SNEAKER MUSEUM CELEBRATES!

Sneaker Museum will be doing some partying this upcoming week with 2 launch parties celebrating the launch of their new website & online collection of rare vintage kicks.

  

Established in Boston, Massachusetts in 2012, a Sneaker Museum founded on the belief that the convergence of sneakers and culture marks a pivotal juncture in contemporary history and provides context to explore a multitude of cultural tendrils that define our times.

Their mission, to provide access to rare kicks, facilitate experiences, prompt learning opportunities and connect people by providing unique online content, exhibitions and educational programs celebrating the sneaker culture.  

Here's a sneek peek of what will go down at the first party at Emerald Lounge.

If you're in the Boston area, be sure to check out the museum.  A sneaker lover will definitely appreciate this showcase!  

For more info check out Sneaker Museum 

More visuals 

Boston gets a Sneak Peek into the Sneaker Museum

 

Unbeknownst to many of us, Boston has been home to one of sneaker culture's biggest Jordan collectors. You won't find him on ebay (or even online), but if you're a local vendor, you probably know the guy. “Putting this collection together over the last 26 years has been a labor of love. It’s been a joy to see sneaker culture grow and evolve over the years,” said Sneaker Museum founder Rick Kosow. “Our team is building the Museum so that we can give back to that community and share our mutual love for this wonderful tradition of history and design.”

Sneak Peek X.X.XII. will feature curated exhibitions from the Sneaker Museum’s vast collection,   highlighting a breadth of artifacts from the first decade of the Air Jordan brand, including sneakers, fashion and other related collectibles, along with original artistic works riffing on Jordan’s legacy and influence on culture.

The event will also specifically showcase Year I Air Jordan kicks, “Space Jam”/Warner Bros. collectibles, and rare 1992 Olympics Dream Team merchandise, along with a fashion show featuring vintage Jordan apparel with multimedia work by videographer Dillon Buss, photography by Zacharie Lanoue, sculpture by Pat Peltier and graffiti by Ricardo Gomez.

The Museum will also host a raffle for a vintage 1990 Jordan poster to raise money for Sneakers 4 Success, a nonprofit organization that uses sneaker culture, urban lifestyle, and design to empower and motivate underrepresented youth toward academic success.  All raffle entrees will receive a VIP invitation to the Sneaker Museum’s official launch party, and anyone wearing their J’s will get a free raffle ticket.

RSVP here.

Reebok Question Release Party in Boston

Hey old skool fans of the NBA's highest scoring little man and his high flying Questions, don't miss this Boston event next week! Don't forget to RSVP to expressionsRSVP@gmail.com.  See you there!

Sneakerbox Truck Interview

 

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of catching up with Angela Schipano (left) and Tiff Crews (right), the fast-moving women who run Boston's Sneakerbox Truck. It's the only female-owned sneaker truck that I know of, so I felt especially lucky to have it in Boston. While chilling and interviewing them inside the truck, we had a constant stream of curious passers-by. Did our team do some quick business? Nope. Boston hasn't yet figured out how to license "fashion trucks," so these ladies are doing the right thing, working with the city, and limited to street sales from 8pm on and special events. Man, that's gotta hurt! But they're upbeat. Here's what they had to say...

 

FSF: What's been your favorite event so far this summer?

Tiff: It was definitely Arts in the Park. That was all about bringing the culture together--spoken word, graffiti, sneakers, hip hop, it was all there.
Angela: It was definitely our kind of crowd, and they loved the Truck!

(Note: Arts in the Park is happening in Cambridge this weekend and the Truck will be there...)

FSF:  What's been surprising for you all so far?

Tiff: So many things! In a business aspect, the amount of patience you have to have when you're starting a business. Working with the city, it's amazing how long it's taken to get a "fashion truck" permit. 

 

FSF: What's kept  you motivated through it all?

Angela: The consumers love it! They go crazy. Being out with our customers keeps us going.
Tiff: It's cool to see how people are so excited that it's two girls They ask us, "Who do you work for?" and we tell them we're the owners. And they love it!

Some of the other things folks are gonna love are their fly street wear collection, newest hats and select kicks. Keep it up gals! And coming soon, FSF apparel on Sneakerbox Truck! Let's do this...

For more of the Sneakerbox back story, you can read our earlier post here.  You can also check them out on Facebook and Twitter (@sneakerboxtruck).  Or find them on the streets!

Sneakerbox hits Boston!

Sneakerbox, the traveling sneaker truck, is "fresh out the box"! The brainchild of Tiffany Crews and Angela Schipano, Sneakerbox just launched this month in Boston. It was hatched when they worked closely together as retail managers on Newbury Street and found common ground through their passion for sneakers. Working long overnight shifts and waiting in long lines for new releases sparked discussion of making a passion into a business. With a pen, paper and an iPad, Sneakerbox was born. Inspired by their extensive retail experience and their passion for kicks, Tiffany and Angela mapped out a plan to provide urban neighborhoods with products that are fresh out of the box— Sneakerbox that is.
 

Sneakerbox is part of a retail culture that seeks to innovate the recycled idea of “brick and mortar” sneaker retailing. Simply put—think of a food truck minus the food and throw in the kicks and apparel. Tiffany and Angela, representing female sneakerheads of the world, will provide the streets with the first woman-owned rolling retail street wear concept in Boston. This fashion forward model allows them to reach a variety of customers, catering to both men and women, and provide the freshest in street fashion.

To find out more about the Sneakerbox truck, check their site or Facebook page. Soon I'll be meeting them in person (they are reppin' the Bean after all), and I'll feature an interview so you can hear about their first month in their own words...  You go girls!

DXC comes back to the BEAN!

Welcome back to Boston, Dunkxchange! We're excited to have you. This time the event will be hosted in the beautiful and spacious Villa Victoria Center for the Arts. See you there on Sunday, April 1st, 1-6pm.

Nice Recap Video of Frshr than your Avrge Battle

The good peeps at Bloodline Fresh just posted this nice recap of the Boston Freshr Than Your Avrge Sneaker Battle. Rumor has it they're coming back to Boston...hope so!

Girls Got Kicks Book Tour Bodega Stop

No way Girls Got Kicks would be half as good without fab photographer Amanda Lopez! It was great to have her come out to the East Coast for our Boston and NYC parties.

Bodega is always a great spot to have an event at, and we're proud to say GGK brought in a lot of first time customers...

Like Imani...

and Elena...

But not these featured artists, Sarah Sabino (L) and Olmis Sanchez, who took time off from working at other sneaker stores (shhhhh) to come celebrate the book!

New Girls Got Kicks tees for sale at events (and coming soon on the website!)

Thanks Bodega, and everyone who came through! And thanks to Amanda who sent these pics. For more shots from the party, click here. For updates on the next tour stops, click here.

Girls Got Kicks Book Tour Heads to Bodega

Just a reminder that femalesneakerfiend's book, Girls Got kicks, has its 2nd release party tomorrow, in Boston, at Bodega, my favorite sneaker store in the Bean! Come through for books, GGk tees, a great vibe, and all the goodies that Bodega brings you...

FSF wins first ever Frshr than your Avrge Sneaker Battle!

For their first ever Frshr than your Avrge Sneaker Battle,
Bloodline Fresh went all out with their trophy and prizes.

They also had a lot of dope local vendors, like Fam Jwlz...

And they supported this cool sneaker customizing project at Marshall Middle School called the Walkin' the Tightrope Project. Here's the winner, Shanelle, posing with her trophy and her kicks.

The Walkin' the Tightrope Project had sneaker cut-outs to design for our younger guests...

This was my favorite tee at the Inov8 table.

These were the deadstock Ewing Rogue IIs I broke out for the battle...

Every round was head-to-head, crowd vote.

Here's me with the trophy and the good peeps from Bloodline Fresh
and co-sponsor GC Skateshop in West Roxbury.

The Ewings brought it home!

It was a great first round of Frshr than your Avrge. Keep your eye out for round 2 in NYC! Many thanks to all the sponsors, and to fellow FSFer who came up from NYC to help out and check out the Beantown scene...

Fresher than your Average: Sneaker Battle in Boston

The Bean is hosting Bloodline Fresh's super fun take-all-comers sneaker battle this Saturday. Let's make sure they don't sleep on the ladies! If you want to compete, you gotta register by Wednesday the 7th. You can register @ bloodlinefresh.com

Sister 2 Sister from A to Z

Sister 2 Sister, the first ever all-female sneaker design seminar was an amazing process from start to finish. Dynamic energy filled the room as 17 aspiring designers honed their skills with the help of 7 fabulous designers from across the industry.


Day 1 included:

--the Assignment: use only paper and pencil to design your signature shoe: what sneaker doesn't exist that would reflect you and make your daily life better?

Our participants were challenged to work extensively on form.

--the Panel: our mentor-teacher designers generously shared stories about how they got into the industry, what it's like, and what advice they wish they'd gotten...

Panel participants included Pamela (Rbk), Shaona (Rbk), Alice (Rbk), Ann (Converse), Sara (Puma) and (not shown): Ashley (Nike) and Leyla (Sperry Topsider)

--the Networking Gathering: a chance for all of us to hang out, get to know each other and chill to great music and delicious barbeque at the Design Studio for Social Intervention

Participant Sarah Sabino also hung original art work at the Design Studio

Day 2 included:

--lots of work!

D'Wayne (Jordan Brand) helped make the event possible, and wasn't too busy to jump in to help Sesanii on a sketch

--Final Presentations of our Signature Shoes in front of designers, funders, friends and family

Sarah with original and final sketches

Fabiola with original (top) and final sketches

Thanks to OSD for covering and documenting the event! (We documented you too!)

More final sketches and pictures HERE.

Thanks again to:

--MassArt for hosting the event!

--Our amazing sponsors: Abekam, massImpact, Karmaloop, Pensole, No. 2 Foundation, and The Boston Foundation.

--Our amazing mentor-teachers for volunteering so much time with us!

--Our community partners who supported our high school participants! (Brighton High, Artists for Humanity, and Alisa Aronson)

--D'Wayne Edwards for his belief in the event.

DXC and FSF in Boston

Sarah Sabino and Olmis "Exkluzive" Sanchez held it down for FSF at the Boston Dunkxchange this past weekend... great work ladies! Nice artwork, too!





For more pics of the event, check Sarah's FB album.

New Balance celebrates the Boston Marathon!

My friend Susan Naimark is running the Boston marathon this Monday, and New Balance made a special customized 993 shoe to celebrate! Okay, they're also honoring the over 25,000 other runners who train all winter and are ready to tear up the long, hilly course come Spring. New Balance is kicking off this marathon weekend by offering only 72 of these sweet puppies--36 each for men and women--for sale at The Tannery on Boylston street starting tomorrow. Better run over!

Available for men and women in colors inspired by the prestigious race, including black suede with lime contrast stitching for men and lake blue stitching for women. The shoes are manufactured in the U.S. and will have a suggested retail price of approximately $150.00.



Go Susan and all Boston Marathon runners!