Steppin it up for the 08 Summer season - you can look forward to cut n sew tees with incredible detailing, and a few interesting directions into the tailoring sector. Check out a couple of lines dropping into the web store as detailed below:

Short sleeved classic check Gingham shirts in red, navy and black - V-neck classic stripe jumpers with bright prints , and a bit of a foray into horticulture to celebrate the ensuing Summer season - BZZZ!, a long sleeved inside printed linen floral-print shirt. 

The BZZZ! range even come with seed packets of David Austin Roses, just to inspire a bit of the gardener in all of us. (Just a note to those of you that like to be prepared - get one of these shirts and save the flower seeds for Mother’s Day… RISE x David Austin - the gift that keeps on giving. )

Oh Yeah - RISE rocks.

It’s rare that street art and psychology cross swords as elegantly as is displayed in Supply & Demand - The Art of Shepard Fairey.

For those of you not familiar with the odd image of Andre the Giant that has graced the paint strewn walls of inner city living for the last 2 decades or so - Welcome to OBEY.

OBEY GIANT is aptly described as Phenomenology - and within the book you will get many such terms that plug you more deeply into  the psychology of street art than you bargained for. In short, OBEY is a social experiment that explores the links within our society between consumerism and advertising, and the need to purchase goods for our psychosocial welfare. 

It’s refreshing to actually see art as both expression and critique of modern culture, and Shepard Fairey deserves the attention the we can manage to give him. 

My own reasons for developing RISE mirror the OBEY ideology to some brief extent as well. Im perhaps not as intent on deconstructing the establishment as OBEY, but Im certainly driven to question, overturn and challenge everything as often. While OBEY leaves you with a sense of being enveloped in a society that you are limited in your powers to change, it is my hope that RISE can encourage you to positively engage with your culture to rise and overcome.

RISExOBEY - a match made in anti consumer heaven perhaps?

Shepard - We at RISE salute thee!

“Illegitimi non carborundum” 

Ranui.

I was going to write individual blogs on a couple of these things…but there’s a couple of random cool stuff that I want to tell you about so i thought maybe just punch it all into one blog and see what happens. fun times.

The Architect’s bird feeder

8 interlocking bulletproof glass pieces

no tools or fasteners for assembly

Fun to put together, easy to refill, clean and eco-friendly, and looks like a bird feeder from the future, which makes it a nice change from the standard……bird, tree, birdseed

Luxery lab linens

http://luxurylablinens.com/index.html

I love these

And last but not least…Re:vision Camera cuffs

The coolest bracelets i’ve seen

http://www.oyemodern.com/designers/re-vision/

The next thing i want people to check out is a new Australian based clothing company that I have just come across called Toddy.

http://www.toddy.com.au/

Australia-based and South Africa-born, Michelle Legge is the brains behind the brand new cutting-edge casual label Toddy. It takes an incredibly unique approach to the bland offerings of sleepwear and casual fashion, and it would seem that this debut designer is set for big big things. Innovative, stylish and above all else, comfortable clothing….

Check the website out and get involved…here are a few pics

Cooking pasta…the question is always…how much do we put in. I always end up with either far too much or nowhere near enough…and both are an unsatisfying end to a meal. Well…let that problem trouble you no more. Konstatin Slawinksi of ding3000 solves the problem with his SL16 Noooodle. It’s a chrome device which measures amounts of spaghetti for up to 4 people, and also then can double as a trivet.

I love the dual functionality of it, which makes the implement go from the kitchen to the table - so you can serve your pasta without any burning of tables occuring.

Supreme - the authentic NY king of steez - is back for SS08. Check out some of their offerings below. Supreme always bring fresh ideas to the world of streetwear. They have done all sorts of collaborations in the past and are a great place to look for directional checks and stripes. 


- Ranui.

HELP is a small company that’s taken matters into their own hands, and has encorporated design simplicity into a market where complicated, supposedly medically proven claims and brash branding rule the shelves. Designed by Richard Fine, who was inspired while shopping for pain killers for a headache. The experience only made his head hurt more: the ugly packaging screamed out slogans under the neon lights, adding to the confusion. Fine’s response was to create simple packaging out of soft moulded paper pulp, designed to be calming.

For headache relief they’ve filled the pills with 500mg of acetaminophen, because it works like aspirin or ibuprofen but without the stomach problems they can sometimes cause.  For their bandages they’ve eschewed the Band-Aid-esque design for the use of hydrocoloid, a clear material that they use in hospitals “to help wounds heal faster and reduce scarring.” So not only are their products a step ahead of what you normally find, but they’re also packaged beautifully using molded paper pulp.

You can also buy custom Tees featuring their logo HELP and the letter “I” and they they let you fill in the rest…

They also happen to be pretty funny, telling you that their pills don’t come with coatings or dyes, but if you enjoy those kinds of things you’ll “have to eat them separately”. For their bandages they tell you that they’re made for minor cuts and blisters, “so if your injury is bleeding everywhere, you might want to use something else.”For a company dealing in bandages and aspirin…they’ve done an amazing job…

The first two products “help I have a headache” and “help I’ve cut myself”, tablets and bandages, respectively…

I first came accros Uniqlo when I was living in Japan last year, and at first I thought it was Japans answer to Primark…but it turned out to be so much more than just cheap and cheerful. I loved the fact that you could rock up with a few thousand yen, and come away with a ridiculous amount of clothes, of which my favourite purchases have been the Uniqlo 800yen House Pants and 2 Wifebeaters for 500yen. Incredible times…but after my visits to Uniqlo became more frequent, I started noticing that some of the Tees they were selling were amazing.

Uniqlo ran prints of limited edition Tees, some exclusive to certain prefectures, and also ran a lot of artist colab ranges. They had some incredible designs and their strength of being able to mix high street, and high fashion really started to stand out, with minimalism always being their basis.

Uniqlo has made it over to England and has established itself with about 13 stores in and around the London area, and it seems to be going from strength to strength.

Style icon Chloe Sevigny is the latest name to attach themself to the label and only strengthens Uniqlo’s ever extending bridge between high street and high fashion. She was shot alongside Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, by renowned photographer Daniel Jackson to promote the labels summer offering of UT collection tees. A collection which boasts prints created by Eighties pop stars Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat along with a collection paying homage to iconic Japanese manga publications Shonen Sunday and Shonen Magazine, and yet still maintain Uniqlo’s very reasonable prices of £12.99 a Tee.

Well, we thought it was time that you all found out RISE’s little secret - DAYTHREE.

DAYTHREE is a design and print studio that is co-owned between RANUI SAMUELS from RISE and ROBIN FLETCHER from SACLOTH ANASHES, a clothing label also based in Birmingham.

The print and design for both these brands are exclusively handled through DAYTHREE. As well as fashion, these guys can do just about whatever you need in branding - print, flyers, design, web design, web hosting, PR. The term jack of all trades comes to mind, but it doesnt quite do DAYTHREE justice as RANUI and ROBIN actually built the offices and studio themselves!!!!

Anyway - we hope you’re impressed as these guys have certainly put in the effort.
The office/studio/showroom is based in Birminghams Jewellery Quarter.

Give them a call on 0044 (0)121 3149537 for any info on Design, Print or Branding.
Alternately check out http://www.daythree.co.uk

RISE Worldwide. Clothe Your Mind.
Micah 7/8

I know this might seem like a small thing to some of you - but any brand owners will appreciate this. 

New Boxes!!

Single-walled boxes with Gold print and details on the boxes.

Each order over £50 gets shipped in these boxes.

We’ve even pimped our boring old gray postal bags as well.

Ranui.