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UO Happenings: UO Goals EventsThis past weekend we hosted several fitness events at some of our stores, including Space Ninety 8 in NYC, Space 15 Twenty in CA and Space 24 Twenty in TX, along with our Santa Monica and Malibu stores. There were free yoga classes, snacks, and juices for all who attended, as well as nail art, henna, and even DIY mood sprays. Thanks to everyone who came out and keeping fit in the new year! Lead photo by Driely S. At the Space Ninety 8 event, there was a Vinyasa Flow class hosted by Y7 Studio, a DIY aromatherapy blending station by Morphologically, and tarot with Lindsay Mack. To keep everyone hydrated after their workouts, there were also free juices by Grass Roots Juicery. Photos by Driely S. The owner of Morphologically with some of her aromatherapy products The class hosted by Y7 was strenuous, but they kept it fun with a live DJ Some of the juices from Grass Roots Juicery At our Herald Square store, we also had a vinyasa flow class hosted by Y7 Studio (check them out if you haven't already!), a DIY mood spray bar by Crystal Cactus and tea by Kusmi Tea. Customers blending their one-of-a-kind scents at the Morphologically table At Space 15 Twenty, Lindsey Duggan of AIR hosted restorative flow yoga, and there was a henna tattoos and nail bar from The Gypsy Bazaar for everyone looking for some pampering. Healthy drinks were handed out by organic juice masters KeVita. One of the Without Walls displays in-store The girls of The Gypsy Bazaar working on a henna customer At the Malibu store, we kicked off the event with yoga from Wildlings and a DIY yoga mat spray workshop by Jord Organic. For the beauty-obsessed, there was a braid bar by Priv and complimentary drinks by Buck O'Hairen's Legendary Sunshine. A shot of the group at the Malibu store Enjoying their braids and beverages At our Santa Monica store, there was a vinyasa flow class hosted by the How You Glow girls, and a DIY Mood Spray by Crystal Cactus. Guests also loved the braid bar by Priv. And of course our employees had to hit the beach to try out their yoga skills - the perks of working in Santa Monica! Employees trying out their yoga on the beach, because why not Closeup of a DIY Crystal Cactus room spray The girls of How You Glow hosting their yoga session Finally, at Space 24 Twenty our event was hosted by City Surf and included a surf workout and Buddha Board Yoga. There was also a meditation lounge (that was so relaxing we wish we could have lived there), a mood spray DIY by Crystal Cactus, and our favorite braid bar with Priv. Drinks for the event were provided by Juice Austin. Make sure to keep an eye on your local UO account to see when we'll be hosting the next big event! Photos by Alysha Rainwaters Our Without Walls setup at the store The meditation room, aka our new home The City Surf team and their adventurous class Healthy juices from Juice Austin To keep up to date on upcoming events, follow UO on Instagram Shop Without Walls Read more »
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UO Happenings: Space 24 Twenty Grand Opening PartyLast week we celebrated the Grand Opening of the newest member of our UO Spaces family: Space 24 Twenty in Austin, TX. With the opening of two restaurants, a pop-up marketplace with work by local artists in the courtyard, and an amazing lineup of shows....there was a whole lot to celebrate. Read on to see more from the all-day party — and if you missed it, be sure to stop by the Space at 2420 Guadalupe St. Photos by Driely S. and Chad Wadsworth We're here! Kicking off the day with a Marketplace featuring local Austin designers, makers, and creatives — like Emz Jams, Canoe, and Esby (and not to mention some favorite Austin food trucks like East Side Kings parked in the courtyard) Nelson Projects led a workshop in the afternoon (while we obsessed over all her amazing handmade objects, clothes, and textiles) We also hung out with the team from Attendance Records, a local nonprofit dedicated to bringing creativity back into schools by connecting teachers and students with local writers, artists, and musicians (you can learn more about their amazing work here). To support the awesome work they are doing, we're donating 100% of proceeds from our new UO Journal to the cause — pick up your copy here! Creating one-of-a-kind tintype portraits with Lumiere Tintypes Spending the completely beautiful, sunny day outside — made even better with a burger from Symon's. Empress Of hanging out with fans before the show. Empress Of! Time for the SHOW. First up, Bayonne! Kelela RULING. Chairlift! (Read our interview with the band here on the blog) Thanks Austin — we'll be back soon, and can't wait to hang out with you at Space 24 Twenty. Follow Space 24 Twenty on Instagram Read the UO Guide to Austin Read more »
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About A Band: KelelaThe entirety of Kelela’s music career can be summed up in one lyric: “I’d do anything for the high.” The R&B singer’s been chasing it for the better part of 10 years. “It’s basically being committed to the final payoff,” she tells us. “I want people to be like, ‘Ugh! I’m in my own world right now. Please don’t bother me. Do not disturb.’ I’ve definitely had that experience with music, so I think I’ve been trying to create it for other people.” On her EP closer “The High,” off of Hallucinogen, released in October, she croons the line over pulsating beats and hypnotic keys, every syllable sung with purpose, a sexy proclamation. It’s a package of production, lyricism and vocal delivery signature to Kelela, but one that she’s defined through pursuing various emotions, aesthetics, and sensations. The daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, Kelela Mizanekristos was raised just outside of Washington D.C., her first public performances jazz stylings at venues in the District. Jazz singing felt good, but it wasn’t great. She needed to write her own music. In 2008, she joined indie band Dizzy Spells, but found herself feeling more compelled and confident on tracks that were more synth-based as opposed to guitar. Then she moved to California. Upon arriving in Los Angeles in 2010, Kelela met and collaborated with electronic duo Teengirl Fantasy—and thus, through them, most notably connected with the producers behind club label Fade to Mind and its London affiliate Night Slugs. Producers from both sides of the Atlantic—L.A. production duo Nguzunguzu and U.K.’s Bok Bok and Girl Unit, among others—served as catalysts to her music, helping craft intricate and experimental accompaniment for Kelela’s velvety vocals. What resulted was Cut 4 Me, a mixtape of underground club workings and pop-R&B vocals, released on Fade to Mind in 2013. She found her niche. “After Dizzy Spells, I sort of stopped and was like, ‘I know it’s not any of this. But I don’t know what it is,’” she says. “So it took a few tries to figure out what it is for me. I am pretty stubborn—and maybe you could call it vain—but I’d always sort of promised myself that I wouldn’t make an appearance unless I was 100% confident about what that is, about what that looks like and what it feels like. It wasn’t until the mixtape that I actually did that.” In the meantime, Kelela’s been working on her full-length debut, which she hopes to have out by late spring. To whet palates, there was Hallucinogen: six sonically and lyrically dense tracks reverse-chronologically detailing the rise and fall of a relationship, which sees Kelela digging deeper into the production pool with credits courtesy of Arca and Boots. Cut 4 Me and Hallucinogen push the boundaries between what R&B is—or was—and the next wave of contemporary musical experimentalism. Both the mixtape and the EP have their distinctions—Cut 4 Me is more club beat-heavy, while Hallucinogen is wrought with sensual slow jams—yet are each independently Kelela, her voice serving as an anchor to the many facets of her musicianship. We spoke with the singer before tonight's Space 24 Twenty grand opening performance in Austin (which you can learn more about here). Read what she had to say about finding her sonic and physical niche as an insider-outsider. Words by Allie Volpe How have you taken to fan reactions to the EP? I did put a lot into it and I was supposed to release it in May, but I held off because I wanted to make it better. It feels really good to get a good response because I put extra work in—the extra work, which was essentially switching out a song for “Rewind,” which seems to be a song that everybody’s responded to. It feels really good to have made that decision and that people are receptive to it. There seem to be so many detailed decisions that… Read more »
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UO DIY: Botanical Holiday GarlandOur alt twist on the standard holiday wreath? A versatile and simple holiday garland made from foraged flowers and greenery. Earthy, beautiful, and easy to DIY, learn how to make your own here with Leah Pipes Meltzer, an Austin-based floral designer whose loose, art-driven approach to botanicals has us rethinking the norm. Photos by Kate LeSueur Leah explains that the beauty of a garland is in how many ways it can be used for any occasion (but especially during the holidays!) It can be hung over a door, draped over a table, or just hung on the wall like a frame. To start, you'll need a variety of greens — for these, Leah used foraged greens found in her neighborhood. "I try to use stuff that is growing abundantly around me," she explains. "These big heavy sprawling greens were growing on the wall in my neighborhood and they make the perfect base." Sort through and find a few pieces which feel like they have the shape that you want to create. Next, start laying the pieces together on top each other, and find the ones that will be your sturdy binds. Bind branches together with wire to create your length. (A tip from Leah: "I often find places were it can naturally hook onto itself and let this lead the design.") Next, find the more (beautifully) droopy branches to add onto the branch "frame," giving it more movement, either wiring them on or taping to the structure with floral tape (which you can find online or at your local floral shop). Continue to add more pieces of various textures. Leah likes hers to fan out so they droop slightly. Above: Leah wearing our striped sweater dress Place on your wall, doorframe, or table — we hung ours where a picture frame had previously been. Adjust and add in flower heads for final touches. You're done! Versatile, beautiful, lush greenery that's all the more impressive when it's made by hand. Read Leah's About A Girl profile on the UO Blog Shop Gifts Read more »
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UO Journal: Farewell to All ThatUrban Outfitters is proud to present Urban Outfitters Journal, a new print publication that represents the culture and stories behind the UO Men’s brand, available now at select Urban Outfitters locations. East Austin’s Farewell Books is a new and used bookshop and gallery owned by Mikaylah Bowman and Travis Kent. Farewell opened in 2013 with a focus that’s both careful and wide-reaching: art and the underground, esoteric fiction and poetry, a thoughtful combination of the accessible and the obscure. It serves as home base for the ability of books—and the act of reading—to be both wholly private and community-binding experiences. The bookstore as a symbol for thinking, progression, and conversation. “I’ve always been interested in the blurred lines of life, art, and work,” Kent says. “Farewell Books is a continuation of this for me, it is the piece and it is the platform.” Below, a conversation on artfully striking the balance. Words by Leigh Patterson Photos by Kate LeSueur You started Farewell as former employees of Domy Books. Did you actively shift the focus to be an even split between new and used books, specifically geared toward rare and collectible titles? Mikaylah: We work hard to research books and offer up otherwise overlooked or under-appreciated gems. Part of what we want to do is immerse readers in a selection they may have never heard of but can easily get excited about. Although we cover a wide range of genres, we curate tightly to offer—what we hope to be—the best. We treat our books like art, displaying many of them face out and paying attention to book design. There's something to be said for judging a book by its cover. When dealing with first editions or art books, how do you make the distinction between the value of the book as an art object and the value of the content within its pages? Mikaylah: The book trade is constantly changing. With social media, it’s a much more visual market now. Young people don't simply want content, they want a spectacular looking object. It’s similar to fashion, a functional object that is also beautiful speaks to personal aesthetic. There's much to be said for the history of cover design; folks are collecting cover art in the same way that they collect various translations. How do your roles differ? Are there specific genres or types of books that either of you are more interested in? Mikaylah: I'd say that I'm more interested in fiction and poetry and Travis's strengths are in art books, especially his ability to foresee which contemporary small press art books will appreciate. Travis is really great with details, design work, and the more meticulous aspects of the business. I might think more big picture. We balance out each others weaknesses. Travis: Sometimes I feel like my taste in fiction is more low-brow than Mikaylah’s. I stock underground comics, and pulpy noir paperbacks and short story collections. Mikaylah is way more versed in offbeat classic fiction, difficult reads with personal gain. As for the gallery programming, it's extremely intuitive and we are almost always on the same exact page. Are either of you collectors? Mikaylah: I collect, to an extent, but my own bookshelf at home is much like Farewell's: minimal. My favorite authors, artists, and covers are present. Some of the more esoteric finds that I'm proud of exist there, too. But I also have a lot of silly books that are exactly like the kind I'd buy up in highschool: ‘70s herbal medicine books, gem books, Daisy Ashford, alchemy for teens, I found I can't give that playfulness up. Travis: I have a tendency to collect too much. I'm constantly trying to figure out what matters most to me, which is probably ever-changing and impossible to figure out. I think people collect what's in their head or in their veins, or what they wish was. Reading recommendations: A… Read more »
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UO Journal: Kung-Fu MuralistUrban Outfitters is proud to present Urban Outfitters Journal, a new print publication that represents the culture and stories behind the UO Men’s brand, available now at select Urban Outfitters locations. Briar Bonifacio grew up on a llama farm in the Ozarks. As a budding graffiti artist, he spent his time running from the cops before ultimately painting his colorful characters into murals and other street art across the county. For more than a decade, he has been maintaining a mural on the side of what is soon to be UO’s Space 24 Twenty concept shop. With a lifelong passion for the martial arts and a love for Jim Henson, Bonifacio melds his wildly disparate interests into a charming style all his own. Words by Austin Bryant Photos by Chelsea Fullerton Tell us about your early life, moving around, and how you ended up back in Austin, TX. I was born in Austin. My parents got me into all the art stuff, but my Dad got me into martial arts. My Mom is also an artist, mostly folk art. I lived in the Ozark Mountains for a while on a llama farm after high school, trying to save money for art school. My grandparents owned the farm, so I went and hung out there for a while. There were a bunch of freight trains out in the woods, so I would go and paint them in the snow. I came back to Austin never having saved any money for art school [laughs]. I kept painting trains, doing murals. I also lived in New York for a short while, doing graffiti there. How did you develop your style of artwork? Were you always drawing these characters as a kid? The characters have definitely stayed the same, but they just got better and better. Originally I was doing cats, little rainbow characters, and different little animals like birds—pretty awesome stuff. As kids, we used to have a little skateboard gang and started to spray paint in the little ditches we were skating. At first, we’d just share a can. Eventually, our skateboard gang turned into a graffiti gang, and we would start going out every night looking for bridges and walls. Do you like that old-school tagging method from your youth or do you prefer doing big, official murals without having to hide? I loved feeling like a ninja hiding out in the woods, waiting for the train conductors to leave. We would get really elaborate—we’d have train scanners so we could listen in. Painting the big murals is also fun—getting a big lift and being able to paint something huge. Did you ever get caught doing graffiti? We got handcuffed a couple of times. Cops would catch us, round us all up, and after seeing we were just doing graffiti they would say, “That’s all you’re doing? We thought you were breaking into cars.” They would usually let us go at that point. When I was doing my first mural in the ‘90s out under a bridge, the cops came, we ran off, and they actually called us back saying, “No come back, it’s okay to paint here!” They actually gave us a job painting the police substation. You were also into DIY puppetry when you were younger, right? I’ve always been into Jim Henson, old school Sesame Street—I grew up with all that and always wanted to try it out. I went to film school for a while and made puppets and created little skits. I started doing DJ puppet shows, where I’d put up these tables with puppets where they would look like they were scratching. I hauled all that to Hong Kong in 2009 and set up a DJ puppet show for one of my art exhibitions. Your Dad brought martial arts into your life—has that kept going into adulthood? My Dad was a boxer for the U.S. Army,… Read more »
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UO Journal: No Man's LandUrban Outfitters is proud to present Urban Outfitters Journal, a new print publication that represents the culture and stories behind the UO Men’s brand, available now at select Urban Outfitters locations. LAND, a two-man design studio based in Austin, hinges on a unique form of interdisciplinary collaboration. Founders Ryan Rhodes and Caleb Everitt first met while working in the worlds of commercial advertising and graphic design before joining forces to open their own studio. LAND is known for taking esoteric iconography, and reinterpreting it through the lens of contemporary design. We visited the duo at their East Austin studio and asked them about their growing international audience, where you can find them on their day off—probably riding motorcycles through the Texas Hill Country—and their mantra “with, not for.” Words by Ramona Flume Photos by Alexandra Valenti LAND creates original artwork and collaborates on commercial graphic design projects. How are you currently balancing that dual workload? Ryan: In the past couple of years, we’ve wanted to do more art projects and whittle down our commercial work –or at least curate it to a select group of clients so we have more time for our own art. We’ve been working towards that for a while now and it’s actually starting to happen, which is really exciting. We’ve started a web store and now that it’s up, we’re coming up with tons of ideas and new products. How does your creative partnership influence LAND’s aesthetic? Caleb: It yields the weirdest, coolest results that we wouldn’t come up with otherwise. After mixing and reworking each other’s ideas, it just turns into something bigger than both of us individually. Besides the mix of commercial and independent designs, you strike another balance — between heady, intellectual inspirations and an earthy, all-natural aesthetic. Ryan: We’re always trying to balance that refinement versus natural or organic feeling in our work. With type, we learn all these rules of typography and at some point say, “What if we forget about all that and re-approach it in a different way?” It’s fun to try and think like a caveman. Caleb: We put everything through a sort of intellectual or mathematical process to make sure that the composition is weighted and that everything makes sense and then kind of degrade it by putting it through a caveman filter. Caleb shows LANDS work at their East Austin studio. How do initial inspirations move forward through the various stages and “caveman” filters of your creative process? Ryan: We always find more inspiration in things that don’t bring up a familiar feeling. You might look at it and feel like it’s new or different but it actually came from 100 or 200 years ago. We take objects that we found or resurrected, and place them one at a time into a design. Caleb: Designers are always mining the past. But I think we’ve pushed that a bit further by looking deeper in unexpected places… Stuff that’s weird and human or just different – whether it’s typography or religious iconography or cave drawings that are thousands of years old—and then gravitating towards the humanness of those things to resurrect them in our own way. Where are some places that you mine for inspiration? Ryan: We’ve both collected books for years, which are constant inspirations, and we’re always going to thrift stores and citywide garage sales. Caleb: We could open up any page in any old magazine and find some kind of inspiration. It could be just a few letters that evolve into a weird alphabet we use. It’s all about stumbling across things and getting inspiration from weird, overlooked pieces of the past. Is your hands-on approach a reaction against the digital design age of Tumblr and Instagram? Ryan: When sites like Found and other image blogs and Tumblrs came along, that really took over, but it started to feel like we were staring… Read more »
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About A Girl: Leah Pipes MeltzerWe’re exchanging working notes and DIY tips from Austin florist and artist Leah Pipes Meltzer, whose overflowing creativity and free spirited attitude is our latest inspiration. Read on for our conversation on her vintage-meets-modern style, dream projects, and why she says "nothing is greater then a day spent playing with flowers." Photos by Kate LeSueur Above: Suede trench coat, High-neck shimmer dress Can you introduce yourself, please? I’m from New Orleans originally and I have been splitting my time between Austin and NO. I also spend about a month or so in New York every year. I guess I say I am an art director, floral designer, prop stylist, and photographer. I am one of those ADD artistic people: I am constantly making photographs, collaborating with artists, and producing work. One of my favorite things is helping artists to fine tune their vision and brand. But florals are my passion; nothing is greater then a day spent playing with flowers. Above: Printed Pants, Top How did you get started as a florist? Can you share more about your experience and how you’ve refined your aesthetic? One of my first floral gigs was with Bows and Arrows in Dallas, where I spent hours and hours making garlands and a giant wall display that hung over the dance floor. I have this photo from around this time, with a laundry room where every square inch is covered in hundreds of hydrangeas. I kept thinking to myself, 'I want my life to look exactly like this.' I also started out with botanicals working with my friend's brand Folklorica, which was extremely influential. The owner Tamara, who is a designer and herbalist, showed me her methodology, which involves a ton of foraging. That really deepened my vision and appreciation of naturalism, and how hands-on you can be. It taught me to learn more about the purpose of plants, how they grow and in what context. When we were working together she was doing projects with plants native to Texas. Today, using native plants and what's seasonal and abundant is now extremely essential to my process. I use a wild, inspired approach. I like movement and nothing too constrained. Above: Striped Sweater Dress What about your art? It’s cool how you weave so many different creative projects together, and we're curious how/where you see them connecting. I'm enthralled by the lives of objects. For a while I was saving every flower I ever had, and that was even before I started doing florals professionally. Sometimes I think I love flowers just as much dead as I do when they are alive. I’m a collector, a curator, a performer, and [flowers provide] the scene and scenario. Describe a dream project. Any project that has to do with installation. I would love to do a giant, suspended hanging flower garland. Above: Navy Jumpsuit Can you share a bit about your personal style? You seem to have a really clear sense of mixing vintage and special pieces into what you wear. What types of clothes are you drawn to? I like modern pieces that look vintage, or vintage pieces that look modern. I wear a lot contemporary designers — especially things that feel muted...Recently I bought a pair of lovely pink silk drawstring shorts (almost like gym shorts), which the designer described as inspired by "future monk." I really like that idea so much. Other ideas I like are: color-blocking, socks with every shoe, and fluctuating between being elegant and feminine and clunky and masculine. What about if you’re going out for the night? What are some of your go-to looks or tips for dressing up a bit while staying true to your style? Oh, for that I am a dress girl. I always wear a dress to be fancy. I look to the 1930s and 40s as inspiration. We love your easy twisted up-do…how can… Read more »
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UO Journal: In Good SpiritsUrban Outfitters is proud to present Urban Outfitters Journal, a new print publication that represents the culture and stories behind the UO Men’s brand, available now at select Urban Outfitters locations. With the holidays on the horizon, we teamed up with Mark Vetri, the chef behind UO’s Space 24 Twenty restaurant in Austin, TX to craft the perfect cocktail for the winter season. We’ve dubbed it: The Cinnamon Gingerbeer Float. And it’s really easy to make. Serves 6-8 64oz High Quality Ginger Beer 1 Quart High Quality Cinnamon Ice Cream or Cinnamon Semifreddo 1 Bottle Dark Spiced Rum 6-8 16oz Mason Jars Large straws 1 Whole Nutmeg Nutmeg Grater Like we said, this is really easy to pull off: 1. Add a large scoop of cinnamon ice cream to the bottom of a 12oz Mason jar 2. Add 1oz Spiced rum and top with 8-10oz gingerbeer 3. Allow room for foam at the top. 4. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg or allspice or clove or any holiday Shop Barware Read more from Urban Outfitters Journal Head to 2406 Guadalupe St. in Austin, TX on November 5th from 6-8pm to celebrate the opening of our newest store at UO’s Space 24 Twenty. Read more »
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UO Journal: Bread Before DawnUrban Outfitters is proud to present Urban Outfitters Journal, a new print publication that represents the culture and stories behind the UO Men’s brand, available now at select Urban Outfitters locations. The early morning—between 3:00am and 5:00am—is a temporal no-man’s land; it’s the time when even the most devout night owls have surrendered to sleep and the early risers haven’t yet had their first cup of coffee. But, no matter where you are in the world, there is a group of dedicated craftsmen awake and baking. Baking at this dark, quiet time is a solitary task done in windowless back rooms as the world sleeps. Despite the isolation, bakers aren’t alone; They are united by the odd hours, the fresh, yeasty smells of proofing bread, and the blast of a 500 degree oven. In a city like Los Angeles, you’ll find people preparing and baking everything from donuts and tortillas to baguettes and rye. Whether in a large warehouse or at a kitchen counter, dedication to one of the world’s oldest crafts bonds the late night baker. Words by Brad Barry Photos by Nicholas Haggard La Mascota — 2:15am Though the streets are dark, standing outside of La Mascota in East L.A., the efficient movements of Edward Salcedo and his bakers are visible in a shaft of yellow light escaping from the darkened storefront. His crew is made up of relatives and young bakers that have come to learn the bakery’s methods. His hands move quickly and methodically through mounds of risen dough as he rolls over two thousand bolillos, a baguette-like Mexican roll. Salcedo has been flipping these same Mexican rolls for over 50 years, recreating the recipes passed down from generation to generation. It’s not hard to imagine this process—as well as the jokes and conversations that have become a part of it—continuing uninterrupted for generations to come. Surrounded by stacks of colorful pan dulces and bubbling, oversized pots of tamales, Salcedo uses the same techniques that his father Ygnacio passed when he opened the bakery in 1952. The skills have remained in the family ever since. Ms. Donuts — 3:30am Ms. Donuts is a 24-hour glowing beacon on a dark stretch of street in Echo Park. Inside, the shop’s late-night employee Bonnara serves fresh donuts, though at this time of the morning, you’ll have to order through the side window. The selection is corner donut shop fare: brightly colored sprinkles, bear claws, and donut holes fill the florescent-lit counter case. Bread Lounge — 4:45am Nestled in the Arts District of downtown L.A., Bread Lounge is a cafe space connected to a large commercial bakery. Here, bakers work through the night to create the breads and pastries that will be shipped through the city to groceries, hotels, and local restaurants like Republique and Sqirl. Baker Ziv Wagner talks with pride about his ingredients; he points out the house-made zaatar that tops the kalamata olive loaf, the fresh apples for the kouign-amann, and the ricotta for their take on the cheese danish. Though loaves of bread quickly fill tray after tray as they are shuttled from the oven, each process has taken much longer. Lifting a sunflower-poppy-seed loaf, Wagner explains, “This is our quickest loaf — it only takes 12 hours.” For a baker, no two nights are exactly alike. “Wherever you are in the world,” Wagner says, “there are always changes and fluctuations in temperature and climate and ingredients. The dough is an active, living creature that can act different from day to day. To be a good baker, you have to adjust and give it special attention every single morning.” Mark Stambler — 6:45am Mark Stambler has baked bread at home for years, and in 2009 began selling his homemade loaves at local stores. In 2011, the Health Department shut down his home-kitchen-based operation, but Stambler spent 18 months learning to write legislation to get a bill passed.… Read more »
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UO Gives: Attendance RecordsThis December, as we celebrate the Grand Opening of our newest UO Space, Space 24 Twenty in Austin, TX, we're also excited for the opportunity to learn more about the local individuals and organizations who are working closely with the community. We're so proud to be able to support Attendance Records, an organization dedicated to bringing creativity back into schools by connecting teachers and students with local writers, artists, and musicians. By providing students with the opportunity to design, write and produce their own album, students build confidence skills that result in discovering what makes them unique. 100% of the sales from our all-new UO Journal will go to Attendance Records — the journal brings together stories, art, photography, and style in one place (and also features some of our Austin friends!) For Austin locals, we'll also be selling exclusive Space 24 Twenty tote bags at the Grand Opening event Dec. 4, with all proceeds from the totes benefitting AR. Read on for our conversation with their Director Jenna Carrens and to learn more about their ongoing work. Photos by Jessica Pages How did Attendance Records start? Attendance Records began in 2011 as a response to the drastic budget cuts in public schools. I wanted to create a program that allowed students an outlet for creative expression, as well as an opportunity to see the creative opportunities that already exist in their own community. The overall balance of the program from beginning to end allows students to create something from scratch and make it entirely their own. This includes writing song lyrics, learning about different genres of music, researching and reimagining album art covers, learning about graphic design and distribution, and even creating their own merch by screenprinting their T-shirt designs. Who is involved and what are your backgrounds in? Attendance Records is run by Executive Director, Jenna Carrens, and Program Director, Lizzie Buckley. Jenna has nearly 10 years of nonprofit experience and graduated from St. Edward’s University with a B.A. in English Writing and Rhetoric with a Creative Writing emphasis. Lizzie began as an intern in Attendance Records’ first year while finishing up her B.A. in English and ELAR teaching certification for grades 7-12. She is currently working towards her therapist’s license through the MAC program at St. Edward’s University. Both Jenna and Lizzie are heavily involved in the music and arts community in Austin. What all are you working on right now? This school year we are at Kealing Middle School with an amazing group of 8th graders! This is the first year we’ve offered our program to middle school students, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to reach more adolescents outside of the high school setting. Our current focus in the classroom is building a sense of community and allowing students to explore themselves through creativity, with the understanding that all of their work will be different and authentic to themselves and their experience. During our first semester, we continue to develop this idea by creating curriculum that invites creativity and expression through creative writing, poetry, and songwriting that extends through the spring. The spring semester will also be art focused, which calls for students to participate in classroom workshops led by a variety of artists, writers, and musicians to ultimately create all the elements of their album. It’s an incredible experience and honor to watch our students grow. On December 8th we are hosting our annual Holiday Party at The Mohawk. It’s a fundraiser and we always have a ton of fun with it. Our students write bios and we put those on a giving tree at the event. People at the event can choose a bio and make any type of holiday card they want for that student and we deliver them the next week. We are also working on our band selection for the upcoming album! This year we are opening it up to… Read more »
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UO Happenings: Space 24 Twenty OpeningLast week, we opened the doors at the newest member of our Spaces family: Space 24 Twenty in Austin, TX; a concept space where shopping, live music, food + drink, and the local community come together, we're so excited to see the 24 Twenty dream turn into a reality. Read on to see how we celebrated Day One. Photos by Heidi Lee Landing in Austin — no better way to say hello to Texas than with pit stops for favorite taco trucks, swimming holes (even in November), and photo opps. Meanwhile at the Space...a behind the scenes look at the design, details, and work that went into creating the retail spaces and courtyard (which will open next month at our Grand Opening celebration!) So cool to see the final touches inside come together. Opening night! The women's and men's stores ready to welcome Austin friends. Drinks from Treaty Oak Distilling and Argus Cider. Tamara from Folklorica showing guests how to make infused honey face masks Travis and Mikaylah from Farewell Books with their table of favorite art books and magazines. Lumiere Tintypes was on-site taking and printing their signature black and white tintype portraits. So much fun! Thank you Austin — stay tuned to learn more about our Grand Opening celebration the first week of December, and in the meantime follow Space 24 Twenty on Instagram Visit Space 24 Twenty at 2406 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX Read more »
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About A Band: Panda BearThis week’s release of Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper marks the fifth full-length solo album from the Animal Collective musician, Panda Bear. To celebrate this, we take a brief dive into the inspirational risks he has taken both in music and in life, and we chat with him about what went into his new record, what it's like relocating to Europe, and some of the conveniences he misses about his former home. Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear, takes his stage name from the animal he used to frequently sketch as a child, and which he emblazoned on his early record covers. He is known for a variety of things: his solo work, his material with the group Animal Collective, and his collaborations with other artists such as Daft Punk (Lennox lent his vocals to the track “Doin’ It Right” on Daft Punk’s 2013 album Random Access Memories, and the song ended up being one of the bigger dance floor anthems that summer, allowing the choir-like vocals Noah is known for make their way into a lot of new listeners’ ears. With the success of his and Animal Collective’s original and experimental sound throughout the 2000s, Noah became the icon he is today for modern indie music. One of the things we find most interesting about Panda Bear is his ability to take risks. Originally from Baltimore, Noah attended Boston University for a short time before making the decision in 2000 to drop everything and relocate to New York City, seeing it as a place that allowed the creative space and freedom needed to work on his music. He was joined by his longtime friend and band mate Dave Portner, also known as Avey Tare in Animal Collective. While honing in on their musical skills, Noah worked at a record store in the East Village of Manhattan to pay the rent. In 2003, on the last stop of a European Animal Collective tour, Noah decided to extend his trip to stay and hang out for a few days in Lisbon, Portugal. Spending one of his off nights at a small electronic music show, he fell in with some locals and ended up spending the rest of his time with them, simultaneously falling in love with the people and the city itself. Like most fairytales go, this small group of friends ended up including his future wife. Shortly after returning home to New York, he made the decision to pack a bag and relocate himself to Lisbon, where he currently lives. With his new album, Noah delivers more of what he’s known for to no disappointment. Smooth synths and vocal hymns paint the album into a colorful listening experience. A lot of the tracks have a very beachy vibe, so don’t be surprised if you hear this record on repeat throughout the summer months. The lyrics are still Panda Bear—deep, dark, and cryptic, but they're balanced with the flowing and cheerful colors his music permeates, letting the vocals float gently above the sounds to create a very uplifting listening experience. We caught up with Noah in his New York hotel the day before the release of his new album to get the scoop on what's going on. Is there a meaning behind the new album title? A couple things. One was I like that it referenced a bunch of records from Jamaica in the 1970s—mostly dub records. But they would often have a title where it was one record producer or musician meets another. It was a way of signifying some kind of collaboration between the two. I like that there was a lighthearted feel to it as well—cartoony or comic book-y in a way. I felt a lot of these songs had this relationship of something kind of dark, something we wouldn’t approach so easily, and the sound of the songs were kind of light and casual. I like that… Read more »
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UO Exclusive: Mixtape GiveawayTo start the new year, UO has curated some of our favorite tracks from a year of Music Monday posts and compiled them all for an exclusive mixtape we'll be giving away on the @UrbanOutfittersMens Instagram. Winners will receive one of 50 tapes packed full of tracks from our favorite emerging artists, along with a bunch of other goodies. Keep reading for a look at the resurgence of cassette culture, the history of the mixtape, and more details on how to win our exclusive mix. A mixtape, by definition, is a compilation of favorite pieces of music, typically by different artists, recorded onto a cassette tape or other medium by an individual. The modern day mixtape is a playlist on your computer—you pick a bunch of song files you like and drag them into a playlist. Zip it, send it, and share it. Quick and easy. This wasn’t always the case, though. Back in the 90s, which feels like ancient history to most of us, mixtapes used to take time and effort, and would naturally require more emotion to go into your choices. Sitting around the stereo waiting for your favorite songs to play on the radio while your finger rested on the record button—missing the first few seconds of a song was a no-no. It defeated the purpose. If you owned the cassette, CD, or record with a particular song you wanted to include on the mix, you could record directly onto a second cassette, but it wasn’t instantaneous. You needed to let the song play through and be there to stop it when it ended to ensure a smooth listening experience. Even if that sounds easy, your mixtape needed a lot of thought. The curated tracks must fit together, flow from beginning to end, and they form some kinds of statement or mood. A mixtape, after all, is a romantic form of communication...the most iconic thing you could do was gift them to a crush to let them know you existed. Cassettes started diminishing as CDs took over and then were rendered obsolete by digital music. However, much like the vinyl resurgence in the last decade, cassettes are starting to phoenix their way out of the rubble. Like vinyl, cassettes are tangible music mediums that have their own unique qualities. They offer a warm and full sound, often accompanied by that soothing “hiss” they are known for. As you listen to a cassette tape, the tape starts to slowly wear down, creating degradation in the audio quality, much like wearing in your favorite pair of sneakers. Another sign showing rebirth of the cassette is Cassette Store Day. Much like Record Store Day, it is an international event started in 2013 to recognize the cassette as a format for music. More record labels are starting to turn on to the trend as well, making it commonplace now to see an act offering vinyl alongside cassettes at their shows. Included in the growing list of labels is Burger Records, which UO Omaha recently teamed up with Burger to create the in-store “Casigarette Machine,” where you drop in $5 into a refurbished cigarette machine and a cassette is dispensed to you. Urban Outfitters has put together an exclusive Music Monday Mixtape just for you that will be given away through Instagram! Repost the contest photo tagging #UOLIVE and follow @UrbanOutfittersMens for a chance to win 1 of 50 limited cassettes. Winners will be randomly selected on Friday, 1/16. Read more »
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Music Monday: December 29, 2014Best of Music Monday 2014! We took 30 of our favorite Music Monday picks and put together a "best of" year end list. They are in no particular order, but these are our "must listens" of the year. Read more »
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Music Monday: December 22, 2014If you're always on the hunt for new music, head here every Monday for five freshly picked tunes to start your work week off right! Soul Island - Mother Here is a killer track from Bad Panda Records. Very Eno-y vibe from this one. Keep this in your pocket until a hot summer night. Aldous RH - Lov Coms Btwyn This is a nice nod to the Connan Mockasin sound. Very interesting vocal work and overall atmosphere. ELHAE - Drive Me Crazy Enjoy this super bouncy track from ELHAE, hailing from Hotlanta. Jengi Beats - Take It Slow We will take as much of this "Future Bass" as possible—of course you can pretty much blame Kaytranada single handedly for the success of this. But a lot of other artists are taking the sound and expanding, like Jengi Beats. This is from the Too Lush Vol. 2 compilation. fwdslxsh - Yellow It was a good week for underwater sounding electronic. Deep vibes here on "Yellow". Read more »
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For The Record: Future Islands Portland SigningWith their current North American tour coming to a close, the guys from Future Islands dropped by the UO Portland store last week for a special For The Record vinyl signing. If you couldn't make it out to the event, check out the photos below of the lucky fans who were able to meet the band and get their hands on a signed record. And click here to read the interview we did last week with William from Future Islands. Photos by Michael Spear Follow UO Portland on Instagram Shop Future Islands' latest album in UO Music Read more »
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UO Music: NYE Party PlaylistWondering what music to play at your New Year's Eve party? We put together a huge playlist of throwback jams that everyone can dance to—and the wallflowers at the party can sing along to. From Janet Jackson and TLC to the Beastie Boys and Prince, this seven hour playlist is our take on ringing in 2015. Photo by Katherine Squier Shop vinyl Read more »
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Music Monday: December 15, 2014If you're always on the hunt for new music, head here every Monday for five freshly picked tunes to start your work week off right! D'Angelo - Sugah Daddy For those of you who don't know, Black Messiah, the long awaited third LP from D'Angelo, dropped sometime last night. Here is a new track from the record. So much for all these end of year lists. Lauer - Stigma This is a killer running track from the Beat's In Space radio show and RVNG Intl. Bodega Bamz - Hudson Mohawke - Final Hour This great Hudson Mohawke track has been floating around for quite some time. But he just recently dropped it in a BBC set and reminded us about all his forthcoming releases. Happyness - Jelly Boy (Jesus, Baby) Here is a nice and new fuzzy track from Happyness. Art Is Hard Records has had a great year with Alex G and a slew of other indie releases. Diplo, Edward Droste, Rostam - LONG WAY HOME "Stand For" was pretty great, but this is REALLY great. Read more »
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About A Band: Twin ShadowTwin Shadow's George Lewis is a musician who completely transcends being locked into any specific genre. His work ranges from '80s-inspired new wave to R&B, from dance to rock. It can just as easily be listened to in the confines of your bedroom as it can in the car with the windows down (even he admits: "I really should just come up with an answer for how to describe my music, but I never really have one. It changes from record to record.") And with an upcoming U.S. tour, a new album coming out in early 2015, and a performance in Hawaii this month to celebrate our new UO store opening, we have a lot to look forward to from the LA-based musician. We caught up with him about recording his new album in a cemetery, FKA Twigs, and making music that goes "all over the place." Promotional Photos by Milan Zrnic What are you up to right now? I’m currently in an Uber car in Los Angeles going to pick up my motorcycle. I was working all night at Paramount Studios mixing the last song on my record, and I was physically so tired after it that I couldn’t even get on my bike, so I took a cab home. What kind of motorcycle do you ride? An old 1972 Bonneville. Let's talk about the new album. How has your sound changed? And where did you work on it? I tried to get more focused with it, more minimal and simpler. I’ve been trying to trim the fat recently on a lot of my songs. I started working on it in the Los Angeles Hollywood Forever Cemetery—there’s a chapel in the cemetery that I rented out and built a studio in. What was the writing process for the new album? Do you start on guitar and expand from there? No, I rarely start on guitar. It’s weird, guitar is the first instrument I took time to play well, and now I don’t ever really play it. And I’m a really bad piano player, but I write all my songs on the piano. It usually starts there and then it kind of gets layered. I write the idea down and slowly build drums around it, and then fill it with everything else. Your songs can be played pretty much anywhere, so how do you keep your songs from being pigeonholed into a certain area? I don’t try, but I just don’t feel like I do genre-based music. So there’ll be one song that’s more dance, R&B, or rock-leaning. But they never fit 100 percent into one place or genre, which I think helps. I think a lot of people set out to make a dance record, or make a rock record, or an updated R&B record. And I just don’t really think about those things when I’m working. It’s just about songs. It’s spontaneous and rarely becomes one thing. It kind of goes all over the place. Who would be your dream collaboration? Probably someone like Burial. He’s probably the most innovative sound maker around. The old me would have said Bob Dylan. If you could redo the score to any movie, which would you pick? That’s tough. I only say this because I really loved the movie, but I really loved the music in it as well, but "Doom Generation." I’d love to do music for a Gregg Araki movie. What other up-and-coming musicians are on your radar right now? Do you have a favorite album from this year? Obviously I think the FKA Twigs album is a really cool record—I’m excited for all of the sounds she’s bringing to the table. You recently performed live for the Public School runway show. How did that happen? I’ve been doing music for them since they started doing runway shows. They contacted me a long time ago and really liked my music,… Read more »
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