Writing, reviews, interviews, photography.

Posts by A. Frankel

On the Lookout vol. 03: Confirmed Stock 4/28

Posted on April 16, 2012

Finding out that Confirmed Stock is happening in not-so-far-away Baltimore, MD was very exciting for us; we don’t get to go to many big events like this as they either happen in New York and require big budgets or in Los Angeles and we simply can’t make it out there. This is happening close to home and we’re happy to be covering it. It’s an “innovative menswear-focused pop-up market” featuring some seriously excellent brands from around the country. The event is organized by Neal Shaffer and Drexler with the idea that these brands, largely unavailable in Baltimore currently, will bring awareness to the forward-motion of menswear and drive a need to have such brand’s presence in the city.

“Confirmed Stock is really about giving men in the Baltimore area a chance to not only buy great stuff but also make more mindful decisions about how they spend their money,” said co-organizer Neal Shaffer. “Our vendors offer amazing products and that’s the main thing, but equally important is the fact that these are people you can buy from and feel good about where your money is going.”

“We’re looking to move the landscape forward for men’s style in Baltimore,” said co-organizer Chris Walbert. “The brands we’re showcasing have never had a Baltimore presence before, or if they have, it’s been a small one. In that regard, we see Confirmed Stock as just the beginning.”

We’re stoked to make the trip down to check out the excellent event these guys have planned. If you see Steve or I wandering around taking photos, do make sure to say hello. This will be the first event I’ve covered with more than one shooter/schmoozer so we’ll be covering quite a bit of ground. We’re very excited to see all of the brands and can’t wait to share the photos with you.

[vimeo vimeo.com/34173469 w=1000&h=600]

Here are the dirty details:

Confirmed Stock

04/28/12

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

2640 St. Paul St. (in a former Church)

Baltimore, MD. 21218

Here’s a list of the featured brands:

Almanac Industries

Ball and Buck

Blue Claw Co.

Cause and Effect

Corter Leather

CXXVI

Federal Store 

Fischer Clothing

Greenwich Vintage Co.

Hellbrand Leatherworks

Jack Robie

Lumina Clothing

Mister Crow

Randolph Engineering

Ruell and Ray

Sandtown Millworks

Sixteen Tons

Two Inch Cuffs

Categories: Announcements, On the Lookout

Eliot & Eads in the Studio

Posted on March 29, 2012

Eliot & Eads has released their second video in support of their upcoming album, “The Flyover States”, due out sometime in early Summer. This video features Dave Lapinsky, of Matermathu, who came in to record some dobro and slide guitar parts. The song was written in an afternoon specifically designed to have a video as the backdrop. Again, full disclosure, I’m producing this record, editing all video related to the project, and can be seen stomping and clapping in the background. This was again shot by A.C. contributor Steve Streisguth.

 

If you’d like to see the first video in this series, click here.

You can find Eliot & Eads by clicking here.

You can view Steve Streisguth’s other work on this site and by clicking here.

Categories: Announcements, Writeups

New Menus

Posted on March 26, 2012

A few administrative updates; we’ve removed the links section which you’d normally find if you delved deeper into the site on the right sidebar. It didn’t seem right making people hunt for this and if they didn’t know it was there, they might never find it at all. Showcasing brands and companies we enjoy is an important part about what we do so we’ve moved it to the top menu for easy access for all.

That being said we’ve also consolidated a few menus and created some new ones. There are now some drop-down menus (*gasp* technology!) including Contact, Projects & Collaborations, and Features. You can still get to us directly by clicking on the Contact menu which will take you to the appropriate form.

The new menus are for easier access to running features or special projects we’ve worked on including all of your favorite series such as The Standard Relay or Inquiries & Responses and projects like Natural Process or Eliot & Eads.

In other news, your favorite new contributor, Steve Streisguth, has just celebrated a birthday so if you see him (or his well-written and photographed articles), give him some lovin’.

Thanks for your continued support. Just wanted to make note of the changes.

Categories: Announcements

“The Flyover States” by Eliot & Eads

Posted on March 22, 2012

Eliot & Eads is a musical act based in St. Louis, MO. but in recent years has become far-flung across the nation ranging from Washington D.C. and Philadelphia to New Orleans and occasionally other locations around the country. This is the first video promoting their upcoming record, “The Flyover States”. Full disclosure here, I’m the drummer, producer of the record, and edited this video. Steve Streisguth, the newest contributor to The American Classic, graciously filmed the entire thing in the studio in West Philly (and did a bang-up job of it, I’d say). That being said, I’d certainly appreciate it if you took a look and I know the rest of the group would too. There will be one video released every week for the next month so make sure to keep your ear to the ground for more updates.

You can follow the group’s progress on Twitter, Tumblr, and their main site. In case the embedded video fails, you can navigate to the page by clicking here.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/38957067 w=1000&h=600]
Categories: Announcements, Writeups

The Standard Relay: Handsome Coffee x WoodSmithe, Hiut Denim, Levi’s Commuter Collection, & Tsutaya Books

Posted on March 13, 2012

 

Handsome Coffee Roasters x WoodSmithe

A Gorgeous Video on a New Shop

This has been out for a little bit but the video is absolutely gorgeous. Makes me proud to have such a strong tie to the coffee industry when videos of this caliber are released. Obviously it’s purely masturbatory to the aesthetics of caffeine meccas, specifically Handsome Coffee recently opened in Los Angeles, but it’s a feast for your eyes and really makes you want to grab a beer with the mustached gentleman.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/36784535 w=1200&h=500]

Hiut Denim

Resurrecting a Denim Town

FREE/MAN Brand did a very nice interview with David Hieatt, owner of Hiut Denim from the UK. It’s got some heft to it so certainly take your time reading it. Very interesting insight to the start of a brand from a town that’s struggled greatly in recent years. If anyone can tell me how to pronounce Hiut Denim, you win bonus points. Use the comments below (via FREE/MAN Brand).

Levi’s Commuter Collection

At Long Last

I saw this after being roped into a few Twitter chains with Levi’s; they’ve put out a collection specifically pandering to the functionality of cycling as transportation which is excellent. Granted, I may not buy one of their bags but the 3M reflective-trimmed selvedge line (appropriate usage? Probably not.) is an excellent route to pursue, especially considering that their closest competitor making something similar is Rapha and their products cost more than twice as much.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtbRy0j6hmA w=1200&h=500]

Tsutaya Books

Japanese Design in Media Consumption Form

Monocle Magazine did an excellent report on Tsutaya Books’ recently remodeled location. The new shop provides space to consume your recently purchased media in a cozy environment. The place is more like a library meets dark-wood paneled club for ad executives in the 50s with a back catalog of ridiculous proportions. Hundreds of thousands of books, rare magazines, movies, and CDs line the walls. In the age of the death of print media and the physical record, this place seems to be doing it right. Take a look at the video, free to access for now on Monocle’s site. (via February’s issue of Monocle Magazine)

Categories: The Standard Relay