Production Progress

Last Wednesday called for a quick midweek trip down to Jakarta. As response for the label continues to subtly grow, we've decided to work on more of our sampling and research in Indonesia. It's just that much more convenient and cost-effective with all the help at our disposal.

The A.M:

I first went to visit our space in Jakarta that used to be a manufacturer of mens shirts and ladies blouses. PT. ABJ used to employ about 500 people with several sewing and finishing lines. They produced garments for the likes of Marks & Spencer, Gap, Banana Republic, Eagle Dry Goods, etc. I remember packing goods in boxes to make some extra money back when I was 12. This place took care of a lot of people for 28 solid years.

The factory eventually ran it's course in 2009. Prior to that, overheads had been steadily increasing whilst orders declined. Maintaining the business just didn't make much sense any longer. ABJ closed it's doors in January of this year and paved the way for a new venture; Futsal World.

Futsal World is an indoor soccer space divided into three individual fields. The sidelines are closed off by nets and the ground is made of synthetic grass. The concept is similar to The Cage in Singapore.

Prior to closing down, I was using the facility to do some design and sampling work. Some of you may notice the Sifr Worship shirts in store. The conceptualization and production of that design was done in ABJ. We had to lay out all the fabric to topstitch it in order to create the check pattern. After all the topstitching was done, we then laid out patterns on that specific fabric blanket and cut out all the individual panels. That's how we currently have three variations of the paneled garments in store. Making those shirts was quite labor intensive.

After this factory closed it's doors, we moved all of our sampling and pattern-making to our knitwear manufacturing plant that is further out of Jakarta. PT LLG was featured in one of our previous posts where we introduced several of the people and equipment that we have on our side over there. This is where the rest of my Wednesday was spent.

More on that to follow.....

Worldwide Festival This Weekend!

Looking forward to an action packed weekend! We'll be at the Singapore Art Museum tonight for the Worldwide opening party! We'll also be heading to HOME and Velvet tomorrow for Stereotyp and Todd Terje.

Aithor Throup for C.P. Company: Reapproaching the Goggle Jacket

Taken off BeingHunted

Aitor Throup has designed the 20th Anniversary Edition of C.P. Company's most iconic piece - the Goggle or Mille Miglia Jacket. To celebrate both the past and future of this jacket the company is hosting a special exhibition at their showroom in Milan during the 2009 International Furniture Fair. The exhibition, which has been curated by Aitor Throup, features the new design as well as 20 Mille Miglia jackets selected from the C.P. Company archive.

Trovata sues Forever 21

Been meaning to blog this as soon as I read the article. Over 50 suits in the last 3 years?! I can't deny that the F21 business model is smart but unethical and replicable. Anyways here's a short excerpt from the
article.

After two years of legal wrangling, Trovata’s lawsuit alleging that cheap-chic retailer Forever 21 copied its designs is headed to trial next month, and the outcome could have implications for both vendors and retailers in this age of fast fashion.

Barring a last-minute settlement, lawyers familiar with Forever 21’s extensive litigation history said this would be the first time the rapidly expanding retailer faces a jury that will determine whether it illegally clones other companies’ designs. The result could be a clarification of intellectual property rights in an era when facsimiles of runway looks often appear in multinational specialty chains before a designer’s original version has a chance to hit stores.

Forever 21 is sued by Trovata

Maiden Noir and Wrath Arcane SS09

Wrath Arcane

Wrath Arcane was started on January 3rd, 2006 when Cleveland boutique owner Brian O'Neill called Cleveland designer and long-time friend Sean Bilovecky, and threw around the idea of starting a line of streetwear. They design clothes that both embody this idea and also demonstrate our minimalist approach to contemporary streetwear. Products are also made domestically in the USA for fine quality.

Double Vneck

Details: 100% Cotton Slub Jersey. Raw cut look around the neckline. Detail top stitching on shoulder seams. Straight cut with a slight taper. Off center inner vneck, gives a unique layered look on a single item.
Sizes: xs s m l xl
Made in America

Wrap Vneck

Details: 100% Cotton Slub Jersey. Raw cut look around the neckline. Detail top stitching on shoulder seams. Straight cut with a slight taper. Criss cross wrap along neckline provides an interesting texture and form to the shirt.
Sizes: xs s m l xl
Made in America

Grass Strap Shirt

Details: 100% Cotton yarn dyed gingham. Small button details on the straps that wrap from the back of the shoulders and come around the neck line to form the collars. Interesting and creative approach to construction with collars, having them flow out onto the back of the shirt.
Sizes: xs s m l xl
Made in America

Epaulet Shirt

Details: 100% Cotton in grey check broadcloth and grey small squared yarn dyed gingham. Unique contstruction detail on the back of the shirt, making the yoke “bleed” into the side seam. Button detailing. Front chest pocket. Slight taper towards the bottom of the shirt.
Sizes: xs s m l xl
Made in America

Maiden Noir

Seattle based Maiden Noir was founded by Nin Truong, Eric Green and Toshiyuki Suto, whom all grew up encircled by skateboarding, Metal, design, photography, and design. At the outset, Maiden Noir was founded as a creative outlet; however, in time grew into a celebrated clothing line. Designed in N. America and Japan, the label pays tribute to a heritage of vintage silhouettes with a more refined and clean classic look. All garments are produced in Japan for superb quality.

Landcaster

Details: 100% Cotton poplin madras. Embroidered logo pocket detail. Maiden Noir button detailing. Straight cut shirt, classic silhouette.
Sizes: s m l xl
Made in Japan

Where Eagles Fly

Details: 100% Cotton terry. Silk screened. Maiden Noir logo detail on back neck.
Sizes: s m l xl
Made in Japan

Tiger Pit

Details: 100% Cotton terry. Silk screened. Maiden Noir logo detail on back neck.
Sizes: s m l xl
Made in Japan

Spider

Details: 100% Cotton terry. Silk screened. Maiden Noir logo detail on back neck.
Sizes: s m l xl
Made in Japan

Waves

Details: 100% Cotton terry. Silk screened. Maiden Noir logo detail on back neck.
Sizes: s m l xl
Made in Japan

Shout Out to +65

Would like to key in all you readers out there that haven't made your way over to a fairly new Product / News site, +65, trying to make our local shopping experience that much easier by giving people a heads up on what has dropped and where. Here's a short excerpt off their site,

plussixfive was launched with the aim of being a one-stop news source for Singapore fashion, shopping, retail, design, arts and lifestyle culture as a whole.

We found interest in the diversified styles walking the local streets, and hope to broaden readers horizons about the different fashion and lifestyle products that exist in Singapore.

They're out to help facilitate your shopping experience. Give the site a peep if you like what you see tell your friends about them.

Worldwide Festival TICKET SALES!

Here is some more information on WF!

WF SPECIAL ADVANCE DOUBLE DAY PASS: $90
[Entry to WF Live in the Lion City & WF Beach Weekender]
Click on either the WF Live in the Lion City or WF Beach Weekender links above and you will have the option to choose the double day pass as well. You can also call gatecrash directly to book your ticket at the following number. Phone Booking: +65 6100 2005
tickets available at www.gatecrash.com.sg



9-10 May 2009 WF Beach Weekender (Cafe Del Mar, Siloso Beach, Sentosa)
Gilles Peterson (UK), Jack Beats (UK), Todd Terje (NOR), Mr.V (US), Oveous Maximus (US), Christian Prommer (GER), DJ Kentaro (JPN), The Nextmen (UK), Dorian Concept (AT), Alex From Tokyo (FR), Al Haca (AT), Harmonic 313 (UK), Stereotyp's Ku Bo Project (AT), Lexie Lee (JAM), Lil Monsta (BR), Garfld (FR), Lefto (BE), Vinnie (HK) and the cream of the Singaporean Live & Club scene, Aldrin, Bloco Singapura, Miss Sangeetha ,Cosa Nostra, Pushin'On, Dubwise, Has, Tirso, Mugic, Hook & KFC, Ming, NDC and many more.
CLICK HERE to buy your ticket in advance now: 9-10 May - WF Beach Weekender Adv: $45 At Door: $55
WF Beach Weekender tickets are also available at SingPost outlets, S.A.M Kiosks & The Substation Box Office

Speaking About Mass Customization

I try to refrain from re-posting information that other blogs have already picked up, but I just recently replied to a comment pertaining to the "Co-creation" post with Muji and Lego. A reader asked if this would be the new trend (Mass Customization), and I think Timberland just answered his/her question.



If you want Sperry boat shoes, Bata stocks all the different colors now. I think I will be picking up the blue/white ones fairly soon, since I can't afford some Cedar Crests or Paraboots.

Evernote: Remember Everything

A friend of mine just messaged me the website for this amazing app, Evernote. I'm downloading it as I type this out. I can't really describe how great this application is, just watch the video below and decide for yourselves.

"Do I want to buy this Ninja shirt?"



Hope this makes your life easier!

Thank You!

Truth be told these last 3 weeks are my first real attempt at blogging. I'm trying to up my writing game and thinking about what I can do to bring you(the readers) better content.

To those of you that have taken your time to email us, it really means a lot.

Much Love,

cjf & KIN

Worldwide Festival Club Invasion

Promised I would keep throwing out more info on this great festival.

WORLDWIDE FESTIVAL - CLUB INVASION (Satellite Sessions)
Friday 8 May - Various Club Venues: Club Rules Apply
Besides live music, this year will see the first ever Worldwide Festival Club Invasion. For the very first time, Singapore’s club and music venues are allunified by a common love for a broad variety of Worldwide sounds. Different institutions of the Singapore club faculty come together for the very first time in support of Worldwide Festival. Serving a good example by unifying different individual nightlife operating venues, the Worldwide Festival rings home the message that music can unify for a common cause. Hosting a specific international sound, each club will provide with the right musical environment and overall vibe to truly appreciate the musical offering on display.

From 11pm onwards, witness the heavyweight Austrian Dub sound blaze up the dance floor at Home Club as Stereotyp and Lexie Lee go head to head in a bass heavy excursion.
Over at Velvet Underground, things take on a Euro tip with the champion of disco house re-edits, Norway’s one and only, Todd Terje and French beat merchant Garfld. Meanwhile at Overeasy a brand new French – Belgium connection is forged with broken beats and house music from the likes of Simbad & Lefto. At Zirca, Beni G of Jack Beats fame drops the pressure with his ghetto bass tinged electro while Toshio Matssura will be gracing the decks at Mimolette for a Jazzy/House excursion. Expect a full cycle assault of heavyweight electro anthems and floor filling delights for the young at heart.



WORLDWIDE FESTIVAL CLUB INVASION
DATE: 8 MAY 2009, FRIDAY
TIME: 10H30 - 4H00

Home Club @ 20 Upper Circular Road, B1-01/06 The Riverwalk
STEREOTYP (AT)
CEE from AL HACA (AT)
LEXIE LEE (USA)
Tickets: $25 (incl. 1 drink)

Velvet Underground, Zouk @ 17 Jiak Kim Street
TODD TERJE (NO)
GARFLD (FR)
Tickets: $28 female / $35 male (incl. 2 drinks)

OverEasy @ 01-06, 1 Fullerton Road
SIMBAD (FR)
LEFTO (BE)
Tickets: Free Entry

Mimolette @ 55 Fairway Drive, Singapore 286846
TOSHIO MATSUURA (JP)
Tickets: Guest List / RSVP trybe@mimolette.com.sg

Zirca @ The Cannery, Clark Quay, 3C River Valley Road
Featuring
JACK BEATS (UK)
Tickets: $28 female / $35 male (incl. 2 drinks)

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: gatecrash.com.sg

Worldwide Festival 9 Days and Counting

I'm sure, well I hope I'm sure that everyone is excited for Worldwide! Last years event was a blast and we can only expect this years event to be even crazier. We'll be posting up some information as the days lead up to the festival! For more info on a full lineup click on Gilles's nose below.



7 May 2009 WF Exclusive Opening (Singapore Art Museum)
Gilles Peterson (UK), Taylor Mcferrin live (US), Lefto (BE), Simbad (FR), The Stoned Revivals live & unplugged (SG), Funk Bastard (SG)
7 May - WF Opening Night Advance: $18 At-the-Door: $25
For WF Opening Night Advance Tickets
email: mayalynn@festivalsg.org

8 May 2009 WF Live in the Lion City (ZIRCA)
DJ Kentaro (JPN), Jose James live (US), J.A.M live (Soil & “Pimp” Sessions Trio) (JPN), NovoBloco + Bloco Singapura live (SG), Toshio Matsuura (JPN), Garfld (FR), Cosa Nostra live (SG).
CLICK HERE to buy your ticket in advance now: 8 May - WF Live in the Lion City Adv: $60 At Door: $75
WF Live In The Lion City tickets are also available at SingPost outlets, S.A.M Kiosks & The Substation Box Office

!TASHED

The online presence of Singaporean product, news, lifestyle website/magazines has been minimal considering we've had communities existing for awhile. It's about time someone stepped up to the plate and took it to the next level.

TASHED is an online music and events magazine focused on introducing quality indie, rock, new wave, electro, and pop music with CD reviews, free downloads, mp3s and videos.

I hope you all enjoy the tip if you've already heard, I'll throw you a latepass.

Kohei Nishiyama: Consumer Collaboration

Kohei Nishiyama the head of elephant design is currently working with Lego and Muji to help facilitate "Co-creation", one of Muji's and Lego's next moves in production/marketing. In a nutshell Muji's and Lego's definition of "Co-creation" is that of where the consumer designs a product and depending on how well that product is recieved via internet (through cuusoo) voting it is then produced and the designer recieves a fraction of the revenue from the product they designed. Pretty interesting concept, see the video below.

Funk Bastard: Travellin Mix

Here's a great mix by the Funk Bastard (the other half of the Cosa Nostra collective).

If you dig this mix keep an eye out for him as he'll be playing this coming Saturday at DiscoPark along side Kelly Polar and Knightlife.

Funk Bastard: Travellin

Play list is below, J-Dilla, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and other greats.

D.LEE

Designer Dana Lee, more known for her work with A-Z Collection, has been working on her solo line called D.LEE, for this FW09.




The line projects an contemporary approach to a lot of distinctly Canadian / North American pieces of clothing: varsity jackets to cable knit sweaters to full body long johns. The items in the collection carry a pure vibe where the piece of clothing is what it is. No frills or unnecessary details, just impeccable quality material and construction. Majority of products are made in the USA and Canada, materials are predominantly from Canada. You could almost say that it's a North American Albam, in the sense that almost everything is sourced and produced from the company's base (NY) and the designer's home (Canada).

Can't wait to see the line in person, it's just unfortunate that Singapore doesn't get cold enough, I guess we will have to be patient for SS10.

Do check out her new website, there is a great video installment, D.LEE.

TED: Videos That I Recommend

The two videos featured below are talks given by Stefan Sagmeister, world renowned graphic designer and typographer. The two videos are highly recommended.

I tried embedding the two videos but they end up getting cut off since the content display on this template is only about 400px wide. The links to the videos are below. Enjoy!

Stefan Sagmeister: Yes, design can make you happy

Talks Stefan Sagmeister: Things I have learned in my life so far

This is the list of things he has learned in his life so far:

helping other people helps me
having guts always works out for me
thinking life will be better in the future is stupid. i have to live now
starting a charity is surprisingly easy
being not truthful works against me
everything i do always comes back to me
assuming is stifling
drugs feel great in the beginning and become a drag later on
over time i get used to everything and start taking for granted
money does not make me happy
traveling alone is helpful for a new perspective on life
keeping a diary supports personal development
trying to look good limits my life
material luxuries are best enjoyed in small doses
worrying solves nothing
complaining is silly. either act or forget
actually doing the things I set out to do increases my overall level of satisfaction
everybody thinks they are right
low expectations are a good strategy
whatever I want to explore professionally, its best to try it out for myself first
everybody who is honest is interesting

Remaining Fantastic

Always a good read. One of our favorite publications out there. 

Presentation is always always on point. Go get a subscription.

Vans

New Vans just dropped in store. Patent Croc half-cabs ($139) and era 44's ($129). Small quantities in these so for you that do like texture, try not to pass. 

LA ROUX

I was listening to Sinden spin over this last weekend, dropping a lot of great tracks, the track by La Roux, In for the Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix) remained stuck in my head well after the set was done. She was featured early last year with the song "Quicksand" on Kitsune's Compilation Album #6. Keep an eye out for this electro-pop duo.




Dance by yourself in your room, no one is watching.

TED: Ideas worth spreading

If I could describe it in a few phrases, mentally liberating and inspiring.



Ideas worth spreading.

If you got some time, look at some videos, educate yourself and open up your mind.

Wood Wood SS09 is now in store. The guys from Denmark never fail to live up to expectation. 

Check their visual presentation. Tastefully done:

Marumushi News Map

In today's information age, media in all different forms especially on the internet moves so fluidly if not too fluidly. One way to help keep tabs on the current headlines is the News Map developed by marumushi.com. It enables the viewer to browse current headlines in a visually stimulating manner. Marumushi which is headed by design engineer Marcos Weskamp investigates interaction between the user and informational media. Below is a short description behind the direction of marumushi and the development of the news map.

"Today we are being constantly bombarded with information, be it on the street, on the train, on TV, radio. The Internet is a wonderful communication tool, but day after day we find ourselves constantly dealing with information overload. Today, the internet presents a new challenge, the wide and unregulated distribution of information requires new visual paradigms to organize, simplify and analyze large amounts of data. New user interface challenges are arising to deal with all that overwhelming quantity of information."

Hope this will make your news consumption that much more efficient.

Production

With Sifr in full swing, we thought we'd make the production process a bit more transparent in this very space. Not many others out there care to share with the end user about what goes into creating a product line. This is where we come in.



To quickly provide some brief background info:

The relationship between Sifr and KIN is an interesting one. Not many labels have the opportunity to showcase their produce hot off the press in a setting that already hosts a stable of other fine brands. We are lucky to be able to go through the production process, receive the goods, sell them to KIN and have them display at the store right away. The time lag is greatly reduced so as to ensure continuous progress.

With the consolidation of the retail space, it has now given us the ability to pay a lot more attention to Sifr's production process. A lot has been learned simply through communication with suppliers and associates. One specific associate is a garment manufacturing company run by my family members in Indonesia. They have a facility further out of Jakarta that focuses on production of knitted sleepwear and pajamas/pyjamas. This facility hosts an array of machines that take care of buttons to picot stitches.

They also have their very own Gerber Scientific pattern marker machine. It is very slick piece of equipment and is manned by an equally slick individual. He's been nothing but great help to us. Another great help has been the factory super(woman)visor.



When we design a certain garment, it is usually accompanied by a flat sketch and spec sheet that is sent out to the manufacturer. They then sample the garment and ask us to make comments and provide us with a measurement specification sheet. Filling out the measurement specification sheet or grading is probably the most sensitive part. This is where we gradually expand or contract from the sample size to create an entire size run. As easy as this sounds, it rarely is when in practice as you're trying to accommodate the general population. This is where the Jakarta outfit comes in.

With a combination of experience and technical knowledge, Umesh (Gerber operator) then measures our sample and completes the entire grading process from XS - XL. What would take us a whole day to complete took him a quick 20 minutes. If we were producing at that specific factory, he would then use those measurements to create a whole size run of patterns with help from the Gerber Machine.



This time however, we were there to create size specs as well as work with the factory supervisor to perfect certain prototypes to ready for our manufacturer in China. All this to reduce any margin for error.

Snatch Thieves: Slipmats

He holds down the graphics at the shop, if you like, spread the love and give our man a hand by voting.

Iamakey, itsakey, passkey

Have to love the play with names for LaCie's new thumbdrives they released a little over a month ago(late pass). The ingenious design of using a key mold will hopefully alleviate the problem of misplaced thumbdrives; at least for me it will, otherwise I'm locked out of several spots.

Thanks for the heads up Rich.

Cat Shit One

Don't be decieved by the cute bunnies wielding M4-A1s and the somewhat cute camels touting AK-47s. You'll soon find that in the first few seconds of the trailer this seemingly innocent furry CGI anime is as real as it gets as one of the camels squeezes off a few rounds into a hostage bunny, blood spraying everywhere.

The anime, Cat Shit One, is based on a manga released in the 90s (also known as Apocalypse Meow in the US). The manga is done by Japanese military artist, Motofumi Kobayashi, whose artwork ranges from WWII inspired to alternate history themes.

Can't wait till this comes out, here's an english subbed trailer, enjoy.

Yamaha Tenori-on

This is a video of Little Boots using a Tenori-on. Here is a link to something similar, except its a web version. A snippet from lab.andre-michelle.com's description of the e-instrument, the Tone Matrix.

"Simple sinewave synthesizer triggered by an ordinary 16step sequencer. Each triggered step causes a force on the underlaying wave-map, which makes it more cute.
Based on the AudioTool engine thus no sources, I am sorry.

Press SPACE key to clear."

It's a load of fun, so for those of you that are musically keen, I hope you enjoy this. Thanks for the heads up Kurt.

Timeless Photography

I came across this photography collection the other night. Here is an excerpt from the home page.

Charles Weever Cushman, amateur photographer and Indiana University alumnus, bequeathed approximately 14,500 Kodachrome color slides to his alma mater. The photographs in this collection bridge a thirty-two year span from 1938 to 1969, during which time he extensively documented the United States as well as other countries.

This is why I love the internet so much, you are able to find a gem of a site like the, Charles W. Cusman Photograph Collection, and visually explore a different time dimension.

I have only scratched the surface of this collection. Here are some snippets.

Will post some more links to more photo archives, next time around.

Enjoy.

Pingpong

Here's a little snippet if you haven't already stumbled into our new office upstairs. We do work up there despite what this picture suggests.



Here's a track of something we've been listening to as of late. Phoenix just dropped a new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, this is Liztomania.

Illustrations by A.L.

Here's a preview of some work done by artist and friend, A.L., refreshing and provocative.

Keep your eyes peeled.

Lego: Beautiful Imagination

Found these lego abstractions the other day.
The captions and lego creations speak for themselves.
The imagination is beautiful.

Work is done by artist, Christopher Niemann. You can find his bio after the jump below on his blog.

MORE LEGOS

Wash Bags

How useful do you guys think this washbag is?

Would you use one if you got one?

The washbag is used protect the garment from the ridges in a washing machine and to ensure the item's longevity. A garment washbag would help avoid tears and abrasion on fabric.

I should probably be using one, but maybe I do like my clothes getting roughed up, grabbing some character through the spin cycle and everyday wear.

Current Programme

We've decided to deviate from our music selection and start playing Monocle's weekly radio show. An audio version of one of our favorite, if not our favorite monthly periodical. Here's an excerpt from the site,

"The Monocle Weekly is a mix of smart discussion, previews, field reports and feature interviews. From our studio in London and our bureaux in Tokyo and New York, Monocle's editors focus on the horizon and explore the looming stories within the five areas that define our editorial agenda: global affairs, business, culture, design and consumer culture."

A magazine that encapsulates the modern renaissance man or lady.

We hope you enjoy the change in audio experience at our store and we do urge you to glance and read through their magazine at your nearest good bookstore/news stand.


Playtimes: Monday, Thursday, Saturday ( 2pm - 6pm )
Looping through present and past shows.

The Monocle Weekly

So feel free to come in, sit down and listen with us.