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In our teens and 20s, footwear that pledged environmental friendliness had a certain crunchy look. It was for the hacky sack crowd. The kids in wide leg cords and rope necklaces… privileging Birkenstocks and Simples over Air Max and Reebok Pumps. We’re older now and our concerns have changed, even if our aesthetic hasn’t quite [...]
I’m brimming with sarcasm these days so don’t take too much that is coming from me for granted. Saying that, the following statement is true: The obsession with with the voyeuristic nature of showing people’s private spaces and building unwarranted careers around it is hugely disappointing to me. But each to their own. I wanted [...]
Posted on March 22, 2011 – 10:46 by Steven
Clae has been on my periphery for nigh on ten years now, a rather long time considering the fast changing times we live in. That it would take over 8 years for a serious examination of the brand, and that my fascination and appreciation of Clae over this time would not only wane but also [...]
Posted on January 17, 2011 – 14:00 by Steven
No gold stars need handing out for cottoning on to the big trend of 2010, heritage. We’ve all humped through economic difficulty looking back to “simpler” times and positively questioning the potential of returning heavy manufacture back to the First World. In some circles, naming the most possible long lived brands will garner respect. Not [...]
Posted on January 10, 2011 – 13:00 by Steven
Anarchism, as a political thought is mostly misunderstood today as it was in the early 20th Century upon it’s popular inception. Whilst, it is often haphazardly thrown into the same political cauldron as Socialism and Communism, in reality- or realistic, in theory it has little to do with the former. Anarchism, as a political theory [...]
Posted on December 9, 2010 – 14:29 by Steven
T-Shirts. There is a real art to it. With the rise of the preppy look based on faux internet weirdo vintage hype in the last years the art of the T-Shirt took a back seat, especially the art of the great Logo T-Shirt. In a way, I actually cannot blame the rise of the above [...]
Posted on November 11, 2010 – 15:03 by Steven
What is the difference between vandalism and art? The difference is pretty clear to me but maybe that is because I grew up with graffiti and the characters involved in it. When it came to explaining it not only to my parents, who were surprisingly clever about it, but more interestingly to people involved in [...]
Posted on November 5, 2010 – 10:39 by Steven
Long before the current heritage explosion in menswear my wife one day came home full of excitement at finding, at what she called then, probably the greatest you ( as in me ) will find here, because, they have a great Gin bar, good music and only clothes you like, meaning, basic, high quality gear [...]
Posted on October 27, 2010 – 08:57 by Steven
Peering out the window of our TRC HQ, we can’t help but think about the history of coffee. Beneath us, the Port of Hamburg looms large, coffee counting as one of the largest cargoes. In 1996 alone, some 11 million bags of green coffee (each weighing 60 kilos) hit town. Not surprisingly, Hamburg is home [...]
Posted on October 21, 2010 – 12:55 by Steven
Denim, the never ending story. Seemingly, for as long as I can remember new and old denim brands come out all claiming some sort of heritage and this that and the other. You all know what I mean. Personally, I’ve worked in and around the denim industry since 1997 and whilst I am far away [...]
Posted on October 12, 2010 – 18:06 by Stephan
Living on a vegetarian diet is easy today. Gone are the days that one had to feast on raw-vegetables and various salads exclusively. There is a huge range of veggie-products that make it easy to abstain by imitating the taste and texture of meat, ham, chicken … you name it. There are fantastic restaurants that [...]
Posted on October 1, 2010 – 11:10 by Steven
The idea for The Reference Council sprouted roughly a year ago. Steven and I were chatting about who we were as men and playing with the notion of an online portal that differed from our -rant- space on Black Lodges. A portal that would allow us to discuss products we liked along side art, design [...]
Posted on September 25, 2010 – 12:04 by Steven
I first Dave some 6, 7 years ago in Barcelona. He had an art show opening there and despite being sick as dog during the time I tagged along to see Dave and his work. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t really into his work at the time nor had I seen it in person. [...]
Posted on August 8, 2010 – 20:01 by Steven
AC/DC’s Back in Black turned 30 just a few short weeks ago. Hard to imagine really, as the album continues to hold us and stay relevant. How better to celebrate the anniversary than by sharing our feelings and memories of the album and those of our friends. What follows is a series a short anecdotes [...]
Posted on July 30, 2010 – 11:55 by Steven
Eat Dust is a new brand based in Antwerp, Belgium started by two close friends of mine. Rob and Keith constitute the Belgian Black Lodges Chapter and aside from the brotherhood that binds us, these guys are two true originals. Raised on a (un)healthy dose of skateboarding, punk rock, more fashion industry experience than most [...]