VANS X STARTER CAPS

Collaboration between Vans & Starter caps is nothing less than amazing. Having generated a big buzz in last years trade show, the release of the vans and starter caps has finally arrived. As you can see by the image above, every single cap is DOPE!!!!. The pack features 7 distinct hats that showcase both the known authenticity of Vans, and the rich history of Starter. Set for two different release dates, some are droppin this fall in selected stores. Look for the second batch to drop in the spring 2010. These caps are definetly worth the hunt so be sure to check every possible store for these.

WIZARD SMOKE : A SKATEBOARD SHORT FILM

Wizard Smoke from Salazar on Vimeo.

FRUSTRATED KITCHEN.

YOU WON'T SEE THIS HAPPEN SO OFTEN IN YOUR LIFE ! ENJOY !

ERIC ELMS, WE LOVE ! http://www.ericadorn.com/

Having remained somewhat behind-the-scenes working with brands such as Supreme, Undefeated and Silly Thing, Eric “Adorn” Elms vaults himself into the spotlight with a signature pair of Vans. Marking an entirely new Vans style, the Elms come in tonal green, black or maroon with a mix of suede and canvas uppers. The lowered foxing stripe is a nice touch, setting it apart from your standard Vans vulc sole.




Eric Elms has also been involved in some of the most fascinating and impressive projects in recent years, concerning our small culture, and for that we respect him a lot. Recently the artist/designer has relaunched his website, which finally displays all the impressive work that he has contributed.

Have a look and be impressed at http://www.ericadorn.com/

A new flavor for the Snowboarder at Ben & Jerry's !

Some athletes dream of making it on Wheaties boxes, but if you’re from Vermont, scoring a Ben & Jerry’s flavor trumps all. This winter Hannah Teter will become the first athlete to nail that dream with her new flavor “Maple Blondie,” and a portion of the sales will go to help Teter’s African charity efforts.
“I’m so amped to have my very own Ben & Jerry’s flavor,” said Hannah. “It’s great to have support from my home state, and a cool way to further support Hannah’s Gold and all the work we’re doing in Kirindon, Kenya.”



According to the release: Hannah grew up snowboarding in Vermont and has achieved many accomplishments including winning three times at the 2005 X Games, receiving the gold medal in 2006 for the women’s halfpipe in Torino, Italy along with being nominated for three ESPY awards. Committed to being a positive influence on the world, she started Hannah’s Gold, a Vermont maple syrup company that donates 100% of its profits to funding infrastructure and humanitarian needs in the African village of Kirindon.
“We couldn’t think of a better athlete or humanitarian to honor with a flavor this year,” said Walt Freese, Chief Euphoria Officer of Ben & Jerry’s. “Hannah’s not only a Vermont star, but making a big impact on countless people in Kirindon that desperately need humanitarian help. We’ll be cheering her on as she competes this winter and as she continues her important work in Africa.”
But why should only Hannah get to enjoy all the fun? For the first time in Ben & Jerry’s history, Maple Blondie was announced through Twitter and Facebook before a media announcement by offering clues to followers of the celebrity behind this special limited batch.
In conjunction with the flavor, Ben & Jerry’s are hosting the ultimate “Vermont Snowboard Getaway” sweepstakes. One grand prize winner will win a four day, three night trip for two to Vermont to attend the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships and head-to-toe Burton snowboarding gear, as well as lift tickets and snowboarding lessons on Stratton Mountain. Ten first-prize winners will each receive a Burton Flight Deck travel bag, sleeper hoodie and tour kit. From December 1 to January 30, consumers can enter via www.benjerry.com

INSIDE AA

Dov Charney founded American Apparel Inc. in 1998 and serves as its Chairman and Senior Partner and has also been its Chief Executive Officer and President since December 12, 2007. Mr. Charney has been passionate Producer of T-shirts and related apparel for over 10 years. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of American Apparel, Inc., since 1998. He founded American Heavy, Inc., in 1989 and served as its Chief Executive Officer until 1996. He also has made his mark on the industry as the pioneer of the woman's tee. He is a unique Business Leader and his extensive press coverage has included PBS, The New Yorker, Time magazine, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times. Mr. Charney has been key Speaker at universities and intellectual conferences (such as Toronto's esteemed Idea City) and has been honored for his commendable business practices. He has been a Director of American Apparel, Inc., since December 12, 2007 and served as Director since 1998. Mr. Charney is graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall and attended Tufts University.

...ENOUGH OF DOV ! WE WANT TO SEE INSIDE THE FACTORY :

TEASPOON IS FOR SPOONERS (http://www.teaspooner.com/)

http://www.teaspooner.com/

A SICK CLOTHING LINE SUPPORTING MUSIC AND OTHER GREAT ARTISTS,
GOTTA SEE THIS FOR YOURSELF !
GO SPOONERS GO !

DAVID LACHAPELLE : PHOTOGRAPHER (WWW.LACHAPELLESTUDIO.COM)

A LITTLE BIO

David LaChapelle was born in Connecticut in 1969. He trained as a fine artist at North Carolina School of the Arts before moving to New York. Upon his arrival, LaChapelle enrolled at both the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts. Not yet out of high school, he was offered his professional job by Andy Warhol to shoot for Interview Magazine.

LaChapelle's images have forged a singular style that is unique, original and perfectly unmistakable. He has photographed personalities as diverse as Tupac Shakur, Kayne West, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Amanda Lepore, Eminem, Philip Johnson, Lance Armstrong, Pamela Anderson, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Jeff Koons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hilary Clinton, Muhammed Ali, and Britney Spears, to name just a few. Once called the Fellini of photography, LaChapelle has worked for the most prestigious international publications and has been the subject of exhibitions in both commercial galleries and leading public institutions worldwide.

Recently ranked among the Top Ten Most Important People in Photography in the World by American Photo, LaChapelle has continued to garner numerous awards. His photography has been showcased in numerous galleries and museums, including Tony Shafrazi Gallery and Deitch Projects in New York; and internationally at LaMonnaie de Paris in France; Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City; Artmosphere in Vienna; Camerawork in Germany; Maruani & Noirhomme in Belgium; Sozzani and Palazzo Reale in Italy; The Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin: and at the Barbican Museum in London, to this day the most attended show in the museum's history. His uncompromising dedication to originality is legend in the competitive and harsh-judging worlds of fashion, film, advertising and contemporary art. His striking images have appeared on and in between the covers of magazines such as Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone and i-D.

In recent years, LaChapelle has expanded his work to include music videos, live theatrical events and documentary film-making. His directing credits include music videos for artists such as Amy Winehouse, Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Moby, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, The Vines and No Doubt. "It's My Life" with Gwen Stefani won the award for best pop video at the MTV Music Video Awards and LaChapelle himself garnered the MPVA's Director of the Year award in 2004. His stage work includes Elton John's The Red Piano, the Caesar's Palace spectacular he designed and directed, and which was the top-selling show in Las Vegas for 2004. His burgeoning interest in film saw him make the short documentary Krumped, an award-winner at Sundance from which he developed RIZE, the feature film acquired for worldwide distribution by Lion's Gate Films. The film was released in the US and internationally in the Summer of 2005 to huge critical acclaim, and was chosen to open the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

LaChapelle's work continues to be inspired by everything from art history to street culture, creating both a record and mirror of all facets of popular culture today. He is quite simply the only photographic artist currently working in the world today whose work has transcended the fashion or celebrity magazine context it was made for, and has been enshrined by the notoriously discerning and fickle contemporary art intelligentsia.


HERE ARE SOME OF HIS ART PIECES , ENJOY !

VETS VS. VETS ! HAH !

Black Box Distribution Partners With Insight On Sales And Distribution in U.S.

After months of whispers and rumors of Insight making a strategic business alliance to strengthen its position in the U.S. market, yesterday the ink dried on a deal between the Australian-born apparel brand and Carlsbad, California-based Black Box Distribution. In a meeting late yesterday afternoon, Black Box Founder Jamie Thomas, CEO Frank Messman, and Insight’s President in the U.S. Jesse Faen sat down with TransWorld Business to discuss the details of the partnership.
“The connection was first made because I had been interested in Insight on a personal level for some time,” Messman explains. “When I first heard that Insight was potentially looking to come up with some sort of different model in the U.S. I suggested to Jamie [Thomas] that it could be a good diversification for Black Box. It’s a core brand with core values. It’s not primarily focused on skate, so he had to have an open mind a little.”
After several months of discussions it was decided that Black Box would take over sales and distribution of Insight apparel and accessories in the U.S. from its Carlsbad offices, while Insight would continue to develop product and marketing from its offices in Los Angeles.
“There are so many things that make the relationship complimentary that it far outweighs the fact that our other businesses are 100-percent skate,” says Jamie Thomas. “Insight has a skate aspect, but has other aspects as well. That added to the complimentary nature of the businesses though because there’s very little to no cannibalism of sales. So it’s totally complimentary.”
From Insight’s point of view the partnership is complimentary as well. President Jesse Faen says the brand will benefit from the advanced back-end infrastructure Black Box has to offer, as well as allow both parties to leverage the other’s strengths across sales territories. “From Insight’s point of view, we came to the US four years ago and it’s been a crazy journey from where we started and where we’ve gotten to,” Faen says. “Obviously times are tight, and we’ve been on the look out for ways to do better. So getting interest from people like Jamie and Black Box, with its whole infrastructure is nothing but a compliment to what we’ve already succeeded in doing. We’re just trying to figure out how to grow this brand to its full potential. As soon as the dialogue opened up, from first meting Jamie and I kind of came from different backgrounds but have lived sort of parallel lives on different fronts—obviously him being skate and me being surf. From that moment it was clear that our visions were similar and it’s been a matter of figuring out how we can utilize the benefits we have from each side.”
Both parties say that they will be looking for ways to improve efficiencies as the transition takes place, but according to Messman there are no plans to make immediate changes to any personnel or sales force.
“At first it’s going to be primarily a distribution arrangement, meaning we’ll take Insight products that have been developed in Australia and distribute them as best we can in the U.S.,” Messman explains. “The goal is to utilize the best of both worlds. We have a strong existing rep force and we’re not going to change anything that’s working. Obviously Black Box feels the same. We have holes in territories where we don’t have reps, so we’ll try to fill those gaps, but this is just happening and we’re going to try and make sure to make things as strong as possible moving forward.The very key territories are well served already, but there are areas where Insight doesn’t have reps yet. That will all sort of sort itself out over the coming seasons. We’re not in any rush to make any changes. There are going to be opportunities to leverage things both ways. Insight sales employees will become Black box employees, but Black box employees for Insight.”
Thomas says that Insight’s unique market position and brand identity make it a perfect fit for Black Box, and that he’s excited about the new partnership. “My personal opinion is that Insight is a rad brand, and I think that’s what matters most,” Thomas says. “Approaching this from a pure skate point of view, it’s basically like asking ‘what’s the heart of this brand?’ And when I get down to the heart of the brand, it’s the raw elements and passion behind what it is more so than what category it supports most, whether it be surf, skate, or fashion. It’s so original and raw that I find it inspiring.”

SURF - WARREN SMITH BACK IN THE DAYS

OLD SCHOOL ASR

WOW ! TREASURES !

PENFIELD USA / www.penfieldusa.com

THE ART OF RYAN BERKLEY