A touch of class with Alex of HOMEROOM

We got a chopped it up with Alex of HOMEROOM. He broke down the balance between graphics and cut & sew with a worldly eye.


(hard at work as usual)

You have a strong tailoring back ground on your mothers side of the familly having a generational occupancy in the garment business. Did
you always know that this is what you were going to do?

Growing up I wanted to make money, that was about it. We were so broke. All I ever cared about was having a room that I didn’t have to share with someone. I had fantasies of being a WWF wrestler or a Jet Pilot. In High School I went and took the ASVAB test (which determines your job qualification in the military). My score was high enough to be accepted into the wings program, but unfortunately I didn’t pass my eye exam. So, I went the college route and got a double degree in Finance and Marketing. Through out all this I was always designing and making my own clothes. I never thought of having my own brand. One day the opportunity fell into my lap and homeroom began.

What did your mother do in the garment business?

Mom’s is a “G”. She did everything. A full fledge designer: from illustrations, to pattern making to sewing. She has a great eye for color and always pushed me to be brighter and take more risks. She always said “the world has enough darkness”.

Did you learn from family prodominently of did you take on any formal tautlage?

I don’t feel like I learned formally. From what my mom tells me I used to try to draw clothes onto my stuffed animals with markers, cut off the sleeves on my jackets, and practice threading needles at age 3. Which I guess leads to where im at. So, its been a natural progression I would say. Haha

What do your father do for Adobe, and how nice is he graphically?

My dad worked on the Adobe team from 1996-2000. He was one of the programmers on the Adobe photoshop teams. Graphically he’s a “G” too. His work is amazing in my opinion

Does he ever give you any tips and tricks?

I got Photoshop when I was 12. I started playing with photoshop everyday like it was a video game. I made all my class report’s and presentations on it. I was the only kid in school that knew how to ess with PS. Everyone would hit me up for album, covers and fliers. 8 years later pops was going through my room trying to find shoes that I had borrowed and ran upon my graphic folder. He had no idea that I had been playing with photoshop for 8 years. After that time, he has showed me a million and one things to do with Photoshop. Illustrator though I have learned on my own.

What do you think is more important for a line strong cut and sew or
strong graphics?

Cut and sewn all day. I think that’s a lost art. It near impossible to learn the techniques of sewing now. With graphics any body with dedication and a computer can pick it up. It’s an art the now mostly exists over seas and not in America.

What part of Europe were you born in and what other parts did you
live at?

I was born in Ukraine, I lived in Vienna, Austria, then we moved to Roma and Milano, Italy.

What prompted you to move so much through out EU?

It was a number of things. One of the reasons was my mom Jumping from job to job.

At what age did you move to Brooklyn and how much was it different
from living in EU?

Brooklyn was a SHIT HOLE to me when I first moved. A shit hole that I came to love. I went from playing soccer at 2am in the streets to being home right after school. I went from farmers markets to bodegas, un supervised to supervised, black sand beaches to Manhattan beach, gelato to frozen pops, smiles to frowns, Italian to English, playing sports to watching TV. I had a hard time adjusting. I thought Americans were missing out. Still do.

How would you measure up living in San Francisco to the other spots
that you have been to?

San Francisco for me is the best place to draw creativity from. New York is the best place to get business done and LA is a mix of those. Europe is on the other side of the spectrum in regards to everything.

What sports do you play/ love to watch?

I ride track bikes, snowboard, skate and play soccer. My favorite thing to watch is the Warriors at the Oakland coliseum. Live B-ball is the best

How would you describe your personal taste level and what is the tale
that you wish to tell when you get dressed?

Im all over the place, I dress like my mood. I like to mix and match with textiles. Gauze like loose weaved cottons with nylons; layers. That’s what I’m tasting right now.

Where did you come up with the name HOMEROOM

?
There’s a deep meaning to that, one day I’ll reveal it.

When did you know that you had something worth building upon with
the line?

The day I made a 21 jumpstreet hoodie. The first day I wore it, I was stopped everywhere I went. That day I got stopped by a stylist that gave me my first styling job and a scout for complex magazine. Right there and then I stopped focusing on my financial career and started focusing on what I love to do.

What do you think will be the next evolutionary step of the market as
we see it?

We live in the post-post modern time. Everything shall be reborn again until we come up with a new technology. We are only as creative as our tools let us be.

Drop a jewel for the designer that wants to get a good down and dirty
crash course on garment construction?

The best advise I can give is a story.

Picasso.

A woman was working at a café and saw Picasso come in. She runs up to him and says I love your work, I have been following you for years, and can u please draw something for me.

He says sure no problem. He takes 10 seconds to draw on the napkin, gives the napkin back and says that will be 5000 dollars.

She say’s 5000 dollars? For what? That only took you a second to draw!

Picasso snatches the napkin back and says, “That did not take me seconds to draw…That took me my entire life.”


(peep the HOMEROOM X MIGHTY HEALTHY piece int the back)

tell a friend 2 tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!

the EST according to Mike T

The bEST according to Mike T...

1) tunes on rotation when painting?

Slum Village, Fantastic vol. 2

2) digital painting program?

Corel Painter 9

3) analog paint brushes?

Red Sable 00

4) book read?

"What it is... What it was!"

5) advice from a friend?

You don't have to win every battle to win the war.

6) movie?

The Matrix(first one).

7) project (that shows your full potential)?

Haven't done it yet.

8) way to take in a lazy sunday?

XBox 360 and a sandwich.

9) sunglasses?

John Paul Gautier

10) form of inspiration?

Looking at other artists.

tell a friend to tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!

FAT COP XXL....Texas style (lean not included...)

I had a chance to chat with the creative brains of the brand FATCOP XXL (Phantom and Hek). These two Texans don't pull any punches when explaining why we all need to shoot a cop!!!!

How was it growing up in TX (pros and cons)?

Texas was a lot of fun growing up. For most of my life Houston was the number one drug import city in the US and we took advantage. Also being from Houston as a yungin’ you get the best of both worlds of having exposure to nature while still living in a big city.

Houston is definitely a city to be in what brought you to NY?

During high school we always had our sights set on new york. We went to an advanced arts high school with classmates like Beyonce and Brian Michael Cox and others. Everyone was real serious about their craft. I think about 90% of my graduating class ended up here at one point.

How is the graff scene in Texas?

Haha, the graff scene was cool. Coming up in the mid 90’s there wasn’t too many people to look up to in Houston and there were only a couple of graff mags at the time but there were some real dope writers down there and we were doin our thing. It was a very well rounded scene- everything from bombing to burners.

Are writing on freights more popular then walls and how do the two differ?

Back then we did both. Our yard was right in downtown Houston so its not like that countryside fr8 scene you might be thinking of. I probably painted more fr8’s in Brooklyn than anywhere else now that I think about it.

How often do you go home?

Once or twice a year

Texas has the largest reciprocity with there license to carry. How hard is it to get a license to carry in TX and are you for gun control?

Anyone can have guns in Texas, the license you refer to is for concealed handguns. As long as you got it on the passenger seat in plain sight its legal. Gun Control means using both hands.

Chopped and screwed or crunk and snap music?

What’s crunk and snap? R.I.P Robert Davis aka DJ Screw

How did you and your partners meet and how did you guys come up with FATCOP XXL?

We met in high school and we reunited up in New York a few years later. I was at sva with my boy gage who came up with the name fatcop and did it as school assignment. I really liked the name and after that amadou diallo incident I felt like we had to do it for real.

(our first shirt)

For the most part people want to be entertained and not educated. FATCOP definitely seems to have a message behind it. Could you explain what the message is and the goals you hope to achieve?

I agree, we’re not here to preach, we just wanna make dope fashions and stay true to ourselves and our community.

Are the any other themes that you are planning to explore?

Yea, every collection is gonna have new themes relating to this system that we live in. one theme we wanted to explore this time but didn’t was the idea of surveillance.

What events and/or organization are you affiliated with that carry the theme of your brand?

Check out http://www.myspace.com/peoplesjustice we’re really feelin what they’re about. We also support the Stolen Lives Project which is an ongoing list of all the names and stories of all those who were killed by law enforcement. There’s also this organization we recently came across called Cop Watch

What if any run ins with the police in the past has influenced the brand?

We’ve done dedication tees to the amadou diallo and sean bell murders but every little run in or stories we hear influences us.

Do you think that the police are being policed enough, and truly serving to protect?

We just did a shirt that says “Police the Police” and our motto is “ To Collect & Serve” need I say more?

What is the most haneous police brutality case that you are aware of that got swept under the rug?

The cops have a license to kill and get away with it. I’m not going to say that the murder of one man is worse than another but the details of some accounts definitely seem to stick out and stay with us more that others. My homeboy in high school was shot in the back face down by a cop. The cop was acquitted. R.I.P Travis Allen

How does having your own brand balance with working in the corporate world?

Actually the two go hand in hand. Being a designer for one of the top urban brands I learn a ton and it’s really helped me to grow my own brand.

Drop for the people on some ways that you think they can make an immediate difference in the community?

Shoot a cop.


tell a friend 2 tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!

Fam-Lay drops "Da Beeper Record" ft. Pharrell

A banging video for a banging song. Check out Fam-Lay ft. Pharell in "Da Beeper Record"!!!!


tell a friend 2 tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!

Time flies with Todd from Shmack!!!!

I got a chance to kick it with Todd Askins of Shmack. We chopped it up a bit, check out what he had to say.....

Above pic from left to right Frankie (Shmack head designer), Todd (Shmack), Leland, Chris (both from Garage Works/ Made by Monsters in HK)

What did you want to be when you grew up as a child?
Grew up in the slums of Lynlier, (The hardest upper/middleclass neighborhood in VB) we had to walk to school up hill both ways.

What was it like for you growing up in VA?
It was good. It’s a melting pot of rednecks. Nah, since we have a huge navy base here we get influences from all over. Most of my days after the womb were spent in the back yard on the mini half or at the beach surfing. I was never a team sport dude, so I gravitated to the individual sports.
I was lucky to have that in my life it kept me out of trouble until 12. Then I went on a tirade of court cases, institutions and treatment centers.

How was it to grow up with a pilot as a father?
It was dope. I got to go around the world and see all of the things I read in school. I was a lucky kid until I had my flying privileges revoked when I was 18 for……….(that another story, saving it for my memoirs)
Being able to travel at a young age I was able to broaden my perspective on things. It let me see how lucky we are to live in the USA were anyone can start a tee-shirt brand.
Naw, but my pops was cool father and a great role model. (The smartest guy I know)

What are some of your favorite spots to hang out in VA?
Virginia Steak house. (Best meal in the world
Chicho’s on 22nd and Atlantic; A dude just got killed there the other night? Crazy shit
Her bedroom
Flipper McCoy’s
1st street

What was your major in college and what is your degree?
BA business administration

I remember when you had the little Red Bull truck zipping all over the place. How did you land the Red Bull job?
Fresh from college, my friend hooked it up. Easiest job around. All the people I worked with were funny as hell. I would dip from work for like 3 hours to go surfing, pick up tees form the printers or deliver some Shmack. It gave me tons of freedom to work on my side hustle. Oh and it’s the only job I’ve been fired from. But I got a severance package and unemployment= a Tacoma truck.

How long have you been doing Shmack and where did you get the name?
It’s been around for 5 years now. But Josh Malbon and I started another brand while we lived in D.C. called Haute. We made some shirts and deconstructed jeans but never sold anything. I was trying to finish school and josh was busy selling him self on the corner.
While we were going over names I was in Daytona at the 500 necking out. I called josh to do some Logos or treatments for Smack. In his drug induced state he thought I said Shmack…….And there you have it. We checked the Trademark site and no one had that as a mark. So we stuck with it. Josh is much better now thanks.

How do you feel the brand aesthetic has grown and what differentiates it from other brands?
(The only thing that is constant is change) Man it’s changed from the start. Shmack is a reflection of me and my environment. We try and never reuse the same designs (we do have a few that we run more than once). I know some companies do it often and it helps to reinforce your message to the customer.
For us we just try to keep evolving to keep things interesting.
We always try and give the customer more than they ask for. Some of these companies should be wearing masks, cuz they are robbin people blind. But that was then and this is now. The Hype is over and customers are getting back to there sense. From the start we always wanted to be at a reasonable price point and offer the best fabrics, quality and packaging we could for a fare price. We have to be conscious of this because a good portion of our accounts are skate/surf shops. Most of those type brands are doing dope shit at a reasonable price.
Another thing that separates us from the pack is for the past 2 years we have been making lifestyle products. We started with denim in ’05 then now we make shoes, watches, bags and whatever else that makes sense.

How does VA beach influence your design style?
We have a nice life down here. Yall city folk wouldn’t understand. Lol But for real I have this debate often. We are pretty much by our selves down here and so we don’t have other influence (good or bad). I think by being away from the cities we can percolate on other subject matter. But I will say we don’t have the level of style or fashion the major cities do. We travel often to get perspective. But I love VA and I love the fact that at lunch we go surfing for an hour then come back to the office and grind.

What is your prize pair of kicks in your collection?
A pair of Keds that are painted like the old #43 NASCAR

Who will you be 10 years from now?
Still in my parents house

Drop a jewel for the people that want to start their own brand.
Just start. Everything else will come


Tell a friend to tell a friend so we can BUILD!!!