http://www.beunequaled.com Be Unequaled - Stand out from the crowd en-us Fashion Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:26:05 -0700 Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:18:50 -0700 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification admin@beunequaled.com admin@beunequaled.com http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/156/ It's been a long while, but the BU Q & A is back, this time with the up and coming label, MadeMe. BU: Was it tough to get started? MM: No it was easy. It’s all came really naturally. It was something I really wanted to do, and whenever I want to do something it never seems hard. BU: If so, is it still tough going? If not, what changed to make it easier? MM: The toughest time is shipping time!! It’s also the most stressful and uninspiring. But once everything is out the door I do feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment. Plus, that’s when I start seeing the MONEYYY so its always a good time. BU: What's been your biggest hurdle so far? MM: I really have to get over not wanting to be the face of the brand. I just want the clothes and the aesthetic to speak for itself. I’m not good at putting myself out there as a spokesperson. But I guess this is America and in the land of P Diddy you have to be like that. BU: The 'streetwear' industry is heavily dominated by male influences. Forum's get aggressive, blogging is repetitive and the hype is ridiculous! What's your take on it all? MM: Yes, the streetwear industry is very male dominated, similar to a lot of industries. Honestly, I don’t pay attention to much of it. I am too busy to go on blogs and forums. I just know what’s going on by being immersed in it everyday. I work at Supreme and I live in the Lower East Side so basically I eat streetwear for breakfast. I actually really like being one of the few girls brands in the land of ‘boy’s’. BU: How did you get involved in 'streetwear'? MM: I began my ‘professional career’ at Umbro working on the Kim Jones collection. While at Umbro I worked with the Supreme Team to do a 2 season Umbro x Supreme collaboration. Then, I got hired on by Supreme as a production manager. BU: The current season has a real 70's influence, any particular reason? MM: It’s really funny to hear what people think of the brand, because I wasn’t going for a 1970’s vibe at all. But now that you mention it I see where you are getting it from, the OP ART print on the leggings and the Miss America 1/2 Top. I think I always have a huge early 1980’s influence. I look to the 1980’s as a period in New York that was really inspiring to me. All of my favorite artists and musicians came out of the Lower East Side in the early 1980’s, Sade, Madonna, Keith Haring, and Maripol. I take a lot of direction from that time period. BU: What else can we expect from this season? MM: All of the Spring 2008 product has shipped to stores, so look out for MadeMe at all the freshest boutiques around the world. There’s a new look on the site, so check out www.mademeclothing.com and cop some of your favorite spring gear. BU: Who is your target audience? MM: I don’t think like that. I only make product that I like, and that I would wear. I strictly produce clothes for me. That’s where the name comes from, and I firmly believe that if always remember that, then MadeMe will always stay relevant. I refuse to make things that I think someone else MIGHT like, or MIGHT buy just for the sake of making extra money. BU: Any plans for a men's branch? MM: No, no plans of doing men’s clothes in the near future. Unless I stop sleeping, since I am really busy at the moment making the brand come to fruition. MadeMe’s whole aesthetic is very masculine so I think it would take away from the vibe. BU: If you collaborate with a male orientated brand, which one(s) would you choose? MM: I don’t see myself doing that, but who knows. If the right opportunity came I would definitely jump at it. BU: Is there a brand you wish did more for women? MM: I actually wear a lot of men’s clothes and I would have to say Dior Homme. But then it wouldn’t be ‘Homme’ anymore would it?? And I don’t think I would like it as much if it was designed specifically for women. BU: What are your ambitions for yourself and for the brand? MM: I am very ambitious. I want MadeMe to keep growing naturally and genuinely (like it has been). I see MadeMe getting bigger and better everyday, I see it in Bloomingdales, I see it at Fred Segal. I want to collaborate with brands, artists and musicians that inspire me and are in alignment with what MadeMe stands for. There are so many things I want to do with MadeMe, its hard for me to answer that question. BU: And finally... what makes MadeMe stand out from the crowd MM: Its well made clothing. It’s women streetwear from an educated and fun perspective. And its really fucking cool. Thanks to EM for the answers to the Q & A! Find out more about MadeMe on our brand page. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:36:30 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/98/ This Q & A comes to you from Be Unequaled via the One Anthem BU: Where, why and when did One Anthem begin? One Anthem: Where: Chino, Ca (Southern Cali) When: The dream started Oct 2005 but it came to came to fruition March 28, 2006 Why: I was always into sneakers and fashion. One of my dreams was to open up a sneaker boutique but too many variables were involved to start one up plus the capital needed is insane. BU: Who or what does One Anthem represent? OA: One Anthem represents the people. Anyone who lives life searching or striving for 1 thing may it be freedom, spirituality, family, a life dream or just searching for your Holy Grail (Sneakers) that is what One Anthem stands for. BU: Where did the name One Anthem come from? OA: A group of friends and I were going to start a clothing line together, but it never came to fruition. I really liked the name and thought it was a perfect fit for what I wanted to create. BU: What made One Anthem go from a thought/ dream to happening for real? OA: I got tired of my day job as a graphic designer for Oakley. Plus, driving all the way out there was just terrible… I guess the positive thing that came out of it was that I met a lot of people and I was able to brainstorm a lot while sitting in traffic. BU: One Anthem is one of a growing number of online only stores, are there any ambitions for a real world store, or have you found the world wide web a good way to reach your customers? OA: Hmmm… online stuff has its good and bad sides but sometimes it's hard to get some of the good brands in because the online shops are getting a little too oversaturated. As far as a "real" physical store, there are a lot of ambitions for it to happen but the timing has to be right. So I guess you will just have to stay tuned. Although, I am excited to say that our showroom will be opening up very soon. BU: What makes a brand worth stocking? OA: As an artist and in a perfect world I look for strong concepts and good graphics but from a business standpoint I also need to bring in brands that people want and labels that have hype behind them. Also, sometimes it’s just intuition. BU: One Anthem has a few underground/unknown brands, what makes you take the plunge to invest in an unknown? OA: Again, it depends on strong concepts and good graphics as well as just having something fresh. Sometimes a lot of designs look the same so I try to stay away from that as much as I can but other times I bring it in cuz of the demand for it. BU: Who is your target audience? OA: Sneakerheads, hip-hop heads, skaters and artists. BU: Corny question, but if you had to choose an artist to sing/write an anthem for One Anthem, who would you like to hook up with? OA: Man this is tough… let me put it this way. I grew up listening to old school hip hop so I would have to get my favorite hip hop group of all time, "A Tribe Called Quest." BUT for the new school I would want Common doing a collaboration with Kanye West. BU: Who would direct and star in the video?! OA: Hype Williams and the star will be me. Lol. BU: and finally... what makes One Anthem really stand out from the crowd? OA: The website is designed from an artistic stand point. Also, I’m very selective in the brands we carry and who we represent. We are not gonna be a website where we will bring in any brands just to have brands in our online shop. A huge thanks to Ritchie at One Anthem! Find out more about One Anthem on our store page. Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:55:44 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/90/ After a week away from the Q & As we're back in business with Urban Industry, a great store from the South Coast of the UK! BU: Where, why and when did Urban Industry begin? Urban Industry: Me and Vicky started Urban Industry back in July 2002, the store opened in November 2002 and we switched live the webstore in May 2003. The store's home is in Eastbourne on the south coast of the United Kingdom. Probably like most store owners we thought our local town could do with some quality street wear! BU: Who or what does Urban Industry represent? UI: We've always wanted Urban Industry to represent the freshest street wear, clothing, sneakers and accessories. The main thing though was that we want to be accessible to people that don't read the latest hype blogs or the right magazines so having premium brands is equally important as having slightly more mainstream brands to tie it all together. BU: Where did the name Urban Industry come from? UI: The idea behind the name is to describe the how taking our pastimes and passions like BMX'ing, skateboarding, graphic design, filming etc etc can be developed into a small business and developed and built like any other big business. I liked the idea that a proper business could come not from going to university and learning about it but from a grass roots approach and from doing what we liked to do. BU: Urban Industry has had a lot of custom graffiti work done to the store, how did that start? UI: We have 3 big windows at the store and when we had a few brands come down to do stock booking appointments it often came up that we could do something cool for the store using the windows. Eastpak stepped up first with German artist Kabe and after that we had Butch from the Attai Press to do the front window. We also got Matt Sewell in to do our changing room doors which look great. BU: Is there anyone else lined up for more? UI: Not presently as we are moving but we have talked to a few brands for future collaborations BU: What do the header graphics on the website represent? UI: nothing too in depth, most of them are cool visuals that some of our brands have produced, we try to keep them fresh and may well do some seasonal banners as we go. BU: What can we expect from Urban Industry in the near and far future? UI: We're right in the middle of the 3rd move in 5 years at the moment. we're the gypsies of the street wear world! We're moving to a much bigger warehouse and shop fitting a destination boutique store into the warehouse itself. We're adding in features like a small kitchen so we can serve customers coffee while they browse the goods. Lots of things in the pipeline including a Hip Hop Mix CD with Evil Ed, an underground UK producer and dj plus we're developing our our label. lots on the go! BU: Urban Industry looks like one of the few stores in the urban/street scene that makes an effort to cater for women, is there a lot of interest? UI: we're re-looking at our womens offering at the moment as in the UK womens fashion is going through a super cheap period where high street stores are pumping out cheaper and cheaper items. We can't compete with the more expensive brands we carry and it seems women aren't that interested in the brand rather the look. BU: Who is your target audience? UI: I think our target audience is anyone who wants something different from their fashion and clothes, any age from 16 - 60. We have one 80 year old that likes Addict records bags and has bought 3 in the past year! We try to appeal to the people out there interested in the off centre, anything out of the mainstream, something that has a story and a background. BU: What word or phrase sums Urban Industry up best? UI: The independent shall inherit the earth. BU: and finally... what makes Urban Industry really stand out from the crowd? UI: Hopefully the design and style that we put into our web store and forthcoming, new shop. The fact that we're not fashion snobs or elitest. we're stocking the cool brands but we're still totally accessible for customers who are long standing street wear buyers or to the person buying their first Stussy t-shirt. Many thanks to Dan at Urban Industry for his help with the Q & A. Find out more about Urban Industry on our store page. Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:54:39 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/83/ This weeks Q & A involves German store jues. BU: What is jues? Jues: Jues is an independent retailer for local and international streetwear BU: Who or what does jues represent? J: Jues represents Düsseldorf-Flingern and everybody who is down with subculture BU: What was the main idea behind jues? J: To offer people in Düsseldorf a nice place where they can stop by, hang out and check out nice garments remote from the usual fasion pap. This local aspect was always and is very important to us. Besides that we do events with artists and brands from time to time. BU: When and where did it all begin? J: It all began back in Summer 2005 BU: What does the future hold for jues? J: If I would tell you, it would not be a suprise anymore. But i can tell you that there will be some killer-collabo stuff! BU: Who or what has been the biggest influence to the store as a whole, or to your running of Jues? J: Jues is the first Job we really can identify with. Everybody needs job to earn money for living. We are in the lucky position to earn money and do the stuff we would do in our freetime and call it a job. BU: The jues online store has launched very recently, was it something that had been planned for sometime? J: Honestly, it never was planned. But it was economically necessary. There are too few people we are able to reach here in Düsseldorf to survive as just an physical store with this kind of specific clothes. BU: Jues is home to a lot of brands, is there any one in particular that your customers seem to prefer? J: No, all brands are sold equally. BU: You currently have a limited edition Adidas shoe, who else should we be looking forward to!? J: As i said, there is a lot to look out for! We have a few very nice thing in the pipeline! BU: Who is your target audience? J: Our target audience is everybody who stops by the store and likes our way of life and selection of streetwear! BU: and finally... what makes jues stand out from the crowd? J: Jues is not just a store, its a community meeting-point. Many thanks to Mirko at jues for his help with the Q & A. Find out more about jues on our store page. Fri, 10 Aug 2007 13:39:47 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/77/ Our seventh Q & A features LA based X-LARGE. BU: What is XLARGE? X-LARGE: XLARGE is a clothing/lifestyle brand based out of LA. BU: Who or what does XLARGE represent? XL: XLARGE represents quality and creative clothes and items. BU: What was the main idea behind XLARGE? XL: It started off as just a retail store. Workman's clothes and deadstock Adidas were the staple of the inventory. That grew to producing clothes under the label XLARGE for hip hop/alternative kids. Back then there really wasn't a thing called "streetwear". XLARGE helped cultivate the market back then to what it is today. BU: When and where did it all begin? XL: XLARGE started in 1991 in the Loz Feliz area of Los Angeles. BU: What's been the biggest influence on XLARGE? XL: LA culture has probably been the biggest influence to XLARGE. Even though it has a following all over America and the world, LA's culture and scene has always been an undercurrent to the way of thinking for this company. BU: How easy it to relate to your audience when you have stores spread across the world? XL: With the internet and blogs and with people traveling from all over the world to our flagship store in LA, it's not as difficult as one may imagine. The world is becoming a smaller and smaller place. We also trust that our reps in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan have their ears to the ground. BU: Does one market get preference or do you try to cater for them all? XL: We listen to suggestions from everyone, but at the end of the day it's Eli's company and he does what is best for XLARGE. BU: Do you have a target audience? XL: The company usually attracts people between the ages of 16-35, urban, artistic, fashion aware individuals. BU:16 years and still going strong... what's your secret?! XL: No secret really. Everyone has to keep to their original standards that they set, but also grow with the times. BU: What does the future hold for XLARGE? Are there any ambitions left to fulfill? XL: We're expecting to continue building with old friends and working on projects with new ones. There is a gallery space in our flagship store dedicated on showcasing the best artists around the world. We recently worked with The London Police, Logan Hicks, Dez Einswell and will work with Tyler Gibney, Andy Howell, Tim Barber and others. BU: What word or phrase sums XLARGE up best? XL: Streetwear is back. BU: and finally... what makes XLARGE stand out from the crowd? XL: I think longevity and being one of the original streetwear brands, but also XLARGE just makes cool clothes that people like to wear even if they're not streetwear kids. Many thanks to Paul at X-LARGE for his help with the Q & A. Find out more about X-LARGE on our brand page. Fri, 3 Aug 2007 11:55:56 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/73/ Our sixth Q & A features Boston based Karmaloop! BU: What is Karmaloop? Greg Selkoe: Karmaloop is a community of style that sells clothing to the global streetwear culture, hard to find and limited edition gear for men and women BU: Who or what does Karmaloop represent? GS: We represent the type A personality, the early adopter, the influencer. The person who cares about having style, these are the people who are DJ's, Musicians, artists, designers, promoters, authors, or people who just like to turn the party out and live life! BU: What was the main idea behind Karmaloop? GS: Karmaloop was created as an alternative were people could find dope gear, people are sick off all the bull shit and conformity at the mall we have lots of stuff you won't be able to find anywhere else, we provide universal reach to the most innovative and flyest gear on the planet, we sell to over 35 countries world wide. With that being said about our quest for the unique, limited, and underground we are not all dogmatic about it we have a few brands on Karmaloop that have made it really big and or are bigger brands like LRG, Artful Dodge, Adidas, Nike we don’t hate on success even if the brand is big if the stays true and are about good design then they make the cut. But we still have the brands on the site that might be one dude grinding out T-shirts in Brooklyn some place that is gonna be the next LRG or Stussy. BU: When and where did it all begin? GS: 2000 in my parents basement in JP Boston MA! Man the stuff we went through to make this happen you wouldn't believe it floods, low money, no money, maxing out credit cards, getting robbed the list keeps going on but we kept believing and kept pushing and we have had amazing customers who have stuck with us and helped spread the word. We have over 15,000 Karmaloop customer Reps around the world that hold it down for us and promote the site When I started the company I had another job I used to pack the orders myself take them on the subway in the morning drop them at the post office and then go into work in a cubical.... BU: How has karma been to Karmaloop? GS: Karma has been damn good, we have had a lot of luck, a lot of help, and a lot good stuff happen to us! BU: The Kazbah couldn't have been an easy thing to put together, what prompted Karmaloop to even think of such a feature for their store? GS: Basically Kazbah is an underground marketplace for the most up and coming underground brands. People kept hitting me up wanting us to carry their brand on Karmaloop like 10 a week, a lot of them were amazing but were to small to carry on the main site so we set up Kazbah selected only the best of the best and let them sell through the site meaning they do all of their own customer service and fulfillment. The response has been crazy! And it feels really good to see some of these brands just coming up killing it, some of them had little or no distribution before Karmaloop now they are global growing like wildfire! People need to check brands like 9 Grand, Beandip, Jeepney, Methods, Gold Coin...these brands got next, these are some talented cats, hustling and building the next LRG's the next OBEY's, I wish I could name them all because they are all dope. BU: Who or what has been the biggest influence to the store as a whole, or to the running of Karmaloop? GS: The customers and all of the staff all the people here from the beginning who never quit never gave up BU: The Karmaloop store has been around for a while now, but in recent years it's gained more and more exposure, how are you guys coping?! GS: Things are cool we are coping and just trying to go with the flow, working long days! BU: What does the immediate future hold for Karmaloop? GS: Karmaloop TV you will see it is going to be amazing! The Karmaloop Ikons programs we have people we think are streetwear Ikons modeling for the site we already have had some huge people sign on DMC, Gym Class Hereos, Common, Jason Lee, Roxy Oxycottontail BU: Where do you see Karmaloop a year, 5 years and 10 years from now? GS: Hopefully still selling gear and making moves BU: What are Karmaloops biggest goals and aspirations as a store or business? GS: Have fun, reach people and have an influence on people and culture, and make money BU: Have you achieved them or are still being worked towards? GS: Yes but hopefully there is more of all three to come! BU: What word or phrase sums Karmaloop up best? GS: bezerkoogearology BU: and finally... what makes Karmaloop stand out from the crowd? GS: We give a shit and love what we do! A huge thanks to Greg Selkoe, CEO of Karmaloop! Find out more about Karmaloop on our store page. Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:04:47 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/65/ Our fifth Q & A courtesy of Be Unequaled's own blogger and forum member Stack Bundles! BU: What is Ques-Clamation? Stack Bundles: Ques-Clamation is a boutique dedicated to bringing the UK and European market a selection of labels that are not as easily or readily accessible as they are elsewhere in the world. The labels that we deal with are also people that we have good relationships with and with them it is more of a friendship situation than a business one, and so we are more willing to go that extra length to accommodate each other than we would be if we were simply a buyer/seller situation. BU: Who or what does Ques-Clamation represent? SB: Individuality, progression and looking better than some shemagh-wearing idiot who gets his style-tips from a Topman mannequin. BU: What was the main idea behind Ques-Clamation? SB: To bring the clothing that myself and my partner desired to our homeland. Customs charges are a pain to the nut-sack so whilst we cater to ourselves, why not cater to everyone else who had the same problems. We also aim to make our side of the pond more aware of the labels that we feel are outstanding and deserve further recognition. We have customers from Japan to Australia to America to Germany and all have been more than impressed with our service and what we bring to them, so we must be doing something right. BU: When and where did it all begin? SB: It started in a Starbucks over a year ago when me and my cousin (Mo Afzal) who is also my partner, were thinking of business ideas together. Basically the office life is tedious enough to lead even the most disciplined to the assault rifle and pump rounds around the area he works in. BU: Who's behind Ques-Clamation? SB: Dean Mirza aka Stack Bundles aka Me and Mo Afzal aka Johnny Wishbone aka Him BU: What else does the future hold for Ques-Clamation? SB: Expansion, serious expansion. We are in the midst of talking to a number of respected labels over in Japan and are hoping to high heavens that we can work out some deals with them. We aim to make Ques-Clamation a haven for the high-end 'street-wear' labels that are now being run by a handful of stores in Europe. A magazine publication is a strong possibility as well as collaborations with some of the labels that we stock. Keep your eyes peeled because Ques-Clamation will soon be spreading like the 'rage virus' and will be right outside your doorstep. BU: Who or what has been the biggest influence to the store as a whole, or to your running of Ques-Clamation? SB: Our biggest influence? Hmm ... Well, this section would not be worth a thing without giving a shout to Tersam, the owner of Wood, Manchester. He has been a huge help to me and Mo, an incredible amount of advice and support has been given to us from this man, and for that, we owe him greatly. Thank you Tee! Now support my good friend also! www.ashopcalledwood.com Also the people who first decided to take a shot with us and believed in what we were doing, Le Messie and Amanda of the False family, the Diamond crew, Tung of Ek5obition and everyone else whom we hold dearly in our contacts list! BU: Who is your target audience? SB: People with money to spend. Simple as that. BU: Can we look forward to a physical store? SB: You certainly can, hopefully in the next year or two, QC will be making its mark in the Manchester streets, and when it happens, you'll know about it. We're not the type to sneak around, when it happens, you'll probably know before we do. BU: What word or phrase sums Ques-Clamation up best? SB: Failure is not an option. BU: and finally... what makes Ques-Clamation stand out from the crowd? SB: Stack Bundles owns it. A big thanks to Stack Bundles of Ques-Clamation for his help with the Q & A. Find out more about Ques-Clamation on our store page. Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:21:05 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/61/ Q & A number 4 is between Be Unequaled and the Washington DC based web store Freshmen! Keep an eye on the Q & A section for more exclusive content! If you'd like to suggest a feature, please let us know and we'll do what we can! BU: Who or what are you? Freshmen: We are a reseller store that carries exclusive clothing like A Bathing Ape, Billionaire Boys Club, Ice Cream, Original Fake, Supreme and make it available to anyone in the world. BU: Who or what does Freshmen represent? F: We represent all of Virginia and its unique style. Virginia is the birth place of such influential people like Pharrell Williams, The Clipse, Fam-lay, Chad Hugo, and Timbaland among others, people who contribute so much to hip-hop and street wear. Our store represents the style and swagger of street wear today which Virginia has contributed heavily to. BU: What was the main idea behind Freshmen? F: We saw the high demand exclusive street wear and because of our location, we have the ability to hook other people up. BU: When and where did it all begin? F: It began in Virginia in early 2007. We had pipe dreams of opening up our own brick and mortar store, which was completely unrealistic. But then we began to research opening up an online store and soon after decided try an e-store. BU: How many people are involved with or behind Freshmen? F: Two people. BU: How would you rate your immediate success and what do you think the future holds? F: We consider it a successful entrepreneurial pursuit since everything we bought in our initial investment sold. As for the future, we have invested in web site design with Virginia based Illusive Media, the same web designers who created Star Trak's website and provide media services for many members of the Star Trak family. We are also focusing on advertising and getting our name out there. BU: How have you found running a store in the early stages? Will it get any easier? F: It was really hard just to get respect (especially pre-Illusive Media), which is understandable, but so frustrating at the same time. People question if you sell real clothes, and the only way to do so is by either respect, which we didn't have, or by letting your merchandise speak for itself. It does get easier though, you just need those initial customers. After that, your name gets out respect follows. It's a cycle. BU: Who is your target audience? F: Everyone on Be Unequaled! BU: Do Freshmen have a favourite brand? F: Yup. BU: If so, which one?! F: A Bathing Ape. BU: What word or phrase sums Freshmen up best? F: “Fresher Than Freshmen”- Benefit BU: and finally... what makes Freshmen stand out from the crowd? F: Freshmen's connections with Illusive Media creates opportunities that no other store has. Since Illusive's clientèle includes members of Star Trak, we have been negotiating deals with Star Trak artists to sell some of the boxes of A Bathing Ape, Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream that they receive straight from Pharrell and Nigo. These deals have immense potential to vastly increase our merchandise size and exclusivity. Also, we take requests for items, for example, if one of our customers has a BBC shirt they are dying to have, we will do what we can to get that shirt in their size as soon as possible. Thanks to the guys at Freshmen for their help with the Q & A, and a thanks to forum member Sarom for sounding out the idea. Find out more about Freshmen on our store page. Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:06:25 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/57/ Presenting our latest Q & A with Shawnimals! Q & A is an ongoing series of interviews/questionnaires with select brands, stores and individuals. If you would like to see a particular feature or would like to feature, please contact us! BU: Who or what does Shawnimals represent? Shawn: At its core, Shawnimals is the characters and the world that are representations of all my creative parts. Video games, movies, comics, toys, etc. from my past all inform and inspire and become what Shawnimals is today. Shawnimals as a company is myself, my wife Jen and a handful of part-time workers. BU: What was the main idea behind Shawnimals? S: An act of selflessness against a very evil being not only tipped the balance of good vs evil in Shawnimaland in favor of good, it also helped create the very first Shawnimal. BU: Why, when and where did it all begin? S: As a company, it all began in my apartment in the middle of Illinois. A town called Normal, believe it not. It was after I quite my job as an editor at Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine, when I went back to college to study painting. I met my wife Jen, and I started making stuffed animals from misshapen characters from my sketchbook. That was back in 2001, and then it really wasn't until 2002 that the company formed. It's one of those things where it just made sense to make stuffed things from my drawings, since at the time I was tired of just drawing and painting things. BU: Will Shawnimals be sticking to what they know or branching out into other areas? S: We have many seeds planted, so expect lots of branching. Vinyls, of course, but other toys, other merchandise, and other very fun, interactive things that we can't yet speak about. BU: What else does the future hold for Shawnimals? S: We hope a lot. The biggest thing is the move from doing everything in-house, to having some of our line manufactured. We're happy that we'll still be producing limited edition lines in-house, but higher production characters (like the pocket ninja and so on) will be made in a factory. We're excited because it will actually allow us to be designers again, instead of manufacturers. BU: Who is your target audience? S: It's a pretty wide range these days, but I'd say our core audience is predominantly female late teens / early 20s, but it expands beyond that, too, and often includes males, and, of course, kids. We're unique in that designer toy collectors dig what we do, but also some mainstream folks like our stuff because it's cute, and weird, and plush. BU: What word or phrase sums Shawnimals up best? S: Cute enough to be lovable, weird enough to be unique BU: What has been Shawnimals' biggest achievement? S: Allowing our business and creative path to evolve naturally. We started a while back, with literally nothing, and slowly but surely grow into what we are. No large sums of capital, no secret trust fund, and no hook ups into the toy industry from mom and pops. Just hard work, learning from mistakes, and trying to stay afloat the whole time. Now with write ups in Entertainment Weekly, New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, ELLEgirl, Seventeen.com and many, many others, I feel like we're at a really good point right now. We have a lot more to do, but we're very happy. BU: Who or what are Shawnimals biggest influences? S: This is also a tough questions, because some are so obvious and others are somewhere deep in the recesses of our minds. I have a ton of respect for Dehara, Bwana Spoons, Devilrobots, Little Friends of Printmaking and many others. Generally though, it's trying to create a character that has some sort of twist. Like it's not just cute for the sake of being cute. There's some sort of neurosis, or some oddball thing about it. Like it might be cute, but it's got a moustache, or it might be throwing up, or it be ugly, but in that way it's pathetic and you want to take care of it. BU: and finally... what makes Shawnimals stand out from the crowd? S:This is tough, too. I mean, as a creative person I want to leave the analysis to the critics and the people who are looking and buying our stuff. I'd like to think it's the odd balance we create between familiarity and weirdness. Like our Ninja. It's simple and direct, but there's something to it that people continue to love. Our Moustachio character. There's a lot of moustache stuff out there, but not like ours... a moustache with a moustache. Ultimately, it's up to people to figure it out though I suppose. Thanks to Shawn of Shawnimals for his help with the Q & A. Fri, 6 Jul 2007 13:32:14 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/52/ Another Q & A this week. Next up is 667. Keep an eye on the Be Unequaled blog for random updates to the Q & A section over the coming weeks. BU: Who or what are you? 667: We are 667 BU: Who or what does 667 represent? 667: 667 is a mindset 667 is a battle call 667 must not believe the hype 667 is one step ahead of the devil 667 is urbanwear for extreme and mobile action BU: What was the main idea behind 667? 667: To print our own t-shirts just for us the Team 667" BU: Why, when and where did it all begin? 667: When 667 started in 1997 we had no clue about the fashion business. Our motivation wasn't to build up a fashion brand; we just played with the idea of how to generate a platform for our complex field of creativity. What we wanted was to create a brand just for us that should appeal to a network of people with different creative thoughts. 667 was born and we started to print the classic 667 t-shirt on a self-built printing machine for a limited number of friends. The founders of 667 were pioneers in their surroundings, bringing streetart to t-shirts just using their own equipment and know-how. Nowadays, you can say that the 667 brand was born out of a tightly knit team of people with a solid background in graphic design, music, acting, filming and classic motor sports. And still the major value of the 667 network is to keep on reaching personal goals with the interdisciplinary help of the network. The slogan "one step ahead of the devil" symbolizes the powerful thought of breaking limits in a very positive way. We play with in the foolish surroundings of devilish thoughts and we live to generate a joyful, powerful and unique lifestyle. 667 is not a typical clothing company, 667 is a street fashion brand with its roots in reading the environment and reflecting it in it's own style. 667 supports different creative projects such as documentary films, movie projects, bands, dj's and ideas which represent a unique style of searching for limits, always being one step ahead… BU: Who is your target audience? 667: People understanding our slogan "one step ahead of the devil" in the right way. BU: What word or phrase sums 667 up best? 667: We are a kind of guardian angel! BU: What does the future hold for 667? 667: We don't know the future but I will ask my crystal ball tomorrow BU: Who or what are your biggest influences? 667: Reading the cities we are traveling to, motors, banksy, our handprinting machine, spraycans, our friends! BU: and finally... what makes 667 stand out from the crowd? 667: Our weapons are the ideas! Thanks to Mirko of 667 for his help with the Q & A. Find out more about 667 on our brand pages. Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:04:54 http://www.beunequaled.com/blogs/posts/50/ Be Unequaled is proud to present Q & A, the Question & Answer session with some of the best brands and stores from around the world! Online, offline or somewhere in between, we will put the questions to them! First up in the series is Threadless.com: BU: Who or what is Threadless all about? T: Threadless is a 24/7/365 t-shirt design contest. Designs are submitted, voted on, and commented upon by Threadless users. BU: Who or what does your Threadless represent? T: MY Threadless? It's a wonderful world of artwork where graphic designers can get recognized for their work, a community can connect, and most importantly, where people can come to buy amazing shirts unavailable anywhere else. BU: What was the main idea behind Threadless? T: See above answer! BU: Why, when and where did it all begin? T: It was started in 2000 by Jacob DeHart and Jake Nickell in Chicago. Jake had won a one-time t-shirt contest held by NMUF in London. The two came up with the idea to create a website built upon that idea. BU: In the past year, a lot of changes have been made to threadless.com, so what else does the future hold for Threadless and skinnyCorp? T: We're opening a physical store here in Chicago in late summer! We have a lot of other new exciting projects in the works that we can't really disclose yet. BU: Who is your target audience? T: Designers, those excited about designers, and those excited about designer t-shirts. BU: What word or phrase sums Threadless up best? T: Community! BU: Do Threadless have a favorite design? If so, which one?! T: That's a tough question, so i'll just say the biggest selling design: Flowers in the Attic BU: and finally... what makes Threadless really stand out from the crowd? T: Our designs are completely community based and every employee here is also a part of that community. We're not just a t-shirt store. It's a place to come and connect! A huge thanks to Bob Nanna of Threadless.com for his help with the Q & A! Find out more about Threadless on our brand pages. Sun, 24 Jun 2007 06:38:46