L I F E . C U R R E N T L Y . V O L 01 [EFRA]

This guy...

Is in a relationship with this girl...

They just moved into this place...

And every other day he's wearing these shoes. Life...currently.

T H E . E N E R G Y . E S S E N T I A L . M I X T A P E + T H E . B E S T . O F . N*E*R*D

Although this new hippy holiday 4/20 doesn't mean much to me, I had a deadline goal to have thriftcast chapters 18 & 19, both release by that date. I've been a fan of Iman Omari's music since his debut "Energy" embedded the internet in 2011; so I was grateful to have his first (successful) attempt at a mixtape, art directed by The Art of Reuse. The genre bending opus features exclusive new material from Iman and friends, among a few live renditions. Iman Omari's (VIBE)ration LP also drops someday soon.




To squeeze even a fraction of Neptune produced records into an hour long mixtape is challenging. Sid came up with this idea after we had heard Dj Mike Rizzy's seamless transitions on his Best of Timbaland mixtape. With Mike Rizzy being a Virgina native (a place that has birthed folks like Timbaland, Missy, The Clipse, and of course N*E*R*D), and our splash page going live last week, this was just perfect timing. Pharrell's birthday was just, like, two weeks ago, too. Close to an hour of some of N*E*R*D & The Neptunes' best material + some stuff you've never heard or knew was Neptunes produced. Both tapes are the soundtrack to my Spring cleaning, patiently awaiting the inspiring Summer ahead. Only the heads comprehend my Kaws reference in the cover art design, hah. Don't ever say I never gave you nuttin. ☮

NEEDS / W A N T S . A/W 2013 [PREVIEW]

For next season's installment of NEED /W A N T S, I'm drifting away from the made-to-order format and aiming to bring the expanding collection to store fronts. I've still got the varsity among the collection, only this time I've used more heritage leathers like Moose and Bear (pictured below) for the signature inverted left sleeve. I'll be doing a full length (pea coat) style of the varsity as well - its so stupid. This is also your first-hand look at my fish-tail flannel, exaggerated sleeve length for slim fellows (such as myself) who love to layer, with a standard cut length in the front, and an extended tail at the back.

More details and lookbook on the way...Hmmmm, actually I think I'm gonna do some terry cloth cargo pants, too. Why not?

R I C H . K I D D - I ' D . B E . L Y I N G [SINGLE + VIDEO BTS]

Just last week, Rich Kidd released the second single off his much anticipated In My Opinion mixtape entitled "I'd Be Lying". Listen to me, I sound like a junior editor at The Fader. Anyhow, I won't bore you with some long backstory on this, but I've been a Rich Kidd fan for years, so although this project couldn't come at a more perfect time, it was long overdue. Andrew Stephenson, the D.O.P for The Art of Reuse documentary, directed and filmed the video. My job was (Rich's) wardrobe, cover art and documenting behind the scenes of the shoot (photos below). Our approach as far as wardrobe was to give Rich a more refined look; Wings & Horns, Engineered Garments aren't familiar names to most rappers, but when coupled with cashmere toques from Danier and classic Timberland boots which Rich already owned, it puts a more contemporary standard on the appearance of a rap artist. Plus, I've always felt that Rich Kidd's songs are so musical - composed with intricate details that require cohesive visuals that don't undermine his sound. Media giant Pitchfork had this to say about the record:

"I'd Be Lying is rap as therapy, the recording booth acting as a safe space for Kidd to work through his issues, which range from anger problems to the dissolution of a relationship whose expiry date had passed. Over a mutating bed of glitchy synths from Los Angeles producer DJ Dahi, the man behind Kendrick Lamar's "Money Trees", Kidd makes emotional bloodletting sound positively enjoyable. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fucked up," he raps on the song's chorus, "But I'd be dying if I ever lied inside a rhyme." Plenty of rappers are concerned with the problematic concept of authenticity, but Rich Kidd understands that it's being honest to yourself that matters most."

Stand by for the video's release and download Rich Kidd's "In My Opinion" tape here.

T O R O N T O - L I F E . F E A T U R E [SPRING/SUMMER STYLEBOOK]

The crew received honorable mention in Toronto Life's Spring Stylebook issue. Available in the city wherever fine books are sold. #gocopthat

+ We're also the cover story of V I S U A L magazine's premiere issue, I insisted they throw Claudia Stone on the cover.

R E I N V E N T E D [THE ART OF REUSE / I N T E R I M . DIFFERENTIATED]

Since the inception of The Art of Reuse and its sister company Interim, one of the challenges I've faced as a creative director is translating our message and concept through visual conversation with our customers / audience. I've read us described by some as "The Interim Crew", "Interim Reuse Store" and the infamous "Art of Reuse" (quite often “The” is disregarded) misspelling. As time has passed we've evolved into a more contemporary establishment, so now its imperative (especially with the launch of an e-commerce retail space) to clearly define just what it is The Art of Reuse is all about. I've spent the last few days designing our new press kit (below), which I've saved at a lower res for this post but you'll be able to download, share, and read it upon the launch of our new site. It was written by Amanda Dossett and features the photography of The Art of Reuse's usual suspects, Othello Grey & Sid Singh. Simply put, The Art of Reuse is the collective of young minds that came together back in 2010 to create a unique second-hand retail experience now widely known as the Interim Contemporary Thrift Store. Long before Macklemore exposed the boppers to the age old practice of thrifting, we were scouring your local thrift stores, garage sales & community missions for hidden treasure, to then repackage and renew to a generation caught in the vicious cycle of mass consumerism (as we once were).

Travelling across the continent to harness and inspire as Amanda puts it; we used the internet, traditional forms of marketing, and our own retail experiences as a means to spread our message before our decision to station ourselves permanently online. This doesn't disprove our lust for the finer things in taste and luxury, our concept is merely an alternative and an ongoing manifesto of attaining goods in a way that goes against the brainwashing and force-feeding of the powers that be.

A rather minimalistic screen shot of our new retail space Interim Online.

In a recent series of Interim ads, Othello Grey uses his deemed post-neo expressionism to illustrate our current look and feel. We took clothes people consider garbage, and threw them on a runway. We bought old cameras they don't make anymore and shot our own ads, developed our own aesthetic, and documented everything from the very beginning. We've never said don't shop at the mall; we've only boasted that it’s not the only place to shop.

A . S T O R Y . C O N T I N U E S: D O C U M E N T A R Y [TEASER 01]

Along with the launch of Interim Online & The Art of Reuse coffee table book, we've also got a full length documentary coming out this summer. The film is an in-depth look into our process preparing and building our pop up spaces, and most recently, the challenge turned success of our women's fashion presentation in February. No release date confirmed, but you can check out the teaser below.

The official trailer will be out before you can say "thrift".