Met up with D?LeauRean of J Davey last night, courtesy of Chris, to discuss the new collaboration we are working on. Lookout for their kick dropping later this month as well as their show at the Key Club on May 9th..

Then dinner at Yabu on La Cienega, with Tom from JoyRich.

Amazing Sashimi

Come out this weekend.. Amazing deals, good times, free otter pops and O'Doul's!

.. was intense, here are some shots from the Anthem pool. Was able to link up with a solid crew, Giuseppe (LOVA), Jacob (Insight), and Cottrell (JOYRICH) for our 08' debut..

Brandon (B.SON)

TOKS (Hit and RUN)

Jacob

Awash and Brandon (Han Cholo)

JHair, Mr. Motivator, Afrobots

The much anticipated Bape store opened last night on Melrose. In typical Bape style, the opening night came equipped with the entire Glow in the Dark crew, as well as Nigo and Murakami. The store features a thirty foot tall pair of jeans, shoe carousel, and really expensive t-shirts. Meet up with the JoyRich crew and the dudes of Homeroom Clothing to peep the spot.. Thanks to ALVAL of Homeroom for some of the pics and the T.

Lupe and Homeroom

P

Raf by Raf Simons..? I guess now I don't only need every bag he has made with Eastpak but now his shoes as well. And it don't stop.

Saturday night had to have been one of the best parties we've thrown or been to or got weird at. I don't think I've ever experienced anyone inhale a three foot long (blown up) balloon or stick nails the size of pencils into their face and still come out smiling. Thanks to all that came out to support Joy Rich on their Californian expansion.. Be on the look for more events of this caliber coming this summer.

Cyril, Let me kno..

Rico and the Cougar entourage.

UNIF, get crunk brigade

Glenthrown

Payton's Queso Dip x DURKL

These kicks are blowing out faster than Ray Bans at Sunglass Hut.. Hurry up and hop on the train. JOYRICH

7700 Melrose Ave.

Working with space, in relation to design, is never a simple thing to do, but this swiss artists ( Guillaume Reymond ) has taken it to another level. Through classic two dimensional games such as Tetris and Pong, a little creativity, and bunch of extras he was able to create something amazing. Reymond blew me away when I first saw this, so dope.

Tetris: 88 extras 4 1/2 hours of shooting 880 pictures

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0LtUX_6IXY[/youtube]

Pong: 7 extras 2 hours of shooting 277 pictures

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWY0Q_lMFfw[/youtube]

Pole Position: 49 extras 6 hours of shooting 400 pictures

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywqu_8RIDvU[/youtube]

Space Invader: 67 extras 4 hours of shooting 390 pictures

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VczbbiRmDik[/youtube]

Another unusual collaboration between London based designer Julia Hederus for K-Swiss. These kicks are pretty dope especially the hi's. Check her out HERE.

This Thursday Barracuda is doing a fashion, music, and charity party at Shag. Our homie Rico from the Afrobots is performing, come out and support Petey Pablo style.

Coming Soon!

Onitsuka Tiger just launched the first ever shoe vending machine, and to think thought it was cool when I saw beers in vending machines. Unfortunatley it's only temporary and every pair being dispensed is being given away. O. Tiger will be launching it on Carnaby Street in London and after blowing out shoes for about a week it will start touring like the Glow In the Dark tour.

I usually don't care for Adidas kicks, but they surprised me on this one.. The new Adidas Doley, clean and fresh.

Cali is always good to come home to. Back on the grind. After eating Japanese Freshness burger everyday, I had to pay some respect to my true love..

Recap.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=ILR9Qgf1R5E[/youtube]

After a really amazing trip it's time to go home.. I already want to go back, but first the Japanese lessons begin. A special thanks goes to that of Tom (JoyRich), without his hospitality and guidance none of this would have happened. Japan is definitely one of the most inspirational places I've been, the amount of emphasis put on style and fashion over there amazes me.. Tokyo we'll see you soon..

Eric and I went through swatch land before we left ( literally thousands ). Look out for UNIF next season..

This is right about where delirium set in..

LHP featuring Lil Almond

Had to make a few last minute stops..

Also, stopped by Height again.. UNIF and Stampd' coming to Height soon..

This store is dope, if in the Harajuku district stop by Height and buy a DURKL shirt..

Thanks Taka.

And we out.

The other night we went to this art exhibition in the Rappungi Hills. After the MTV Tokyo interview and the overwhelming amount of stylists ( no seriously there are more stylists in Tokyo than people who make clothes ), we decided to call it a night with a little karaoke and raw seafood.

Samurai Air Force One

J Hair exclusive?

Tom dialed me in with a bunch of raw everything.. Here we have shrimp, salmon, goose eggs, octopus, jelly fish, a recipe for any heart attack..

Traditional Japanese style

There is an open mouth syndrome going around my group of friends and I.. It's unstoppable..

Where you from?

Walking around dazed and confused in the Harajuku district with a bag full of stickers. Had to hit up the street wear staples to see what they're not doing different.

Sup....?

So we've set up a make shift showroom at Tom's Art Work head quarters in Tokyo's Harajuku district.. Luckily the language barrier between us and the majority of Tom's employees is working to our advantage, we haven't completely weirded them out yet, they want us to stay!

Rainy weather has kept us inside the majority of the day dialing in the UNIF samples, and finishing up a few pairs of shoes.. The Kiren/Karaoke hangover is wearing off and now its time for meetings with Japanese Woofin magazine and Bingo, Japanese fashionista / buyer of Height store..

Tomoki and Tom

Tomoki searching for the blog.

These guys have every Japanese magazine dating back to the early nineties.. I thought I had a problem with holding on to magazines..

Grind station, Lil Almond business cards? New designers?

Stampd' LA's, Tokyo addition

UNIF, MKN MVZ Summer/Fall 08'

Grustle Fam

Ginze, New karaoke partner and UNIF mascot

New Woofin Magazine, check out Cyril (Cyana Lab)..

Mooshi Mooshi.. After 12 hours of random movies, free Kiren and crammed leg room we made it. Tom was waiting for us at Tokyo's Narita airport and straight to the club we went, haha ( well I mean we dropped off our bags first ). Followed by a long morning of karaoke, swap meet shopping, and freshness burgers..

First thing I saw after getting off the plane.. 'Shuttle Service for main.. what?'

Fall 08' JoyRich lookbook

You have to come to Tokyo to get real Mexican food.. Sapporo vending machines..?

Tom (JoyRich), Eric (UNIF), Taka (Designer behind JoyRich), Tomiko (JoyRich)

Rooftop sunrise over Tokyo

Crunk?

How better to spend a Sunday morning than Karaoke..

So much emotion.. haha

Little man big world

Ok, now it's Monday morning.. Time to get some work done.. Stay tuned.

And I'm out to Tokyo to sell the sh!t out of UNIF and dial in the first Stampd' sample.. Stay on the look for daily posts from the orient..

Cool songs, but I can't tell if the videos scare me or if they're really on point. Click HERE to learn.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVnRzEjpUmE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQF8ep-OJLs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIEOZCcaXzE[/youtube]

Wandering around Pearl art supply this is what you might see. This place is pretty amazing and has a plethora of art supplies. Probably the worst place for me to be with a bunch of cash, and hungover (everything seems to look cool and have a purpose). I walked out carrying rubber cement, neon blue spray paint, and about ten pounds of chalk..

Through the thick and the thin of the custom shoe game we have recently decided to throw in the towel. With the growing trends pointing more towards custom painted hands in the form of animals, we're going to be redirecting our focus. The following are a few pictures of our first prototypes, actually the eagle is my hand ( ever time I type it looks like the eagle is chomping on my keyboard, pretty cool ). Be on the look for a an online hand customizer, and colabs with Paris' CineAqu Aquarium and Tokyo's Ueno Zoo.