August 31st, 2010

Proof 7

I’m in New York. No Ben and Bobby didn’t invite me or even tell me they were opening a store. So anyway I’m here and decided to stop in on some old friends. Real friends that don’t charge you when you frantically call up needing 500 post cards double sided glossy overnighted on Christmas eve.  Josh Cooper and Laurence Chandler run Proof 7, a full service printing facility on Varick Street. Lotta people think Josh looks like Claire Danes.

These are die’s made for custom emboss printing. If one Spanish guy loses a finger there are printing details that will never happen again.

This looks complicated.  They don’t use it anymore.

Josh makes the important decisions.

At Wieden + Kennedy Peter Yue was the man in charge of the cutting machine.  I’m not sure he could handle this one.

This machine was very fancy.

From here you can see the girls sunbathing by the pool of the new Trump Tower.

That is exactly what it looks like.

This is that seed paper that you can literally put in the ground and plants will grow out of it. This is also what will be all over the ground after fashion  week next week.

Larry was all about the Sour Diesel… until the Corey Haim came out.. the killer weed…

Some examples of what they can do.  Oh, did I mention they have a high fashion line as well? Rochambeau. It’s in all the stores you probably have never been to, which they are OK with. Someday when you can afford it, and you want to grow up it will be there.

Billy Blast did 15 years in state prison for a double murder.  Guess which one of these people he is?

Whats great about these kids is they have an actual trade and run a fashion line on the side.  Everyone is losing money these past few years, if they say they arn’t they are lying.

I can’t believe how bland this post is… I mean I have not had more fun then when I hang with them and this wasn’t even close to funny. I didn’t even mention David Gensler?!

August 27th, 2010

Matt Tucker

Beaverton is usually what comes to mind when you think of visiting a sneaker manufacturer’s headquarters. No one ever says “before I die I need to hit up the Vans mothership.”  If given the chance I suggest you do.

Nestled between the Yamaha US base and the Mitsubishi deathstar, Vans rests in an ominous parking lot full off roof racks and rear window sticker collections.

That is clearly on the wall.

I didn’t read the placards, but it’s in a glass case and its skate related.

I remember when Vans entered the snowboard boot market.  It was a great winter where Burton had competition with N Boots, 32, and the Escalade of snow footwear Airwalk. That’s why I like this picture. I wonder if Mike Tyson remembers his abandoned house?

Parra did some stuff for them.

As well as the king of hipster artists, Necksomething.

Nate enjoyed an adult slushie.

Even producing cool has its cube farms. I really wish my shower would stop leaking, is sounds like someone has been pissing for a week.

Precious has a pro model? Vans signed Sasquatch? They finally made something to fit in my big mouth? Matt Tucker at the buzzer.

This is how sneakers are born.  And THIS is how babies are born!

I learned that this is a special knife exclusively used for cutting sneakers in half. It also does wonders on bedsores and goiters!

This is awesome. Original fabric dated 1991 and vintage Vans that Nate found in some storeroom in a shop in Miami.

This made me sad. RIP SLB.

All Matt cares about is stacking chips and switch 5-0 grinds.

What Matt calls “pushing around” most kids get sponsored.

This ollie was so upsetting to one onlooker she went to Rite Aide and told the clerk she did not feel attractive enough to watch Mother Tucker skating at Cherry Park.  Summertime in the LBC.  I don’t have a job and I’m going to New York tomorrow.

How much fun? I said Hella Fun.

August 22nd, 2010

Jelly Helm

I just returned from a week in Portland OR. Whilst I was up there I stopped in on a few of my friends and potential future employers.  One person you never want to miss a chance at speaking to is Jelly Helm.  My history with Jelly began when he was my teacher/proffessor/cult leader of the unknown yet prestigious WK12. I’m going to pretend I only have the amount of time it takes to walk from baggage claim to the taxi to explain Sir Jelly Helm to you.

Jelly’s resume to get him into advertising won an award. Even his name captures attention, if you meet 1000 people in a day you will remember Jelly, and Chemo Pony. Everything he has done since then has made you drink a Coke, or wear Nike’s. This is something he is working on, I’m not sure exactly what it is but if I was to guess its a new reality based Mortal Kombat video game.  Jelly has retired from helping mega-companies make more billions and instead is using his professional problem solving through creativity ability to solve real problems.  Like curing Malaria, and finding out who sings that song at the end of the movie Little Monsters?

Jelly’s brain is the machine, the studio is the factory that the machine works in.

The Ace Hotel bit Jelly’s interior decorating steez. Jelly is our generation’s Mozart, he won’t get credit for it until he dies.

Then Driscoll Reid showed up. This conversation is over.

Every year my family has a pig roast.  They kill and dress a pig, burn a fire in the ground, dump the pig on it and bury it.  The next day a perfectly cooked pig comes out of the ground.

Mike Warzin is to humble to tell the world he created THIS. Like all of it, the song, art direction, even the 6th finger on Fog Raw!

That’s the Pig Hole.  hey?!

That’s BDP, or BeeDeeP, or Brandon Drew Jordan Pierce.

A giant willow tree came down in the yard, so my family made a rats cage in the hollowed out trunk.

Elliot is my cousin on the right.  Theo is the devil next door neighbor.  Thanks for the coffee snitch.

Look at this fucking hipster. The my little pony hanging off his…. trinket collection is shaved bald. He calls it “Chemo Pony”.

This is is the view from the inside of a rape van. Eugene?