Interview with Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi, Co-founders of Odin and New Concept Boutique, Den.

by Tim Yu

We caught up with Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi, founders of Odin, for the opening of Den—their fourth boutique in New York (following their two Odin stores and Oliver Spencer). Like Odin, Den carries hip clothing from younger designers that is consummately wearable, however Den will feature one designer at a time for four to six week periods. Similar to a gallery, this exhibit-like business model affords the space to offer a greater, more in-depth selection from a particular designer. Den will be the go-to spot for one-offs and limited edition pieces not found elsewhere. The shop itself is warm and inviting; attention to detail is clearly a strong suit as every rack, hanger, light and shelf is carefully chosen and precisely placed.

How is Den different than your other shops?

Den will only carry one designer at a time for a four to six week period. This challenges us to keep creating a new space with each designer. Logistically however, it allows us to really bring in a range of a designer's collection that you might not be able to do in a multi-brand store. For example, Den allows us to show that Cheap Monday, which we are opening the store with, is much more than skinny jeans. Some people don't know that they offer a full line of great clothing including shirts, pants, and shoes. Bringing in one designer at a time also lends itself to unique and limited edition pieces that will only be found at Den and sometimes designed specifically for the collection.

Den also allows us to bring women's lines in without interfering with Odin's mens concept. I'm really excited about Karen Walker who is a designer we'll have in the near future. She's going to bring some stuff that's never been in the U.S. before.

How do you go about selecting designers to feature at Den?

I do it much the same way I do with Odin. In fact, some of the designers we have at Odin will be featured at Den, but at Den we get to show a more complete selection of their work.

While the core design of the store is Den, we did have to keep in mind the designer that would be in the space. We wanted to create a balance between our aesthetic with that of Cheap Mondays.

...So you've opened Odin in the East Village, the bigger Odin on Lafayette, a collaboration for Oliver Spencer, and now Den? That's four shops since 2004! What motivates you? Aren't you tired?

Rest?... What's that? I think motivation and inspiration are sparked by a genuine interest in what we do. It's extremely challenging, but highly rewarding when an idea comes into fruition.

Any other projects or ideas we can expect in the future?

Well, we have several designers on the Den roster including Tim Hamilton, Robert Gellar of Cloak, Karen Walker and Rag & Bone. We'll become a gift shop during the holiday season.

We have a lot of other things that are in the works but I'd rather not say quite yet. You'll have to wait and see...

Den
330 East 11th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues
New York, NY 10003 map
tel. +1 212 475 0666 (Odin)

The Borderline: Enlightenment x Towa Tei

by Ami Kealoha

An exhibition of new lithographs by Enlightenment's Hiro Sugiyama opens tomorrow, 26 May 2007, at the highly–acclaimed Hiromi Yoshii gallery in Kiyosumi, Tokyo.

Sugiyama's lithographs are a wonderfully fresh reinterpretation of the traditional Japanese Hanga prints, with a subject matter far from the traditional. His lithographs include abstract colorful pieces as well as human skulls and imagined modern-day tribe portraits (pictured). Sugiyama works mainly as a fine artist, but his work is also featured on several CD covers and in commercials.

The Borderline: Enlightenment x Towa Tei
26 May-10 June 2007
Hiromi Yoshii Gallery
1-3-2 Kiyosumi 6F
Koto-ku, Tokyo
tel. +81 (0)3 5620 0555

by Jens Jensen

Refinery29 x Bblessing Journals

by Ami Kealoha

With just a little over a week remaining for Refinery29's Bblessing pop-up store, now's the time to snag some of the exclusive goods before they disappear forever. We're particularly taken with the Travel Journal (left) and the Hardcover Manuscript (right) created specifically for the project. Both bound in supple Italian leather, details like Bblessing's Victoriana logo embossed on the cover and gilt edges make the pair an attractive gift or a useful and stylish accessory to summer sojourns. The blank journal ($65) is perfect for sketching and writing, while the travel version ($45) includes 40 pages of maps, graph paper and international info for plotting getaways.

Previously: Refinery29 x Bblessing Pop-Up Shop

Beautiful/Decay Issue S: T-Shirts and Release Party

by Tim Yu

It may be warm and bright outside but Beautiful/Decay magazine seems to have been languishing in darkness. Their newest, Issue S, presents a mix of ill–omened themes such as death metal, ritual suicide and the Dark Ages. Hanna Liden's eerie photo series of masked figures (cover image, above left) set in dark swamps only adds to the foreboding effect. Wu-Tang Clan's the RZA wanders out of what he describes as "triple darkness" to talk about philosophy, history and his latest project. The design and layout, inspired by a 1604 manuscript from the Rosicrucian mystic order, and the typeface, Old English Five, a style of calligraphy popular around the 13th to 15th centuries, also follow the theme.

Coupled with the release of Issue S, four new artist–designed t–shirts make their debut as well. The latest in the line of Beautiful/Decay tees that we've come to know and love, they're custom cut, dyed and printed on super soft cotton. This edition of t–shirts frame original works by the likes of Jesse LeDoux, Aaron Noble, Dust La Rock and Jan Kallwejt. Originally an art director/designer for Sub Pop Records and better known for his album cover art, LeDoux's cosmically inspired "Giant Hand" (above right) is my favorite. Take a peek at the all the t-shirts available for $30 here.

Beautiful/Decay will be throwing their Issue S release party this Sunday, 27 May 2007, at Studio B in Brooklyn. Details and flyer after the jump.

Tarati Touchless Phone Concept

by Ami Kealoha

A play on the "reach out and touch someone jingle," Tarati is Branko Lukic's new idea for a mobile that dials by passing fingers through keyholes creating a touchless experience. Nevermind multi-touch user interfaces, the former IDEO designer's concept makes dialing "a more magical experience and, hence, more indicative of what's really happening beyond the visible realm." Borrowing a name from the Sanskrit word for "he passed through," Tarati is the fourth in Lukic's Design Fictions, all previews from his forthcoming book nonobject due out later this year.

via Gizmodo

Streetwear: The Insider's Guide

by SummerSeventySix

Admittedly, the title of this book makes a pretty bold claim, but author Steven Vogel has certainly done his homework. From long–established names like Stussy and Burton to the newer kids on the block like Dave's Quality Meat and Pointer, he investigates what makes names from the U.S., U.K. and the Far East tick and how they have managed—or plan—to succeed. It's also a pleasant, but not unexpected, surprise to see Cool Hunting mentioned in the book's list of essential web resources, alongside some of our own favorite sites.

While there are tons of pictures, this isn't just brand–porn. Many of the those behind the labels offer their invaluable insights, and as Jeff Ng of Staple rightly points out, it–s the people that this story is really all about. "It's not the shoe you slept out four nights for. It's that dude that was on line in front of you that you kicked it with and became friends. If you can't come away from this understanding that, you are missing out on the entire thing, kids."

Streetwear: The Insider's Guide was published in the UK this month by Thames & Hudson and is available from Amazon UK for the knock-down price of £13.