Style Forum 10 Year Anniversary Showcase and Party

Join us tomorrow May 5th from noon to 8pm at the W Hotel San Francisco for the 10 Year Styleforum Anniversary Party and Showcase.

San Francisco will be well represented with vendors and makers including Tailor/Stitch, Goorin Bros, Jack Knife, Revolver, Brooklyn Circus and other highlights from Men's apparel including Yuketen, Leather Soul and others.

Meet other enthusiasts to love discussing everything from the best wool suits to foot wear to the wear of indigo dyed items over time.

We'll be show casing some of our favorite items from Hixsept, Dillon Montara, Denham the Jeanmaker, Apolis, Metsa Yuketen and other brands we stock and we'll be doing something interactive as well for people to enjoy.

More info @ Style Forum's Anniversary Details Page

We're pleased to share with the world our Summer 2012 Lookbook. We had a great time shooting this in the back roads of Big Sur. Featuring some new brands and classics from our favorites - we hope you like this spring/summer pairing set against a wonderful backdrop of Californian geography.

Download Revolver Summer 2012 Lookbook (PDF)

Black Crane is a gorgeous line created by Momoko Suzuki. Based in Los Angeles, Momo and her husband Alexander Yamaguchi (who has his own line of menswear also available at Revolver) have created a life that is reflected in their designs; beauty, simplicity, a deep appreciation for nature, and elegance reign here. Momoko took the time to answer some questions for us about her processes, influences, and inspirations. 

The 55th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival is underway as I write. If you happen to be a cinephile (we are!) or even just a casual film appreciator, there are selections and programs for everyone. Showcasing everything from narratives to documentaries to avant-garde shorts, the San Francisco International Film Festival is comprehensive in bringing the best films the world over to the San Francisco Bay Area. I had the opportunity to speak with Rachel Rosen, Director of Programming at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and she filled me in on the history of the film festival and some of the many thrilling events included in this year's fest. Swing by Revolver to pick up your SFIFF mini guide.

Garter + Derringer is a premium denim company, owned and operated by brothers Alek and Amaury Esposito. Talk about sibling synergy; Amaury designs and Alek handles the business side. Based in Manhattan, Garter + Derringer is authentically a product of New York City, just like the brothers themselves. I caught up with Alek and Amaury to discover what Garter + Derringer is really about and how these brothers have built a successful line around one of the most difficult garments to make and do right: JEANS.

CAMO is an exciting, fashion forward brand designed in Biella, a town in the Piemonte region of Northern Italy. Locally minded, CAMO sources the finest materials from Italian producers in order to create its beautiful range. At first glance CAMO's designs may seem like strictly menswear, but the pieces are extremely comfortable and versatile, easily incorporated into unisex styling. I was very fortunate to interview CAMO's proprietor and designer, Stefano Ughetti. 

Read on to learn more about Stefano's thoughts and processes regarding his company. 

(All photographs and designs here within are copyright of Julia Lemke- all images copyright ©2012 Julia Lemke / All Rights Reserved)

This entry has been a long time in the making, but I am happy to finally post this interview with photographer (and my dear friend) Manny Dominguez, Jr. Check out Manny's photography and read on to see what he has to say about his craft.

What sparked your interest in photography initially? When did you decide to pursue photography professionally?

I think I got my interest of photography from my parents. Growing up they always had a camera around, my dad and my mom both always took pictures of birthdays and trips, any kind of family get together. My mom would put together albums and I remember always sneaking away to look through them. There was always an interest in those photographs and the moments they captured. People frozen in time. Relatives that were either in Spain or long dead, came to life, and I think all those photographs and albums really sparked my interest in photography. And to this day I still look at those albums and they are a way of connecting to my family and the past and they still inspire my work today.

 

(Source: betog, via lovelustgore)

At the beginning of March I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Shea Parton of Apolis. It would be a grave reduction and plain error to simply call Apolis a clothier. What the people at Apolis have created is much larger and greater in its impact on global good. Read on to learn more about their inspiring vision.

How and when did Apolis begin?

We really started Apolis full time when we moved to Los Angeles in 2007. And it really came together growing up in Santa Barbara, our parents knew that we’d never really be able to appreciate how good Santa Barbara is, so we travelled from an early age. Through all the travelling we did we were expecting a lot of differences; the languages, currency, plug outlets. But we were blown away by all the similarities, everyone has the same desire to really learn and provide for their family. Our parents really had a heart for the nonprofit world and the whole level of really providing for your family was so nice.

There’s the proverb “Teach a man to fish and you provide for a lifetime, but if you give him a fish, you only provide for a day.” We really took that proverb to heart. The more that we saw in the nonprofit world, we noticed that there’s no problem in finding a lot of well trained fishermen. All of these people had the ability to make something or work hard, but they didn’t necessarily have the right bait or a large enough pond, and so we decided to start a business where we would co-design, manage the cooperatives, create a product that is relevant for a wider audience and a stronger market, and really anchor it to the word Apolis, which means “Global Citizen”, because we feel that all people should have equal access to opportunity. So that’s sort of been the way we’ve come to do what we do.

The idea of advocacy through industry is interesting. It places a lot of autonomy and responsibility in the consumer’s hands. Overall, are consumers ready for this? Has this been the experience at Apolis? Do you think your customers are drawn to Apolis because of the advocacy it promotes or is it simply an added bonus?

We think that people today are [more] sophisticated than ever. They expect to know what goes into, and where and how and who is connected to the product they are purchasing, but also people ultimately purchase product that makes them feel good and there’s no way to change that. What we’ve come to cope with in the industry is that if we really want to see change we have to see how consumerism can empower people. If there is a shift, [it should be] in people noticing that anything they purchase can impact someone on the other side of the world. We think it can change a lot, and it can work in any sector of business, it just so happens that we’re in this niche of clothing and textile.

We’ve begun to notice that it has to start with a beautiful product, something that just stands on its own. Our hope with our example of our Advocacy Impact, where we index the progress that we make on a social level each year through our advocacy projects, is that we can be an example of the model making sense [and show] that consumerism has a very significant impact. We are connected to markets that are looking for first world buying power in sight of a very disenfranchised third world. We're in a position where we can bridge these worlds, and that’s the hope with this concept of advocacy through industry.


Have you received any criticisms about Apolis’ consumer-activist approach in terms of whether this type of enlightened capitalism is truly effective?

We’ve come by a book that’s been very beneficial to us. A friend of ours wrote it. [The author's] name is Dan Palotta. The book is called “Uncharitable” and the subtitle is “How Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential”. The whole concept is that the for-profit model focuses on creating sales through advertising and motivating people through dollar signs and the nonprofit world creates revenue through begging and motivates people through guilt. It’s a really stark, extreme contrast.

First off, from just a consumer perspective, it’s hard to see [the for-profit world and nonprofit world] work in a sense of partnership but what we’ve notice that if you stay on the traditional model of nonprofit creating change, you’ll see some sort of change in these worldwide epidemics 50 to 100 years from now, but if you responsibly adopt free market capitalism, within what Bill Gates calls “creative capitalism”, you can see change five to ten years from now. Dan Palotta explains this through high level research in his book. 

Textile and garment manufacturing, if you look throughout the developing world, it’s the first step on the ladder of development. The ladder of progress within these developing countries begins with providing jobs, from the grower to the sewer, so we’ve seen that this industry that we’re in and how we’re responsibly adopting free market capitalism is allowing us impact on a couple different levels that we feel is significant. We do receive criticism and that’s not something we’re concerned about, we think it’s par for the course, but we’re grateful to be doing what we love and learning a ton and always wanting to being challenged so we can be better. It’s been very exciting and challenging.

Can you tell us some about past Apolis projects and how they have benefitted communities?

We’ve worked with an Ugandan mill in Jinja, Uganda, Northern Uganda, and we’ve utilized seven farmers’ entire annual yield of cotton with the manufacturing of the Philanthropist Briefcase. We’ve sold 700 units of the Philanthropist Briefcase.

We’ve worked with a women’s cooperative in Bangladesh. Starting off we had about five women working at the cooperative, and today, with over 4000 units of the Market Bag, we’re able to employ twenty-one women. And it’s all broken down in our advocacy impact with time frames that they’ve been employed. Overall the product has been an outlet for their employment and it’s a pretty straightforward level of how it impacts people. What we’ve been blown away by, specifically in Bangladesh, is that when you empower leaders, they will get it. They understand that to build a profit, they take care of their employees and they do it with a level of leadership that is amazing. It is amazing how much more productive it is than just giving them a portion of the proceeds and putting together some guidelines for how they need to spend it. A tangible way that that’s been real in Bangladesh is the general manager, who has been our contact for the last few years, is taking the profit from the project and investing in his community; with education, providing school supplies, and with taking care of the female artisans. He’s come to us to help him invest in his infrastructure, because we’ve gotten to the point where we’re outgrowing his infrastructure. To keep up with our demand we’ve created our Defend Tomorrow initiative that’s allowed us to train twenty women every six months. That’s allowed us to not have to outsource any of the manufacturing of the Market Bag and it allows us to keep it all in Bangladesh with the same cooperative. We’re able to scale with the project and give the co-op the security of a long-term partnership. That’s what we feel is the most beneficial.

I’ve noticed that many of the Apolis projects have made efforts to directly support women in the communities where they are taking place. It seems to be a larger (and, in my opinion, positive) trend within the world of micro loan/financing in the developing world. Why is it important to Apolis to support projects that involve women?

Statistically, whether anyone wants to argue with this or not, women in developing countries are much more responsible. They have the burden of children that they’ve often raised on their own and they are the least selfish population out of the developing world. They have an incredible track record of putting any money into raising their kids. Men in the developing world often have a track record of laziness, gambling, traits that are true to stereotype. We haven’t sought after women cooperatives; it just happens to be the case that the people that have been proactive about finding jobs that sustain their families and jobs that have longevity are women. And it’s often in these cooperative-type environments where they have a dividend that’s to their name, they have a level of real ownership, and this team effort in creating a social enterprise. So it’s totally coincidental, but a lot of the cooperatives we work with are primarily female. But it’s definitely also a part of the statistics on building an economy of women being steadier leaders. 
I was just reading in the journal section of your website about your most recent project in Honduras. Please tell us more about this venture/adventure.

Ultimately what our big picture goal is for these expeditions that we do is to kind of twofold: we want to document the making of our product to really be able to connect it to the people who own the product, and do that in a way that is engaging and entertaining. We want to make sure that it’s not just a sociographic, stale document of what’s going on. In that level of documenting the project, we see an incredible opportunity in promoting tourism. We feel that that is the X-factor for a lot of these developing economies to really get their industry off the ground.

So the first expedition we did was in Nepal. We had the Prime Minister of Civilization & Tourism promote the film and give us a great quote that allowed us to get [in touch with] a lot of the people we met on the film. It continues to be a strong tool for specifically Kathmandu and we’ve notice that there’s been a higher level of how we can impact these developing economies outside of the specific products that we’ve produced. We’re very long-term minded as far as the scale, as far as Apolis will be a small, extended brand. This level of documenting the country allows us to be a little bit more aggressive on short term impact, as well as the advocacy side being something that we’re excited about, something that is significant in our eyes. It’s trying to make sure that we can do as much as possible, that our gift of how we love to travel has been a roof over what we do.

In Honduras in particular, we came across a long-term friend that went to Honduras to expand his career in medicine, specifically as a doctor, and came across some locals that were in need in this little city of Siguatepeque. He built a hospital that’s incredible, it looks like it’s out of the States. It’s amazing and a great resource for the local people in this part of Honduras. What they’ve noticed is that they’re lacking resources and they were very dependent on charity so they’ve created a coffee farm as a goal of maintaining funding for the hospital. Honduras yields really strong and super coffees which they export to the States. Fourteen years ago is when they developed the coffee farm. To date, [the coffee’s] been really neglected as far as the packaging and flavor [are concerned] so we were approached to come down with one of their close friends who is one of the founders of a coffee company in Los Angeles to develop a different kind of overall packaging and flavor, to update it and make it more sought after to improve their output. 
Also, through this project, we were able to visit a shirting factory that is in Choloma, near the airport. We were able to tour our shirting factory where we make all our Oxfords. That was all built around a trekking expedition that began, like I shared earlier, to create an impact in the hope of people not reading into the headlines of things going on in Honduras that make it seem like a place to avoid as far as travel. Due to the 2012 Mayan Calendar, tourism [to the Mayan ruins] is up 200 percent and that’s been something we’ve wanted to document so we trekked the Mayan ruins and we sailed the coastline and we put way too many miles on our little rental van. It was really an exceptional showcase of what a beautiful country Honduras is. That continues to be the goal for our upcoming expeditions (and our past expeditions in Vietnam and Nepal.)
Do you have any future expeditions planned or is that top secret information?

SInce we’ve taken ourselves out of the traditional fashion calendar (we don’t produce products six months in advance to preview, we produce product and release it when it’s ready), we’ve taken the same strategy with all content so we can fine tune it to the final hour.  


The photographs of your space in Los Angeles are amazing. Where and how does Apolis fit in in the Los Angeles landscape?

We felt there was no need for a new store. Brick and mortars are a really, really difficult sector of retail right now because people are so lacking in disposable time. The whole thought of getting in the car, sitting in traffic, finding the parking spot, taking off your clothes, trying on clothes, putting your clothes back on, buying something, taking it home to realize you don’t like, just to take it back to the shop and go through all that heartache again and then get store credit... There’s so much to be said about online shopping being much more practical and so much more efficient for people today. So when we entertained the idea of a brick and mortar we wanted to make sure it could serve a larger purpose for what we consider a cultural embassy for global citizens. And wanting to do that with a relevant intention for a regional purpose.

Our office is located in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles, so starting our first brick and mortar store we thought a real relevant concept would be gallery, but to do it with the goal of hosting keynote speakers, releasing films, having a photo gallery for inspirational photo journalists, creating a good place to host people for dinner parties, etc. A lot of events revolve around our LA artwalk. It was designed with the intention that nothing is fixed; it’s all floating walls so we can change the space at any moment, there’s no shelves affixed to any walls, it’s all kind of rolling and really mobile to allow [the space] a lot of flexibility. That’s what we’ve started with in Los Angeles and we’re constantly improving upon it and learn from it before we open up our next store. 

Scenes from the Common Gallery, Apolis' brick and mortar in the Arts District of Los Angeles

Are there plans for opening the next store? Will it be in Los Angeles or in a new location?

We are. It will be in a new location.

Apolis has had many high profile collaborations with other clothing brands (Patagonia, Sierra Designs, Steven Allen, to name a few.) Why is collaboration important to Apolis? Has it always been a part of the Apolis ethos? Has it helped promote new ideas or changed the way Apolis has gone about doing things?

We’ve built our collections, or rather, assortments, around these four categories; the first being Standard Issue, over sixty percent of this assortment consist of American-made products, based around Americana style. The second category is Collection and it’s international product that is based off of handcrafted goods, from suiting to cashmere cardigans, etc. The third is Transit Issue, which includes the goal of equipping and empowering global citizens. Empowering is within the Advocacy realm and equipping is within this Transit Issue realm, where on these expeditions we’ve wanted to create the most durable and travel-ready product, to stand up to the moment and be travel-friendly. The fourth is Uniform, where we’ve commissioned brands that we feel are the best in their respective competencies. 

We went to Filson to create what we consider the best briefcase. We went to Patagonia to create the best windbreaker for our expedition to Vietnam. We’ve reached out to these companies because we’ve been blown away by their standard for excellence. We don’t have the desire to recreate what they’ve done or compete with them, but rather partner with them in the form of our category of Apolis Uniform. That’s been the overall concept of collaboration for us. It’s worked in our favor to be able to reach people and it's allowed us some street cred. It’s been an absolute privilege to work with these companies who have taught us what it means to consider standards of quality and taking care of workers and everything in between. It’s allowed us to get an education beyond our years.

Revolver is a proud stockist of Apolis Global designs. Visit us to view their wares in person.

Recently I had the pleasure of catching up with David Hoole of Frost River, supplier of gorgeous and durable camping goods and packs. Based out of Duluth, Minnesota, the folks at Frost River make shoulder bags, canoe packs, bike bags, backpacks, briefcases, luggage, hunting and fishing cases out of tin-cloth, an extra strong waxed cotton canvas that ages beautifully. All bags are assembled by hand at Frost River headquarters which also supports a storefront. Visitors are able to take a peak at the production happening in the very same place. 

How long has Frost River been around? How and when did the company start?

SAWA Shoes, beautiful sneakers, carried at Revolver, are created entirely in Africa, from design concept to fabrication.  Clean and vintage look and feel. These shoes are so much more than just a boss pair of sneakers. Medhi Slimani, co-founder of SAWA, has taken the time to answer a few questions for Revolver, and his answers have us super excited and hungry to see more from SAWA in the future. 

First off, we love your "About Us" section on your website, including the video and accompanying animations. You make a very clear and definitive statement that you are not a charity or fair trade brand, but you are, in fact, an activist brand. Your shoes are made in Africa with materials sourced in Ethiopia. By creating an entirely African-made product you are adding value to the continent and working towards changing misconceptions of Africa. This might sounds like a lofty goal to some. When and how did this vision come about? And why shoes as opposed to some other product?

The SAWA project was created in 2009. The idea consists of combining 2 passions : shoes and Africa. We took the bet to have the courage of our opinion: let’s use Africa to sell our shoes but let’s do it honestly by producing our shoes there. The idea was to produce there so that all the added value would benefit Africa. Sure, this project seems lofty but we were convinced that it would be soul-rewarding and could trigger a strong interest from the market. When we were looking for money to finance the project, most of the banks considered it as an impossible project. I remember the banker telling me “If it was possible to make shoes in Africa, the all footwear industry would be there.”

Where does your design inspiration come from? 

If you go around in any African capital (Dakar, Yaoundé, Abidjan, etc.), your attention will be caught by what people are wearing: for sure you will see one guy wearing an authentic vintage “Le Coq Sportif” sneaker that your father used to wear 20 years ago, one guy wearing a “Moncler “ down jacket from the first collections of the brand, and I am convinced that the all “Ralph Lauren Polo”  archive from the past 20 years can be found in Africa.  In Africa, there is a huge business of second hand clothes which are bought from Europe and USA. So Africa has gathered tons of vintage apparel and footwear. African capitals are really vintage fashion museums… We tried to catch this vintage attitude to design our shoes.

Do you feel that Africa is reflected in the design of SAWA shoes? (Despite the obvious, we particularly love the "Made in Africa" stamp on sole, or maybe it should be "soul", of the shoes.) Do you feel you are creating a distinctly African product?

I tried to define what is exactly an African product. Is a last generation of smartphone “made in Africa” an African product ? Is a traditional tam-tam “made in the USA” an African product? Must an African product to be made of eben wood, wax textile, etc?

For me an African product is a product made in Africa. Industrially speaking our shoe is an African product. Fashion wise, I still think that it is an African product because I do not limit African products to ethnical fashion.

Do you feel your vision and designs have been received differently by the different communities in which they are debuted? Is the response different in Africa versus Europe versus the United States?

A lot of European countries used to have a colonial empire within Africa and continue to benefit from the African immigration during different phases of economic growth. USA has an African side thanks to the afro-american community.  Asia never had an African colonial empire and as far as I know there is no afro-asian community there.  

Today Asia is the region where we make the most of our sales. What does it mean? Does this confirm the  precursor power status of asian consumers? Does it mean that we achieve our objectif to be a fashion brand before being an African brand? Does Africa trigger more things in Asia?

At the end of the day, I just tell to myself that I should stop trying to make philosophy and just focus on the next collection (laughs).

                   

Have your designs been swept up by the world of sneaker collectors? With SAWA's clean and vintage-inspired designs, I can easily see Sneaker Freaker followers going crazy over the shoes! Is the sneaker-collecting demographic a market you have aimed for?

I know the Sneaker Freaker community in France and I am not sure they are going to go crazy for our shoes. I mean sometimes French sneaker freakers totally miss the evolution of the footwear market. Do they care about a shoe that can be eco-friendly? Do they care about a shoe that can be an activist statement? Do they care about a shoe that is fair trade?

Sometimes I even tell myself that if Phil Knight had created Nike today in France, the current French sneaker freaker community would have laughed at his Cortez which was just a copy of an Onitsuga Tiger.

On the other hand, we received a warm welcome from the Sneaker Freaker team of Hypebeast.com who always has kind words for us. 

I read in another interview that SAWA is an action towards something, not a reaction against something else, meaning that you did not pursue an African-made shoe in response to the abundance of Chinese-made products, or, for that matter, any product created in any other place. Is it difficult to have to explain the political or activist roots of the brand? It seems like you are coming from a much more positivist vision of what creating a local product means as opposed to a reactionary point of view.

Once we explain the activist roots of SAWA, things are quite clear. But without explanations people tend to think that SAWA project is the embassy of the people against “Made in Asia” products or people against the big footwear companies.  I have not created SAWA listening to “FIGHT THE POWER” from Public Enemy. In other words, SAWA is just a fashion brand which took the bet to create a normal business with Africa. We just side with Africa and Fashion.

What's next for SAWA? We'd love to hear about your inspiration, goals and dreams.

We are now working on the next collection and we would like to introduce 2 colors specially for women in a framework of a project that we called “United Industry of Africa”. In this project we will work with suppliers specialized in jewelry and traditional textile.

In the long term I wish SAWA to be successful enough to bring enough business in Africa.

                   

(All photographs here within are from SAWA Shoes' Lookbook shot in Addis Ababa.)

Universal in its appeal, revered for its illustrious beauty, held in highest regards of its value, so much so that it's created a standard: GOLD. All of us want it and many have died for it. Did you know that the gold rush is in many ways responsible for establishing California and the city of San Francisco? Of course, we may have learned this in grade school History lessons, but today I felt the need to brush up on the lore of gold in our distant past. According to its wikipedia entry, the population of San Francisco grew from around 200 residents to roughly 36,000 in six short years as a result of gold mining prospectors and the business needed to support this boomtown industry. 

In the spirit of '49, I feel it appropriate to share some images of the rough and tumble miners juxtaposed with some more contemporary images of gold's seduction:

Recently I had the honor of interviewing the supremely talented photographer Eric Kvatek for Revolver and he was ever so gracious to answer some questions about his career, motivations, and the way he goes about crafting his arresting and beautiful photos. Eric has worked for such prominent brands as Kapital, 45rpm, and Free People, amongst many more illustrious labels, while also cultivating a body of personal work that is dynamic and evidence of a life of adventure.

My grandfather Kvatek was an avid amateur photographer. He took photos all through his service in World War II and I discovered his war photos when I was in High School. I saved up $200 and ran out and bought an SLR camera. 

I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when I was 19 years old. I taught myself photography by just walking up and down Central Avenue. It was chock full of drifters, prostitutes and gang members. For some reason they were mostly fine with me shooting them. Back then only sailors, bikers and criminals had tattoos. I had tattoos and they probably just figured I was one of their own?

After seeing Full Metal Jacket I wanted to be a photojournalist. I started going to places I thought were gritty. Mexico, Cambodia and Indonesia etc… places that I could afford to go on my own.

My university degree is in drawing. But I realized photography would allow me to travel and have adventures. That's the reason I have pursued it as a career.

 

Men in Joshua Tree 

Eventually a good friend of mine showed Mr. Takahashi, the president of 45rpm, my Indonesia photos. He asked me to shoot 45rpm fashion photos in my reportage style. They assigned a young designer to work with me on the shoots. That designer was Kiro Hirata who is now the designer for Kapital. So one thing leads to another… sometimes. 

             

Left: Masai men, Africa, Right: Thai Boxer

I'm happy that my photos influence or inspire people. I have heard similar stories from people that work at some big brands... 

I grew up with stories from Depression era grandfathers. My father was a kind of rebel and a drag racer. My mother rode motorcycles. I worked on farms as a kid and I worked in Alaska in the fishing industry. I have ridden motorcycles since I was 9 years old. I bought my first car, a 1950 Plymouth, when I was 12 years old. 

So I consider myself lucky to have the stories from my family to inspire me and my own personal experiences for ideas. 

I can't believe you bought a car when you were 12!!! That is WILD!

I lived in Georgia on a dirt road in. So driving it was not a problem. It cost $150. My brother and I sold aluminum cans we collected to pay for it.

                   

I use Canon digital cameras and old Nikon and Contax film cameras. But there are new cameras from Sony and Fujifilm that look interesting.  

If the iPhone allows people constant access to a camera and the apps and social sites help to excite people about their photos (and their lives) then that's obviously a good thing. Like all machines and tools, it has advantages and limitations. But I would never want it to be the only camera I have with me.

However, if people are standing around messing with their iPhones instead of actually doing their jobs or interacting with their friends… well obviously, that's bad.

Found models, Morocco

One of the things we find intriguing about your work is that you've used nontraditional models in many shoots; older or younger models, or non-model-ly (is that a word??) models. Do you decide upon the models you work with for a particular shoot? Was this a conscious or political choice and what has been the response to this? 

Well that started with the idea to shoot fashion photos in a reportage style for 45rpm and then later for Kapital. So we needed to use people that were really fishermen or were really ranch hands. 

I personally spend a lot of time finding these characters. Finding the right people is very difficult. Like casting for a film. The individual people have to be interesting but then the entire cast has to make sense as a whole. I like to think that I have some talent in this regards.

I see a lot of stuff now that uses found people, store staff, etc. as models and well, it's not always so good. Just because a guy has a beard doesn't make him a lumberjack or a good fake lumberjack. 

But basically, I like shooting people. Many of them are found and some are experienced models and I am interested in the ways they interact and can be portrayed as an interesting cohesive ensemble.

                   

Left: Photographer's father, Right: Found man, Australia

I have one last question. Since the theme of this blog is inspiration and who and what keeps us motivated, who or what inspires or motivates you? 

My favorite photographers are Dorthea Lange and Larry Burrows. I am inspired by the films of Terrence Malick and the novels of Cormac McCarthy. But all of that's probably fairly obvious. 

100 year old woman, Iceland

(All photographs here within are copyright of Eric Kvatek- © Eric Kvatek. All rights reserved.)

Can you even handle how cute these vintage Valentines are?

 

It's true, dear hearts, no matter how busy we are, we shall never forget you! 

xoxo With love from all of us at Revolver oxox

Waxed canvas - the rainforest is no match for you!

It has been an incredibly unusual winter in San Francisco, mirroring reports of strange weather phenomena the world over. There's been an abundance of mild, sunny days and virtually little of the typical wind and rain. But seasonal confusion seems to be no new trend amongst San Franciscan locals. How often have you overheard someone announce how chilly it is, just to hear the next person remark how delightfully warm the weather's been? Or maybe you've spotted someone walking down the street wearing both a parka and flip flops. It's not uncommon and makes for good jokes, like our favorite line in the Coffee Wars video: "Many of us have been forced to purchase... socks."

Most alarmingly, the peculiar winter weather seems to have had the greatest effect on the flora of our fair city, especially the many cherry trees that provide shade, carbon sequestration, and beauty.

 

Take, for example, this photograph of cherry blossoms snapped this past Sunday in Bernal Heights!

Or this photo of cherry trees in full bloom along 4th Street in SoMA:

The tiny burst of color these blossoms yield offers us levity and a moment to reflect upon the beauty of their place in our landscape as we wait out the equinox and the added hours of daylight. Although it doesn't normally happen until April, it seems appropriate that we might throw an impromptu Sakura party. What better reason to drink sake under a cherry tree and appreciate mono no aware, the ephemeral nature of life and the temporal beauty of the blossoms.

Today is the 6th, which places us firmly into the month of February and the year 2012. This is the point in the year where many of us have forgotten any inklings of New Year resolutions and resorted to old habits. If you're like me perhaps you need a reminder or some inspiration to make good on those promises we resolved on January 1st. For example:

 

These are the resolutions of the great folk singer Woody Guthrie, penned on the cusp of 1942, complete with illustrations. A solid first step to accomplishing any goal is to write it down, making it concrete as opposed to letting it hang in the ether of our minds. All resolutions are important and take effort, be them simple or weighty. In the instance of Woody's list, I might have ranked HELP WIN WAR- BEAT FASCISM (27) a higher priority than WASH TEETH IF ANY (3), but they say the personal is political. The second best step to following through with resolutions is to make a plan. Break up a big goal into smaller, more easily accomplished steps. And it's essential that we don't become discouraged when our resolutions aren't met as quickly as we'd hoped. Like Woody resolved for 1942, we have to WAKE UP AND FIGHT (33) for what we want and what we love each and every day. 

 

We here at Revolver resolve to continue providing you with beautiful, quality items and articles of inspiration for the year 2012 and beyond.

Revolver loves the natural qualities of denim and we're always excited about new people doing new things in San Francisco with this line. Paying homage to the big guys LEVIS and moving things forward in their own way. 

JackKnife is a new denim brand based out of San Francisco. We sat down with the guys behind the new line to see where things are headed and why they are different.

Tell us about the birth of JackKnife? 

Jack/Knife for Nick and I has been a evolution of sorts. In the experimental days of college we got it in our heads that most people in modern society are spectators of life and we wanted to participate instead. I can’t remember an exact date and time, but there was definitely a moment that both of us can distinctly remember when we first had the thought of “let’s just do it.” The next week we bought a motorcycle that wasn’t running, and a cheap little home sewing machine from the local shop. We wanted to rebuild the bike, and start sewing our own clothes. Everyone told us we had gone crazy. Somehow we got the bike started that night, but it took us a little while to learn the ropes on the sewing machine.  No one seemed to know how to teach us to sew, so we had to teach ourselves. The first thing we learned to make was a four-fold tie, which we didn’t know at the time is actually very complicated sewing. It took months to figure out but we muscled through the frustration. 

After that came bandannas to tie around our face on dusty rides through the back country roads on the motorcycles. Bags came around to carry our tools, heavy selvedge denim jeans were first made so we could ride motorcycles in pants that wouldn’t rip, and it has grown from there. Now we operate in a work studio in the old garment district of San Francisco. We take pride in doing everything ourselves. These days there are very few operations left that design, draft patterns, and construct all in house like we do at Jack/Knife. We are growing everyday and there is a lot to look forward to in the future.



Why start with Denim - one of the more complicated pieces of apparel to make? 

When Nick and i first started working with selvedge denim fabrics we had no idea that jeans were considered complicated. All we knew at the time is we needed to buy industrial grade machines to handle the sewing of heavy denim. The great thing about our mindset, especially with Nick, is we never like to start a project thinking about obstacles. We like to be challenged. There definitely was about a year long period of developing our process for jeans, but we are really happy with the quality of our jeans to date. The jeans are undoubtedly the standout feature of our collection. 

After speaking you in person - its clear that fabric takes a central role in your shirting, pants and accessories? What is your approach to sourcing? 

Since becoming so intimately involved with the actual construction of pieces, we have since learned that such a large part of the quality of clothing lies in the choice of fabric. You can use the most pain-staking laborious techniques in the construction phase, but if your fabric is no good then your finished product will reflect the same. 

Sourcing fabrics is even harder than sourcing the rare industrial machines needed for proper production. Luckily early on we were able to acquire an account with Cone Mills out of North Carolina. We also have a wonderful relationship with a denim buyer who is able to give us access to selvedge fabrics from the Kaihara, Kurabo, and Nisshinbo Mills in the Okayama Valley of Japan. We are at a point now where we we can be selective in the choice of fabrics used. Almost all of the fabrics we use in the Jack/Knife studios are selvedge and hand woven on old school wooden shuttle looms. The types of fabrics we use most commonly are denim, canvas, and chambray selvedge fabrics from Japan and Cone Mills.  

Just last week we were able to source a good size roll of a heavy slubby left hand twill denim from Japan with a unlined selvedge edge. I am really in love with this particular roll of denim at the moment because it is somehow very thick and heavy, but has an incredibly soft hand due to the left hand twill weave. I could write all day about the fabric. All of us in the Jack/Knife gang are border line obsessive about learning the weave types, thread counts, dyeing methods, etc of the fabrics. We commonly give tours of the studios to share the stories of all the different fabrics. 

You guys mentioned doing construction of homes, etc? How does your past construction work etc influence and dicate your current craft? 

Nick grew up building homes as a teenager. He used to go in to build sites with grid paper, rulers, and everything else needed to map out the framework for houses that his then boss built in wealthy neighborhoods. Together with his boss he would lay out all the walls and doors in the house, and then actually help frame these houses. In the construction of houses, there is so much focus placed on the integrity of the frame. This sort of focus has transferred over into theJack/Knife studio. When we approach the design of a new piece, it is with this influence of architecture and construction. And we constantly stress that all of our pieces should be as attractive and structurally sound on the inside as they are on the outside. 

You guys seem to have a pretty close relationship with Levis, Levis XX, Cone - Tell us more about that? 

All of us at Jack/Knife certainly respect very much Levi’s influence in the world of denim. And during our time in San Francisco we have established wonderful relationships with different members of the Levi’s and Levi’s XX teams. Levi’s real influence for us came in the beginning stages of our growth, when we looked to the 1947 Lot 501 jean for inspiration. I think everyone enters the world of denim under the shadow cast by Levi’s rich historically significant timeline. Nowadays though Jack/Knife looks for inspiration from more obscure operations. Personally I really am impressed these days by Kapital, Edwin, Baldwin, Imogene and Willie, Loren Cronk, Beams+, and Tender. 

We are closer with Cone Mills out of North Carolina though more than Levi’s. Cone is the only mill in America that still uses the hand operated wooden shuttle looms that weave the types of fabrics used in the Jack/Knife work shop. 



For the denim heads: We noticed that you don't chainstitch the bands, hems etc? Do you think people are a little too over concerned about chain stitching parts of denim without really understanding the benefits/disadvantages of the different types of stitches? 

So much of the denim world has been consumed with the buzz of chain stitching. There is a great deal of inaccurate information floating around the different circles as to why only chain stitching should be used. Someone has started a nasty rumor that “roping” on the hems of jeans can only be caused by chain stitching. All of the jeans that I wear today are single needle stitch construction entirely throughout, and I have beautiful roping on every single pair. 

I do admit that the underside of a chain stitch is very beautiful, but there is a critical trait to a chain stitch that we at Jack/Knife do not like. There is a thread in the weave of a chain stitch that if broken can unravel the entire stitch from start to end. Unlike a straight stitch, which can not really “unravel,” a pair of jeans constructed with chain stitching can literally be pulled to pieces with just your fingers. This unraveling is not frequent, but it does happen sometimes with the chain stitch. The seams in Jack/Knife jeans are all bound in a cotton twill that prevents any of this type of unraveling or fraying in the pants. We do offer chain stitching if requested, but we always try to express our love of single needle construction jeans. 

Lastly we found it pretty encouraging that you guys were exploring washes - a lot of denim brands in SF are focused on entirely raw jeans. While great - we think washes can be done tastefully and beautifully. We'd like to hear more about your explorations into washing? 

Washing and distressing fabrics is one of Jack/Knife’s newest ventures. None of us had ever considered the idea of pre-washing garments until recently. Awhile ago we sourced a hemp/cotton blend selvedge chambray from Japan for our new series of work-shirts, and discovered on accident that the fabric is undeniably more beautiful after washing. We are in the experimental phases of distressing and pre-washing, but we are having a hell of a fun time addingJack/Knife’s character to our first series of shirts. 

Loren Cronk out of Brooklyn, NY is a huge inspiration in this regard. He does beautiful work in the way of distressing and pre-washing. The philosophy in his studio is that each pair of jeans he makes and distresses should be considered a piece of art. We try to apply the same mindset in the Jack/Knife work shop. 

What's next for JackKnife? 

What all of us at Jack/Knife are looking forward to most at the moment is jeans for women. We are still in the fabric sourcing phase but there has been a lot of development already in the way of design. 

There is a lot to happening already in 2012. We are launching an online shop at the end of January, which will feature our barn coat, two styles of jeans, the work shirt, ties, bandannas, bags, and a type of wallet. A video production team out of NYC is coming to the the work shop at the end of the month to shoot a short-film style video of us that will be featured on our website. There is a badass Moto-Jacket in the prototype stage that I am excited to see develop in the next couple of months. We have started a denim apprenticeship and that has already brought a wonderful addition to the Jack/Knife family.Jack/Knife as an operation is growing everyday, and there is a great deal of very fulfilling work ahead.

Expect lots from these guys. More on Jack Knife

Updates from our resident Voyager Taj on her journey across the US in search of alternative living creative spaces.

"On our journey we had the great pleasure to meet Todd Bogatay. Currently one of the most inspiring persons I know. He has created a wonderful land that is completely off the grid, has wireless internet on the entire property, and currently houses seven adults (with room for more). Each structure collects its own water, provides its own solar power, most have fireplaces in every room, wonderfully designed compost systems, and so much more. 

In his words, the soul of architecture is synthesis: Bring together Philosophy, Art, Materials, Needs, Space, Time, and Environment/Ecology, so that the Whole is beautiful and greater than the Sum of the Parts. Providing Architectural Design Services and an Ecommunity, consisting of 90 acres of national park quality living space on a mountain with great views and clean air. The remainder of the land is dedicated to a conservation easement; preserving its natural beauty and reducing taxes. 

More on the trip @ http://www.toddbogatay.com/#!community

 

Revolver Gift Cards now available online just in time for last minute holiday gifts.

Redeemable online or in person. They never expire. Recipients receive a physical copy in the mail with the value of your choice!

Happy Holidays!

The wonderful Revolver member and Voyager Taj Robinson is on the road collecting interviews, photography and more for on her new book about collective art and living spaces. 

She's going to be sharing her adventures with us.

Here are some notes from her first stop in Joshua Tree.

On the Road: Bail Bonds, Water Collections, Deserts

We just made it to Phoenix, after being in Joshua Tree for the last three days and LA for two.

We have been taking quite a lot of pictures, but I am having a bit of a hard time deciding what would be good for revolver.
Here are a few that I think would be good.

Behind the Bail Bonds- 
The ten acre, boulder strewn, parcel behind the Bail Bonds is the one corner of A-Z West that is open to the public. Sited up in the rocks is untitled by Sarah Vanderlip (two aluminum truck heads welded together) and below are signs by Julia Scher.

Directions: From 29 Palms Hwy and Park Dr drive east one mile to the big yellow Bail Bonds sign. Turn right onto Neptune. Drive up Neptune. Road will veer left. Follow the road along the power lines and look for a parking spot right before the turnaround area.

Water Collection Installation

Located on the same plot as Behind the Bail Bonds is this unique water collection system, near by are bottles filled from the sculpture for those who have made it up the hill. 

Both of these installations are located on the land of A-Z West (http://www.zittel.org/work.php). Super cool alternative living space and residency program, as well as gallery and test site for land art. It is a part of another cool organization here called the High Desert Test Sites (http://www.highdeserttestsites.com/page/mission)

A-Z West in organized by Andrea Zittel. Part of the project are these Wagon Stations (914, 918) which act as temporary off the grid housing for other artist who are in the area. I strongly in courage everyone to look through the projects section of Andrea's website to see all of her inspiring projects she is working on inside her Institute of Investigative Living.

There are still places on earth so remote, so far, so foreign that instill a deep wonderlust in us. Ukivok or King Island lost in Bering Straight between Alaska and Russia is one such place. 

The island is about 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. It was once the winter home of a group of about 200 Inupiat who called themselves Aseuluk. The Aseuluk spent their winters engaging in subsistence hunting on King Island and their summers engaging in similar activities on the mainland near the location of present-day Nome, Alaska. After the establishment of Nome, the islanders began to sell intricate carvings to residents of Nome during the summer. By 1970, all King Island people had moved to Nome year-round.

The island was named in 1778 by British explorer Capt. James Cook for James King, a member of his party. But it's unclear how long Inupiats lived there.

Black Friday: The World is Yours. 

Keeping things simple - 10% off Everything @ Revolver. 

We're thankful for your support during the year and today we offer 10% off everything at Revolver. 

At Voyager (365 Valencia) our sister store - all clothing (except Mollusk Items) is also 10% off.

Revolver open daily 12 to 8pm

Voyager open daily 11 to 7pm

Gold Shadows! We're pleased to share with our readers the Revolver Fall 2011 Lookbook.  Featuring new emerging designers from around the world, we tried to reflect our love of a timeless unisex aesthetic that layers and blends well. 

 

Revolver featured in Asterisk - little bit mad max, little bit post surf, heavy layering - classic Revolver.

Check out the other makers and stores in Asterisk Magazine's Style Issue

Revolver is pleased to introduce METSA - an emerging natural inspired collection from Canada. Perfect for the San Francisco Indian summer - light fabrics are hand dyed to create beautiful, clean pieces.

We sat with Markus the designer behind Metsa to understand its history and its future.

More Lara Gammon Beard

Some mind blowing collages by New Zealand photographer / artist Joseph Akel. 

 

I can’t believe it, even now that I am here, but I am taking a month to travel around Italy. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a dear friend’s wedding and a family gathering all in May, so I will be treking around a bit in between.

We started in Rome this week, and I can definitively say that the best way to see Rome is in the early morning light, in the quiet  hours before the tourists have sprung from their beds and it is only me, my running shoes, and the old men in hats shuffling along with their ancient, scruffy terriers.

My apologies for being so absent from my humble little journal – but this month has been a doozy in Spartan Land – remodeling our Austin space & opening our new collaborative  project in Portland, Beam & Anchor!

Last summer I met Robert & Jocelyn Rahm, a vibrant, creative, magnetic couple who were toiling away renovating a 7,000 square foot space in North Portland to house creative working spaces upstairs as well as a retail shop called Beam & Anchor on the ground floor. The three of us were immediately drawn to each other and 6 months later Robert & Jocelyn invited me to be a partner in the retail arm of the business.

We officially opened the Beam & Anchor store on April 20th and I am incredibly proud to contribute to such a gorgeous space with such great energy – the icing on top is that our upstairs folks are the nicest group of creative bad-asses that a girl could dream to work amongst.

Please stop by, hang out, & get to know Beam & Anchor!!       Hours:  Tues-Sat 11-6 //   Sun 12-5  //  Closed Mon

Kinfolk Magazine is gorgeous.

Dedicated to beauty of gathering and the profound pleasure of eating in lovely surroundings with the people that matter to you, Kinfolk has an insane roster of talent working with them.  We  hosted one of Kinfolk’s official dinners at Spartan’s new home in Portland, Beam & Anchor (opening soon!!). You can get a glimpse of the evening here.

Volume 3 of Kinfolk is available at Spartan in Austin & Voyager in San Francisco.

Volume 2  and 3 are both available online at spartan-shop.com.

My friends know that I am seldom without a brass bracelet. I took my collection out to polish today & realized that they represent some of my very favorite shops & designers, and they each make me so happy every time I put them on.

Brian Crumley

Reliquary, San Francisco (vintage)

In God We Trust

Samma (I accidentally died it pink, but I think it’s kinda cool)

 

General Store (vintage)

Fay Andrada

Iko Iko , Los Angeles

Looking out across my yard on a gray and rain-soaked morning, to a crimson bird house mounted on our fence, triggered a memory of Cathrine Ryan‘s bold artwork. I did a quick search and spent my morning coffee re-admiring her portfolio. I love the strong statements of color and pattern punctuating the gray surroundings, eerie religious symbolism, and Americana imagery.

The first time I saw a gal wearing one of Erin’s pieces, I literally stopped her in her tracks to admire it for several minutes. I collect Erin’s jewelry and wear it often. It adds that special something that makes a minimal outfit shine. They are conversation pieces that don’t scream for attention.

All of her pieces are hand-made in her studio in Brooklyn with naturally dyed silk and cotton. The icing on the cake is that Erin, herself, is as smart and amazing as her designs, an absolute pleasure to hang with for a long meal whenever I happen to be in Brooklyn.

Shop Erin’s Spring collection here      And her earrings here

 

We are so excited to have these awesome unisex shades in time for the sunny months.

Han Sunglasses are from Denmark and have a classic style with a little edge to them. I have been sporting mine non-stop.

THE UNION IN HORN

THE TIMELESS IN TORTOISE

THE WOLFGANG IN BLACK/ARMY OR TORTOISE

Back home from a week at SXSW that felt like a year. Amazing times, glad to be back in snowy, peaceful Portland.

Our High Tea party was beautiful – huge thanks to Lysa Cooper & Shelby Meade for organizing, Hitomi & Charlie from Electric Love for the amazing bags & dream catchers (the are pretty much all sold out!), Dripping Springs Vodka for spiking our lemonade, and Shanee Pink for lending her gorgeous voice.

I didn’t even have time to take out my nice camera- here are some snaps from Instagram.

Shanee Pink in the perfect SXSW ensemble

essential festival satchel from Collina Strada @ Spartan

the Texas state flower in full glory

dinner @ Justine’s listening to over soul records & french 75′s

awesome bro’s manning the bar @ the Mohawk

dropping off goods for the shop @ the Saint Cecilia Hotel

high tea party with the musical stylings of shanee pink & electric love dream catcher

beautiful spring evening at Willie’s ranch

If you are coming to Austin for SXSW please stop by Spartan & Bows + Arrows and escape the madness with us on THURSDAY, March 15th, 2-6pm

We will be serving up spiked iced teas with Dripping Springs Vodka, featuring a special installation of dream catchers from Electric Love, an acoustic set with Shanee Pink, signed prints from The Wild Unknown, and a DJ set by Family Band.

The shop is full of amazing new spring arrivals — so this is a good excuse for all of our beautiful local friends to show their faces as well. Hope to see you there!!

good to remember.

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand-and melting like a snowflake…”

words by francis bacon