Me talking about Garage Brands

Brands have always been my passion and, since I am running my own brand, alkr®, I have learned a lot of lessons. In November of 2010, the Art Directors Club held a conference about a new brand concept, calling them “Garage Brands”.

I was invited to talk about my own little brand, alkr®, failure, what one can learn from mistakes and how one can develop a brand these days. However, my main point was that the most important aspect to any idea is that people have to stop talking and start doing, which is also the most difficult part.

You can view my full speech after the jump.

More »

Talk

iPhone 4 Case Development

After the launch of the iPhone 4, I started developing a hard case for it. Apple provided me with the exact measurements of the phone so we were able to rebuild it in 3D and design a case around it.

A few weeks later, the mold was ready and production started on cases in five different colors, available on alkr.com

More »

Product Development

Love Your Work – Exhibition

While I was working with Udox on the Love Your Work book, we realized it needed something special for the launch. We rented Maverick Gallery in East London and invited everyone who participated in the project. The venue was crowded, the mood was positive and we got a lot of good feedback.

More »

Design + Exhibition + Interior + PR

Interview with Michael Kopelman & Andrew Bunney

For the launch of the Dickies X Hideout line, I asked hypebeast.com to do an interview with the two guys behind the project, Michael Kopelman and Andrew Bunney. The full interview can be read here.

Interview by Edward Chiu:
Without any conscious effort, Dickies has made itself a mainstay of streetwear for many generations. Given its rugged construction and timeless aesthetics, its popularity doesn’t come as much of a surprise. However, without a directed effort until recently, the Dickies brand has seen itself ripe for a new angle from a contemporary fashion standpoint. Two of Britain’s most formidable members of the so-called streetwear community, The Hideout’s Michael Kopelman and current Dr. Martens creative director Andrew Bunney undertook the task of creating a new capsule for Dickies with the goal of re-inventing classic Dickies-wear from a modern angle while maintaining the essence of Dickies. We took the opportunity to delve deeper and touch upon what exactly has become of the collaboration, what The Hideout for Dickies collection entails and the importance of Dickies’ Americana roots.

Hello Michael and Andrew, nice meeting you guys. First off, how did you end up in your respective professions and how long have you been in this industry?

Michael: Before The Hideout, I was really into DJing with a fond love for Stussy. Eventually through Shawn Stussy I got involved in the industry. It was amazing when I met Andrew because I would see him in different cities around the world… Tokyo and in New York just by coincidence. Also, the staff at my shop would groan about him as he would ask about products that weren’t out and had more knowledge regarding them as well. So that’s when I asked Andrew to consider working for me. I couldn’t believe that someone could be so well informed without working in the industry.

Andrew: I started as a buyer for skateboard shops, which is how I met Michael. Then I moved into vintage clothing and went on to study fashion and production. After that, I started working with Michael again and that’s how it got started.

More »

Collabs + PR

Love Your Work – The Book

”Love your work“ is a book for Dickies I created with Udox in London in 2010.


Dickies has always been fascinated with work. After all, it´s their business – has been since 1922.
Over the years they have witnessed an attitude-shift when it comes to peoples relationship to their job, their gig, their 9-5.


Recently they observed a new attitude towards work developing: even though there´s no longer the guarantee of a job for life, for many people the lines between what they do and who they are have become increasingly blurred.


We invited a selection of people who obviously love their work to share some of that passion and give some insight to why. What they all have in common, apart from Dickies clothing of course, is a commitment to their work which makes it mean much more to them than
a 9-5.


All this is bundled in the “Love your work” Bookzine. 180 pages of great content. Contributors are e.g. Paul Mittleman (Stussy), Mike Giant, Joshy D, Frith Street Tattoo, Michael Kopelman, Andrew Bunney, David Biene, Fixed Gear London, Lev from PWBC, Tyron Lebon and a few others…

More »

Books

Dickies X Hideout

Working with Michael Kopelman on a small line of products for his iconic store, “The Hideout”, was a special experience. Together with Andrew Bunney, we designed a small line available at “The Hideout”.

We spent a long time on getting everything right: the cut, the fabrics, the branding, etc. Comprised of classic Dickies staples, but in a slimmer cut, the collection blends the brand’s past efforts with a contemporary twist.

A bit more information regarding the collection can be found on the hypebeast feature.

More »

Product Development

Bag development

After the success of the laptop sleeves I decided to launch a line of bags for alkr®. The goal was to deliver a good shape that offered a lot of functionality at a reasonable price.

The results are three bags: a messenger bag and two briefcases.

Availble on alkr.com

More »

Product Development

Hanging out in SF

In April 2010 I visited San Francisco; this city is truly amazing. The weather was great and I had good meetings, and some fun in the evenings, with the guys from Deluxe Skateboarding and Rebel8.

I took a few photos; check them out below and in this Flickr set.

More »

Trips

Japanese Selvedge Denim

Japanese Denim Makers are the best worldwide; to pay tribute to the manufacturing background of Dickies, I developed a salvage denim called “California”.

Regardless of fashion, the California Selvedge Jean is designed to be worn and no detail has been overlooked in the delivery of this product to the most discerning denim enthusiast. To make this Jean we use fine African cotton and expert Japanese construction to develop what we believe to be not only the most authentic denim product currently available but also the most reasonably priced.

Here is the process by which the California Selvedge Jean was created:

Zimbabwean Cotton
The quality of the cotton used to make the California Selvedge Jean is an extremely important factor in creating the best denim and also determine the value of our Jean. With this in mind, we searched the world trying to source the finest organic cotton.Zimbabwe is renowned globally amongst denim aficionados’ as the prime source of organic cotton. Zimbabwe has the ideal climate for growing strong, pure cotton and it is no coincidence we chose to use it for the production of the California Selvedge Jean.

The Selvedge Denim
After our cotton is harvested in Africa, it is shipped to Japan and woven into denim cloth. Our Selvedge denim is woven on vintage shuttle looms that are unlike the mass projectile looms commonly used around the world today. Our denim is woven in small batches with a red selvedge – the clean, bound red edge on the fabric. This process is much slower and deliberate, produces less material and more waste but the end result is that the denim is far superior in durability, texture and touch.

More »

Product Development