You might recognize Newport Beach, CA's Jordan Buckley's art from a bunch of work he's done for his band Every Time I Die, but the breadth of his work goes eons beyond that. He's got amazing line drawing skill, but give him a paint brush. His work goes all dirty-amazing. Almost sickly, but in that good way. Contact JORDAN THROUGH HIS MYSPACE if you'd like him to make you some custom Vans.
Oh no! I'm Jordan Buckley AND I play guitar in a good band AND I make good art. waaaah!
We're blushing. Look at this Half Clog Deck from enjoi. I can just imagine Vans & enjoi trotting off through the tulips past an old windmill surrounded by red heads.
On February 19, 1979 Norman Ollestad was an 11-year-old ski racer who suddenly found himself the only survivor of a plane crash in the mountains of Southern California. The crash claimed the lives of his father, his father's girlfriend, and the pilot leaving Norm alone to make his way out of the snowy range and save himself. All grown up now, Norm has written a book about the experience and his relationship with his father called, "Crazy for the Storm."
I finished the book a couple of weeks ago. I have to admit, there is no way I would have made it out of there. The stuff Norm knew from all that time skiing about how to make it through the snow storm and sketchy terrain was amazing...more so because of his age. Interesting side note, he was wearing his favorite blue Vans and talked about them a lot during the story. Here's a Norm talking about his memoir. For more info on the book visit CRAZY FOR THE STORM DOT COM.
Norm appeared on THE DAILY HABIT on Fuel TV last night, but you can catch his episode again twice today 2:30pm ET/11:30am PT and 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT.
This...oh, this. This is exactly the kind of thing that you think is hilarious and tragically clever...so painfully clever that you post it online when you're 17. Or maybe he's serious. I choose to believe that this is a sincere musical effort because this is the kinda moxie that gets you signed to Island Def Jam and a remix with Lady GaGa and all kinds of diamonds in your grill. No it ain't.
"Yo welcome to this spot/ Come over but don't get caught/ Cause then you'll have to leave/ Kicked out by a guy named Steve/ He'll push you into the dirt/ Unless you rip his shirt/ Cause his shirt is Hollister/ It's owned by his sister/ And so she will get mad/ But invite you into my pad/ That's when the party starts/ Blow the roof off with our farts/ Gonna get musical/ Gonna be all digital/ Then we gonna get in vans/ Both the shoes and minivans/ up down to Concord Mills/ Where we are gonna chill/ Movies in the theater/ Popcorn with extra butter/"
Celeb designer & stylist, Lisa Freede, recently crafted these completely out of control Slip-Ons for Katy Perry since she's getting ready to head out on tour again this summer. Lisa hand-cut these tiny Swarovski crystals herself to turn Katy's feet into lil' disco balls.
I think these are the kind of Vans that you wear, but someone has to carry you on their shoulders. Sunshine on these joints & somebody is gonna get blinded. See more of Lisa's gorgeous jewelry and accessories line at LISA FREEDE DOT COM. (You really do want to look at her site. We can afford this. OoOoOo! Sparkles!)
Katie Chabolla is only 17 & a senior in high school, but she's been running her own business for the last seven years. Customizing sneakers has been a good choice for her, and she's garnered a lot of press because of it. Why so much? Because she's got a big heart & does half of her work for kids stuck in hospitals with long-term illnesses. Straight up good kid! She's getting ready to shove off to college in the fall so buy some custom sneaks from her...or send her some recipes on how to make top ramen into other stuff (like spaghetti).
This week I ran across a custom Vans paint job by David Clark of DANGSTUDIO.COM. He's an artist based out of Austin, TX and does everything from high end custom furniture, interior design, graphic design, to merchandising store fronts. Jack of all trades, eh? Its funny since of all the shoe images in the world that I could stumble upon it happens to be one by a guy who was my contact at XLR8R Magazine back in the day. Anyway, besides having his own design studio (and going to the river), David is launching a new project with his friend MASON McFEE called EUCLID MEETS CUMBERLAND. If you're in Austin this Friday, June 19th check out their show at a great little boutique called BOWS+ARROWS.
And come on... you know I gotta throw in some Roger Miller just to keep it random enough.
My name is Nikki and I’m a life-long wearer of Vans.
In the interest of full disclosure, I work at Vans in the marketing department. I created this blog simply because there are so many cultural happenings surrounding Vans that I see everyday on the Web but nowhere to cull them all together. Basically, I look for people who use Vans (in some form) to express themselves or news following that same thread and aesthetic.
This isn’t the blog to ask me for a job, to hit me up for free kicks, or to tell me that you tore a hole in your jacket. Please don’t bother because this ain’t the “Ask Nikki Advice Column,” nor a replacement for the Vans Customer Service department, of which I have no part. And of course, thoughts and opinions expressed on this page are mine and mine alone, but I like it that way…
