Monday 20 July 2015

Prideback snapbacks interview

Through my love of Instagram and one of my local hat retailers in Derby England  I came across this local brand who are situated just down the road from me and they very kindly agreed to doing this interview so I give to you 'Prideback' 




So tell me a little bit about yourselves and  your journey where did it all begin ?

My co-founder, Mike and I, started from a shipping container workshop in Mike's back garden in 2013. We had decided a while back that we'd start a business together but we were waiting for the right time. The summer of 2013 just happened to be when our paths crossed following my return from London as a real estate investment graduate and part of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation and Mike having completed Uni as a sports coach. We had a long chat about what we wanted to achieve and it just so happened that I was wearing a New Era fitted at the time. I'd taken off whilst we were brainstorming and scratching our heads... I think it both hit us. We liked the current offering but felt that it wasn't personal to us and more importantly, the UK market in particular. Americanised and franchised as we liked to call it. We started brainstorming how to make a personalised offering whilst also satisfying both our needs to make something that we are proud of, something unique and quality filled. 

We searched high and low for ideas of how to personalise until we stumbled across the idea of embossing. We knew right then that it was the 'killer idea'. We got to combine one of the oldest, most natural and characterful materials... Leather! With old school artisan techniques that produce intricate detailing and that wow moment when you touch and feel the finished article. 

From then on we set about making it happen. We restored a 100 year old, 6 ton swinging arm press and fixed it to a metal table we'd picked up from metal yard down the road. That was all welded in to our shipping container and off we went really!



Your name ‘prideback’ what does this mean ? im guessing theres a little bit of derby county (UK soccer/football team) in there rite ? 

The brand name is simply Prideback. It actually isn't anything to do with Pride park however this does crop up from time to time as you can imagine. The name derives from an initial concept where we would emboss the first part of a persons postcode in to the hat and give a percentage of the sale price to a regeneration project in the area. Giving pride back to your area. After feedback and some general business model concerns however, we decided it could aid gangs etc and we parked the concept. We moved forward with initials and the numbering because our ranges will always be limited and never repeated. People like to take ownership of things that they are proud of so why not put your name on it!


Who is your market ?

Our market is less about age and type as it is for people who are aspirational and have a keen eye for detail. A lot goes in to the sourcing and making of our hats and we want the people who support our brand to be proud of what they own. There needs to be a synergy involved. The price of the hat puts us in what we call 'premium streetwear'. We call it aspirational. If you want something badly enough, you will save for it. I have always been a man of quality over quantity.


What makes you different from other headwear brands ?

Our journey... We know that we have built our brand on authentic foundations with a real story and passionate people behind the business. We are here to make a fantastic product, to push the boundaries of what can be done with leather and craftsmanship and we are only at the very beginning. We want people to pick up the hat and instantly know why we are different. If we have to explain then we still have a little while to go until we have reached our goal as a company.


The leather design on the peak is a very unique idea where did this come from ?

The design on the peak is called the 'Whale Tail'. If you take a look at the main 'PB' logo you will see the whale tail hidden vertically in its makeup. We took that from our logo and made it a stand alone part of our design. We like everything in our design to have a place and purpose.


Is there a story behind the embossed stamp ?

I think I explained most of this at the start. The basic story is one of endless sourcing. We wanted something special, hand crafted and unique to the market. Embossing is what we found, developed and then had to learn ourselves as we emboss each one personally in the workshop. 


Your hats are limited to how many ?

Each colour is 145 at present. We are looking to decrease our collections in numbers pretty soon. We have big plans :) 


You offer your customers personalisation on caps , what can they have personalised ?

For now it is two initials. We didn't want to confuse people early on. We have much more in the pipeline. 

 

What can we expect from your next collection?

We won't give too much away but we are looking at taking the embossing process a step further. You can expect something very visually striking in design rather than colour, a real talking point with your friends.


And that box design its very unique and stylish

We are very proud of our packaging. It is something that we decided upon very early on. We both appreciate other brands that have noteworthy packaging. For us it is about the entire experience with a brand. Every little thing along that journey matters. When that Prideback is delivered to your door, you get to unwrap something special. Opening up a luxury box only adds to that excitement. 

 

 

Where can we purchase your headwear ?

You can currently purchase the hats online at http://www.prideback.com/


They are also stocked in Route 26 and Canopy in Derby. 


You can only get your initials embossed on the hat if you order online as the initials are embossed to order. 


Also, find us on Facebook (Prideback), Instagram (prideback_project) and Twitter (@prideback).

Thank you kindly guys for doing this interview and I wish you great success 

Sunday 19 July 2015

Batman 59fifty collection

The guys over at threads for heads have outdone themselves again with these newly released batman 59fifty collection my personal favourite has to be the camo one .... Which one will you pick up ? 


Head over to 


And grab your favourite 

Saturday 18 July 2015

9fifty Batman & Boba Fett trifecta reflective

Two more releases from myfitteds.com from two of my favourite film franchises of all time come thes boba fett and batman New era 9fifty snapbacks each featuring a reflective logo. 

The Bobafett comes in an olive and Orange colourway with the iconic bounty hunter featured 


And the batman comes in a black and grey colourway with the greatest of all detectives featured 

And the Bobafett can be found at 

Boba fett 9fifty for kids

Another one released by my fitteds.com for those future star wars fans out there is this nice camo 9fifty with a very cartoon like boba fett on the crown 


To grab yours for that future bounty hunter of yours head to

Back to the future inspired 59fifty

While we all eagerly await the rerelease of the irredescant 59fifty hat which made its way onto the screens in back to the future 2 myfitteds.com have released this back to the future licence plate which was featured on the iconic car the delorean 

Featured here matching the newly released Jordan 7s Bordeaux 

To cop yours head over to 

Mickey Mouse kids 59fifty & 9fifty

Mickey Mouse has made an appearance over at myfitteds.com. The most famous of mouses has made his way onto 2 children's 59fifty fitteds and a 9fifty SnapBack in 2 different colourways each with a metallic outline surrounding the character 




Head over to 


To get yours 

Sunday 12 July 2015

Cap jewellery by jean Louis casquette

So you're addicted to caps ? your favourite headwear can now also be worn on your finger , around your neck or as earrings 

The 'caskate ' the name given to the cap you wear on your finger started off as a bit of a joke between two friends which sparked Jean-baptiste to create this unique piece of jewellery. 


The 'caskate' is available in a wide range of materials from coloured plastic to steel (stainless , gold plated and matte black)  or bronze and premium silver. 


The 'caskate'  is made using 3d printing which means pretty much any design can be printed onto the design so imagine your favourite design or that rare hat that doesn't always make it out of that showcase you can now wear everywhere. 


Prices start from as little as $20 and shipping is available worldwide so head over to http://www.jeanlouiscasquette.com/. To own a piece of unique jewellery 

Batman vs superman

Hot off the the release off the Batman vs Superman trailer at yesterday's San Diego comic con where director of the film Zak Snyder arrived in the batmobile giving out free promo Batman vs Superman : dawn of justice New Era caps  and t shirts I have a question are you #teambatman #teammanofsteel ? 




The promo cap from the man himself (would love to get my hands on one of these) image repost from @farm2chef on Instagram

If you haven't seen the trailer yet or just want to check it out again you can watch it here https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=0WWzgGyAH6Y

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Famous stars & straps new era 9fifty

Street wear brand 'Famous stars and straps' are set to release this new era 9fifty SnapBack for their fall 2015 release keep your eyes peeled on there website and Instagram for more details on release 


Monday 6 July 2015

New era snipes exclusives

German based store 'snipes' are set to release 3 new era exclusives available in select stores and online.

First is the 'sorry I'm' music pack but in a different colour way to the previous releases with a sky blue crown and gold statement writing available in 9fifty snap backs 



The second release is this women's lace Atlanta Braves 9fifty SnapBack 


And last but not least for all you heroines out there these two supergirl 9fifty snap backs one with a dark denim crown and another with a faded light denim 



To get yours keep an eye on the website and select stores 

Thursday 2 July 2015

The hunter flight by Reagan Lee

Allow me to introduce to you the very limited (only 32 made) 'The Hunter Flight' by cap connoisseur , designer and photographer Reagan lee. 


From the 2015 Australian regional rugby union the hunter flight was born. Inspired by the sulphur crested cockatoo which you can see from the pics is extremely detailed with the three golden colours used to bring out the crest of this beautiful bird


Not only did Reagan go all out on the logo for the crown but all the other little details really make this release a real unique release from the feather print on the yellow under brim 


To the stickers and tags used 




And to finish off this release nicely it came in a signed new era gift box with reagan lees signature trademark photographs of the release 


Thanks Reagan for including me in this release I feel very honoured and greatful 

Be sure to check out more of reagans work at http://www.reaganlee.com.au/

Monday 15 June 2015

New era x Star Wars Europe pt2 release

New era Europe are rolling out there 2nd instalment of there Star Wars collaboration on the 20th of June. This release feature the droids from the movie r2d2 and c3po limited to 144 pieces and can be found at flagship stores , http://www.neweracap.co.uk  , selfridges , the good will out , Colette Paris , holypop store and uolker sneakers & co 

"These are the droids you are looking for" 




Sunday 14 June 2015

Custom surly shirt 59fifty

Reese Hendrix Took up graphic design as a hobby just over a year ago  starting off with t shirts and decided he would also like to see one of his designs on a new era fitted so he made his dream a reality. 
This is the first fitted hat creation from the Surly Shirt Project and features the Chicago Cold which is the name of the Surly League team that plays on the west side of the Chi.


 This New Era fitted hat features a surly penguin on the front


Surly League logo on the back (Chicago Flag Baseball).


Saturday 13 June 2015

SnapBack Saturday (strapback)

Today for SnapBack Saturday I have chosen this original fit strapback recently purchased from culture kings in Australia. 
The cap is part of a series which just uses the characters names on the front. Do today's cap is dedicated to leader of the decepticons MEGATRON 

 
The brim features a nice snakeskin print with a grey underbrim 



And the back of the hat features the decepticon logo with a nice snakeskin print strap and a detailed buckle.



Tuesday 9 June 2015

New era Brooklyn Nets 59fifty trucker cap


Us locker room are proud to release this gem to there website and store today. A New Era 59fifty fitted cap with a twist perfect for those summer days with fitted comfort and breathable trucker mesh to the back. 
The cap features the Brooklyn Nets logo on the right side , NBA logo to the back and the signature NE flag to the left. 
Sizes start at 7 1/8 to 7 5/8 





Monday 8 June 2015

Roc nation ltd release

So Roc Nation the company founded by Jay Z just released on there Instagram that they're releasing this American colour way of the crown in very limited numbers

Keep your eyes on there insta and check them out at https://shop.rocnation.com/
For more on release info To cop yours 

Sunday 31 May 2015

Mishka x New Era : Create your own

Today I would like to share with you this sweet mishka x new era create your own keep watch. This was gifted to me by a friend in the U.S. Who took the time to hunt it down in my size as it was out of stock on the website. 


The hat comes with 5 permanent markers ( black , pink , blue , green and silver ) and a sweet pencil case. 



The hat also comes with mishka a signature keep watch underbrim 

So question is do I take the plunge and colour it in or do I keep it plain as a collectors item ? 


Saturday 16 May 2015

SnapBack Saturday : new era by you

Today for SnapBack Saturday we have my creation made using the new era by you feature on the new era website 

My design features the red elephant print which is a raised velour texture with the transformers autobot logo to the front 


You are able to change each panel , eyelets, button , front and top of the brim and the left and right snaps as well as many other logos. 


I chose to go for a red snap and a black snap to contrast with a red tiger print underbrim 


Some may consider it a little wild but that's what makes it fun , with new era by you the possibilities are endless 

So head over to 

And Post your pics on Instagram using #abovethebrim 


Wednesday 13 May 2015

Lost boys inc x new era 9fifty release

Lost boys inc will be releasing these 9fifty new era releases on Monday may 18th the snap backs come in 3 designs one has 'devil' on it , another 'angel' and the last reads 'lost boys inc vs everyfnbody'


Which design is your favourite ? 

Go cop one at www.lostboysinc.co