FIVE MINUTES WITH JEFF STAPLE

A week ago, I posted information about the Reed Space HNL pop-up shop. This video explains why Jeff and his team at Staple Design decided to bring books and photos to the Honolulu pop-up shop, instead of the clothing and footwear that can be found at the Reed Space in New York. Thank you, Jeff Staple, for helping keep print media alive!

REED SPACE HNL

I'm not sure how many people in Hawaii read my blog, but I'm gonna post this anyways. Jeff Staple (Staple Design, Reed Space) has teamed up with Interisland Terminal for a special pop-up bookstore at the Waikiki Parc Hotel. Reed Space HNL will offer a selection of books, magazines, independent publications, and if you are familiar with Reed Space NYC, you'll recognize the use of chairs as fixtures in the pop-up shop. It'll be open until August 8, so if you're anywhere near Honolulu, go buy a book!

More info and shop hours here.

Photos courtesy of Staple Design.

WHERE IS DUMA?: NYC TOUR (PART 2)

On my third day in NY, I took a trip to the Boundless and Mishka stores in Brooklyn. Teddy from Boundless showed me around the shop and let me know about the Boundless brand coming out this fall. I'm real excited about that. Where I grew up, my neighborhood skate shop was Pharmacy Boardshop. I felt at home whenever I was there, and I got that same feeling stepping into Boundless.

Boundless is also in the Mtn Dew Green Label Art contest for a piece painted on the wall in front of their shop. The winner of the contest gets their own Mtn Dew can! You can see other shops in the contest and vote (for Boundless!) at Green Label Art.

Mishka is probably one of the coolest brands of all time. Each one of their retail locations (Brooklyn, Echo Park, Tokyo) is unique and are creepy, yet beautiful representations of the brand. Like I said before, I grew up listening to punk, and so did Greg, co-owner of Mishka. It's like streetwear for punks! I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of their Brooklyn location, but you can see more of Mishka on their site. Whenever you get a chance, I highly recommend visiting one of their stores. Oh, and they have a lot of collectible toys too!

Later on that day I went to the Donnis/Kidz in the Hall show at the Apple store in SoHo. Both sets were fresh. I only had one question after the show...why doesn't our Apple store look like that? I might actually buy a MacBook if ours was that dope.

I heard a lot about Cafe Habana months before I came to NY. They have three locations in SoHo, Brooklyn, and Malibu, where they serve a homestyle blend of Cuban and Central Mexican food. Everything about this place is amazing, the food, the people, the atmosphere. The Habana Outpost in Brooklyn is also the first restaurant in New York that is completely solar powered. Until I go back to NY, I'm gonna be making a lot of trips out to Malibu!

This orange cream soda was amazing! I gotta find out where I can get this in Cali!

I found myself going back to the Lower East Side many times during my stay. It's not a coffee shop, but I felt like a regular at Reed Space. After talking to Ted and Nico a few times, Ted predicted I'd move to NY in 2 years, but Nico is giving me 1 year. We'll see, homies.

I don't know how late I am, but I just started collecting Bearbricks. 

I did a project about bridges when I was in 6th grade. Since then, I've always been amazed by the design and architecture of big bridges. This breakfast with a view was not bad.

This is Ronnie. His paintings were really dope. I picked one up. Support your local artists!

I took a train to Central Park to watch Raphael Saadiq and Aloe Blacc at SummerStage. I've been to a lot of music festivals, but this had to be one of the coolest. Everyone was in a good mood, talking, laughing, and happy to be where they were.

And to top off the amazing musical performances, amazing FOOD! These Asiadogs were the best hot dogs I've ever had, especially the Vinh one at the top.

WHERE IS DUMA?: NYC TOUR 2010 (PART 1)

This was my first time visiting New York. I don't think "excited" can even begin to describe how I felt when I got my ticket. I had no clue what I was getting myself into, but the bottom line is, NY exceeded all my expectations. NYC is without a doubt the greatest city I've ever been to. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. This could be due to my camera acting up most of the time I was there...or I was just too busy living.

The flight was pretty smooth. I tried getting some reading done, but I was distracted by my lack of sleep and this Real Madrid - Getafe game, courtesy of Jetblue's personal Directv monitors.

To celebrate my first day in NY, my cousin and her roommate took me to their favorite neighborhood restaurant, Roberta's Pizza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. My first taste of NY pizza was not disappointing. I know the pizza I ordered looks way too healthy, but it tasted great!

My second night in NY was spent in the Lower East Side, at the Staple Design x Oakley 35th Anniversary release party at Reed Space. Ever since I got really into street culture, I've respected and admired everything Jeff Staple and his team have done. Staple's collaboration with Oakley is a great example of design brilliance and their ability to constantly produce quality products. Check Freshness Mag's full recap of the event.

Reed Space was PACKED and it was about 150 degrees inside. No joke.

While making my way out the door for some fresh air, I got a chance to meet and talk with the man himself, Jeff Staple.

Everybody loves free beer! Too bad I don't drink.

Oh, and I thought it couldn't get any better! One of my all-time favorite producers was DJ for the night. Just Blaze!

INSPIRATION

Our senses are constantly absorbing information. Naturally, some information gets blocked out, while others are instilled into our memories. So, no matter what, we are always learning new things. Sometimes the strangest things can inspire me, and other times, it's things that are beyond cool. A perfect example is this episode of Brand RMX by R+I Creative, featuring Jeff Staple, founder and creative director of Staple Design and Reed Space. He has achieved success through perseverance and innovation. If you truly believe in something, anything is possible with the right amount of work and determination. This puts a stamp on it.