Staple Design = A Positive Social Contagion

Undoubtedly the most inspiring person we met at Buffet was Jeff Ng (jeffstaple) founder of Staple Clothing, Reed Space and Staple Design. The second forum at Buffet included a presentation by Jeff who delved into the story of his early beginnings in the mid 90’s as a uni student breaking into the silk screen lab to print a pillowcase full of tees, to accidentally landing an order for 12 tees by walking into a prominent New York store ‘Triple Five Soul’ boutique.

As I began to take in his words, the taste of direction and faith started to reiterate that ‘anything is possible.’ Not to say that lady luck played a major role in the Staple story, but the long hours he put in eventually paid off. He hustled to fulfil orders of tees (at one stage it got to 1000 units from a Japanese buyer) late at night at the silk-screen lab, and studying for his university degree during the day, to a part-time job (driven by his need for fly kicks) and free lancing as a graphic artist. I was scratching my head wondering if this machine knew what sleep was? It was these foundations that i realised that everything that paved the way was ingredients for a positive future.

His social collaborations also started showing how the dots began to connect for jeffstaple. The new millennium witnessed the opening of his own retail store ‘Reed Space’. Together with ‘Staple Design’ he began doing work for Rawkus Records designing CD covers for their recording artists Mos Def and Talib Kweli (as Blackstar), Common, to then working for Fader Magazine which eventually flew him to Japan to do a story on the exclusive Japanese Nike quick-strike releases. This lead to the Pigeon Dunks which came out in 2005 with only 200 pairs - things got crazy!… check out this video which made front page news.

His communication through Staple Design coupled with his initiative to nourish his fellow artists (exhibition in Reed Space) caught the interest of large companys looking for the right avenues of expressiveness that would connect with their customers eg. Nike Burton Snowboards, Converse, HBO, Levi’s, New Balance, Puma and Timberland, just to name a few he offered his services to. As his Positive Social Contagion continues to spread into this new decade, i asked Jeff where he sees himself in five years time… Catching him off-guard he answered by saying (along the lines of) that he would like to see his company operate in a manner where he could spend more time enjoying the better things in life, travelling, meeting new people and staying challenged. In a way he’s on the right track, participating at Buffet and dropping a staple diet of street knowledge that you can’t find in any recipe book. As this all digested in, ironically i was not full but more hungry. A hunger to make more of what we have at DS and to use this energy to strive for bigger and better things. So stayed tuned…

This is a massive thank you to jeffstaple from the DS team for breaking bread with us and serving up a square meal of streetwear science.

So it begins - Australia’s first ever street wear trade show, Buffet. The cloudless, 34 degree day blasted ‘The Factory’ like a fan-forced oven, but as Coolio once said, “…if you can’t take the heat get your ass out the kitchen, we on a mission.”

After setting up the Deep Surface stand, i couldn’t help but sense an aroma of uncertainty on how this was going to pan out. Similar to a new restaurant opening - there’s the breakthrough ideas; having local and international chefs making an appearance, and actually cook; the domestic and foreign celebrities that are there to dine; and not forgetting the media coverage for popular blog sites, magazines and street press. Now there’s a recipe for high expectations, or are all these people simply hungry?

We definitely were! Served first was Jacky, Jackson and Aaron from Sup, Singapore. These guys are only up to their second range but are already pumping out their cut n sew tees, collared long-sleeves, hoodies and freakin’ denims. Not to mention bags, belts and bum bags. A very tight crew who are motivated and play their position very well. You have no choice but to make way for this brand. Sup crew knows how to party!

Next we had Nick (not pictured), Leewai, KC and James from FreshIn, Sydney, together with upcoming brand Thirteen Itches.

Trent from G-Shock introduced us to Jake from Lower (NZ) who has his brand stocked in 75 stores across New Zealand. With some really fresh apparel, people are gonna be copping some Lower gear when it hits our shores very soon.

Fellow Sydney-siders the Ones (who stayed at the same hotel as us) were very friendly and have a huge range to cater for pretty much everybody. Shout out to Junior, Tristan, Bryce, Marie, Rae & Thu.

Big ups to Andrew, Danny and Alex from Acclaim Magazine - monster event. Especially to Andrew Montell for his vision and desire for making an historical event possible! Masato, Lisa and Kelvin (rookie) for your focus, contribution and dedication to rep DS!

Frank Liew from Qubic (NZ)/hypebeast.com thanks for also dropping the knowledge - being Activators instead of Facilitators!

Simon Woody from Sneaker Freaker Magazine. Brent from True To Life Clothing/Zion Rising (Melb). Jules and Dwayne from Incase/UNDFTD. Taz and Twizm from Project4000. Andrew Crum from Moments of Truth. Niall Connor from Hypemuch. Not to forget another Sydney crew who didn’t exhibit but were still able to show plenty of support, new comers and new friends Plus.VI.One. And lastly, M.A.F.I.A.!

W7:C8:9B

As the vibe in Melbourne (Australia) starts to rise like the temperature, we are forecast to bear witness to the hottest spot in streetwear to drop in the Asia Pacific region. The Buffet trade expo is aligning itself with some of the best international and local brands to nourish and flourish the culture we’d love to be bigger and better than it is. Guest speaker, high-end fashion innovator and design pioneer jeffstaple (stapledesign.com) will be headlining the show speaking at two forums about ‘Buisness in Street Fashion’ and ‘Contemporary Art in Fashion.’

To have the science dropped on you like a professor spillin’ beakers, click here to get more details about the Buffet forums.

Stay tuned for exclusive coverage from your exhibiting insiders, DS. In the mean time as we wait to be served we’ve been dishing out our own wholesome product. If you’re in Melbourne get down to Hemley Skateboarding on Brunswick, Fitzroy to cop the DS teasers Tees, and for all the heads up in Brisbane, get into Laced Sneaker Culture.

One of our mates Masato from Japan tagged along for the trip.

Breakin-in a new Hemley board with a 360 kickflip in the back streets of Fitzroy.

Shoutout to Simon from Hemley who was the first to see the new DS collection ‘Off the Grid’

All-time favourite alfresco laneway tucked behind Melbourne CBD, Degraves.

What’s on the menu for appetisers…?

The 2010 ‘Off the Grid’ Collection is a compilation of t-shirt designs formulated from uncharted and unsurveillanced realms of the Deep Surface imagination. The new range is equipped with colourful Anime inspired character designs, 80’s icons, a reminiscent outlook of schoolyard memories, WWII military influenced designs and photographic art.

No longer flying under the radar, the 2010 ‘Off the Grid’ Collection will be in full force showcasing at Buffet, the first ever Asia Pacific Streetwear Trade Show. Celebrating this landmark event Deep Surface is exclusively launching the first wave of tees available for purchase at the Buffet Trade Show together with Brisbane’s specialised sneaker/street culture boutique, Laced and Melbourne’s skateboarding and fashion store Hemley on the 26^th of February.

Yet another release from the Wu franchise. However this LP will be exclusively laced by Meth, Ghostface and Raekwon. Illustration by Chris Bachalo; and Art Direction and Graphic Design by Alex Haldi (trust me, you WANT to click those links). One of the dopest Wu covers since Liquid Swords (that’s arguable peeps). US release is March 30th.

Here are the promo vids released a couple of months back. Get comfortable…