The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is teaming up with Amtrak to bring KAWS’ 16-foot-tall sculpture Companion Passing Through to our very own 30th Street Station (the above picture is from its Fort Worth,Texas stop). The fiberglass and metal sculpture is making its Philly debut next Thursday 4/11, and will remain on display until May 14. Having first appeared in Hong Kong in 2010, KAWS’ Companion character is one of the most recognizable figures in street art culture – so much that was featured as a balloon in the 2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In an effort to juxtapose the past and the present, companion will face Walker Hancock’s iconic sculpture Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial. (more…)
From Caste Quality comes a new video inspired by skateboarding and the nostalgia of our city’s past, especially 1997 a time when skateboarding in Philadelphia was at its prime. Sick footage with appearances from skate greats Mark Suciu Ricky Geiger, Ishod Wair, Jordan Trahan, Devon Connell, Fred Gall, Matt Reason, Ricky Oyola and more. There’s skating on cars, over homeless people, street fistfights plus the soundtrack ain’t bad either. For more info head over to castequality.com.
Taking inspiration from Allen Iverson’s alma mater Georgetown Hoyas’ team colors, the “College Days’ Pack feature AI’s signature shoes, the Question and Answer IV in grey and navy. Hoya Saxa!
In the above video, posted to YouTube, Seinfeld said that he got a call from Wale (who happened to be his wife’s favorite hip hop artist?) because he wanted the comedian to “do something with him” for a new album, appropriately called #Nothing. That “something” is a collab in which Wale will apparently turn Seinfeld’s words into song.
“I do words,” Seinfeld said on the video. “Why don’t you take my words and do something with them?”
Seinfeld also mentions in the video, that he had to come to Philly to record for he album. No more info on when or where it all went down but how did we miss the fact that one of the greatest comedians of our time was recording a hip hop album right under our noses? Jerry Seinfeld is at the point in his career where he can do whatever the hell he wants. And he sure did.
The UBIQ WInter Apparel Collection is available now online at UBIQlife.com. Included this year are two UBIQ Knot crewnecks, two pull-over hoodies, and two zip-up hoodies. Each piece is excellently crafted and feature small details like metal tipped drawstrings and custom hip tags.
Vice put out a video of Dutch fashion designer Koos van den Akker, the guy who created the iconic/ugly/most amazing one-of-a-kind Bill Cosby sweaters. Turns out the women are cows in Holland, Koos didn’t give a shit about whether his creations were washable, and is fond of his polka-dot-fabric-Chinese-character tattoo that he got at 76. Yes, he is the dude. Now if only we could find the guy who made the original Gordon Gartrell piece that Theodore/Malcom Jamaal Warner loved so much.
Those of you who live in the Philadelphia metro area I’m sure are familiar with Vai Sikahema and his work with Channel 10 as their sports director and as a former Philadelphia Eagle. If you don’t happen to live around here, feel confident in knowing that Vai has dedicated many many years to helping foster children find supportive, welcoming families through the Wednesday’s Child program. Each week he visits a child in need of a home and helps them realize their dreams and share their story and give them the chance they deserve to be seen and hopefully adopted by a family.
Two weeks ago I got a phone call from a producer at NBC 10 asking about my work at UBIQ and if I’d be interested in helping them show a foster child named Jose the world of sneakers and sneaker design. The result is the short piece above that shows our new design offices and how Jose got to be a part of our world for a day. We talked about his favorite brands, his inspirations and what he can do academically to get to a career in the sneaker world. Jose is an amazing kid with a ton of great ambition and ideas. I have a feeling this won’t be the last we hear from Jose.
On behalf of UBIQ and our sister brand KicksUSA, I’d like to give a huge thank you to Vai Sikahema, Channel 10 and the Wednesday’s Child program for including all of us in Jose’s world. Thank you!
- mike
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is teaming up with Amtrak to bring KAWS’ 16-foot-tall sculpture Companion Passing Through to our very own 30th Street Station (the above picture is from its Fort Worth,Texas stop). The fiberglass and metal sculpture is making its Philly debut next Thursday 4/11, and will remain on display until May 14. Having first appeared in Hong Kong in 2010, KAWS’ Companion character is one of the most recognizable figures in street art culture – so much that was featured as a balloon in the 2012 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In an effort to juxtapose the past and the present, companion will face Walker Hancock’s iconic sculpture Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial. (more…)
