is like today. I decided on a classic posse shot with the whole crew. Everyone brought the bikes and boards and we had a fun shoot at the famous Wallenberg 4. Thank you to everyone that came out to make this happen!
You might be bored of all the posts about the shops that are stocking the line. I decided to break it before the weekend and show you a pic of the new colorway of stickers that I just got in. Mash and I split a run again, but this time we added a red option. If you want stickers paypal me $5.00 to this e-mail and I will stuff an envelope full for you. Check out the pic I just got in from a friend visiting Japan. Stickers run much longer there then in the states.
I met the guys from Pileworks when I was in Japan with Mash premiering the video last year. They expressed interest in carrying the BG line at their Pile Concept Shop along with Mash. I like to keep my line next to the brands that I worked closely with like Mash and Huf. They also have some really nice track bike frames available, like this Samson! I am definitely in good company sitting next to Mash and a few bike frames!
The Speakeasy in Denver recently made the BG line available at their shop. They were also nice enough to speak to the SF newspaper and give them a quote about the clothing when they ran the piece on me. Thanks again for the kind words!
House of Commons, in Vegas, just sent pics of the current line in their store. They have a beautiful store designed by the same architects that brought you the Huf and Fatlace stores. If you are in the area, stop by and pick up some of the new product.
I just got the Turntable Lab newsletter in my inbox. Stoked to see that they made the s/s line available. If you missed your size on Krudmart Here is your chance to pick it up on-line. I am heading to a friends wedding in North Carolina. Have a good weekend!
The Fizix is a great retail shop based out of San Marcos, CA, located in North San Diego. If you are around sothern california check them out. If not they do phone and web orders as well. I have a small project in the works with them, so stay tuned for that. As the shops that carry the line send the pics in I will post them. Thanks for the support!
Standard, in Atlanta is a new addition to my stocklist. I don't open up many new accounts for the line, but I had to have one in the state I went to college in. They carry good stuff and I am glad to be included in their shop.
RCO, in Santa Cruz, has the line also. The store is owned and run by homies. They come up to the city and show love. If you are down in SC stop by show them some love. If you get the chance also hit the skatepark around the corner. It's such a good park! I am also working on a logo project with RCO. More on that later.
To answer all the questions on where the BG line is available I will highlight the shops that carry it as they make it available. Major, a great store in DC just put the line out. Check them out if you are in the area. They have supported the line since the start.
The line started dropping at stocklists. Krudmart just e-mailed to let me know that they just put the s/s line up for sale on their site. It's been up for only 3 hours and they said it is selling out and asked for a re-stock - damn. If you are not around a retailer check out the Krud. Not sure about a re-stock I barely have any left for myself.
Everything is out the door and shipped... finally! The line is based on the concept of staying youthful and striving to be the best you can be. The reference to gold symbolizes success and achievement. Stay Gold.
Also, for the first time, I am proud to offer a collaboration design. Andy Jenkins, Art Director of Girl Skateboards, has been kind enough to to lend his hand for shirt design. Everything should be at your local retailer this week!
Here are previews of the shirts that are coming out with the new line. Boxes are packed and shipping, so you can expect them at a retailer soon! Putting a line out is a lot of work - no joke.
I sat down with Canadian magazine h(y)r collective when they were in SF. We grabbed a cup of tea at a local coffee shop and then headed to my studio to talk about design and fashion. Check out their site and the little interview they conducted. Thank you for taking the time out to talk to me. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip to SF.
These hats are finally available. I just dropped a shipment off at the Huf Sutter Street store. They are hitting the shelves first thing Saturday morning! They also have a small run of matching shirts and the Transworld caps. The spring / summer line officially releases everywhere the following week. Huf is first because they are in my home town. I'll post pics of the rest of the line next week.
Snowboard company Burton invited me to be a part of their Project 13 Artist Series. I gave the snowboard brand a flip on my argyle pattern shirt by reworking the diamonds into mountains. The front print is accented with gold and silver foil. The shirts should be available at Burtons flagship stores now. A friend of mine said there is an artist feature set up for me at the NY store.
This is one I have been sitting on for awhile. I designed this hat series to be a pat of Transworlds relaunch of their famous Brainfloss feature. We have not seen the feature in their magazine for 5 years. I am honored to be the first artist featured after such a long hiatus. There are two versions of the hat — a black and orange San Francisco version to represent my home, and a brown and gold version to represent San Diego, the home of TWS. I created a custom tonal script pinstripe pattern to give the hats that extra detail. These fitted should be available soon and select TWS retailers.
I have been press checking the very last of the Summer line to make sure everything prints the way I want it to. It is crazy how much production slows things down. This shirt had a couple of unforeseen issues with the printing and held my delivery up a week or so. I am glad to say that everything is on track and ready to go now. In stores soon.
PEEL Magazine released a book with photos and interview highlights from their first eight issues. I had a feature in the 3rd issue of the magazine and pleased to be a part of their 1st book as well. PEEL is the first magazine dedicated to the sticker aspect of street art. The book came out great! It also comes with 7 pages of usable stickers including my stay gold glider.
