Here Comes the Autumn... and My Big Bald Head

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Waddup Blog. Here's a damn fun double-page spread in FHM UK that I modeled for, thanks in part to my big bald head. It's a preview for the upcoming football (aka soccer) season.

It's always fun to have the tables turned on you, where all you do is sit in front of the camera and just wait for the results.

Photography by Gorman Studio
Makeup by Valissa Yoe
Design/Art Direction by 10Ten Media (Anthony Scerri, Ian Knowles, & company)

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself...

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Sup Blog, I hope you're doing well. I recently teamed up with my French soul brother Ahmed Klink for a promo assist. There's more to come, but for now here's one of Ahmed's images of Hova taken at the All Point West Festival. Don't be surprised if you see these stickers walking around NYC.

Not posted by me of course :)

Rich Tu x G-Shock for RESPECT

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Sup Blog, Happy Friday. I'm stoked to finally show you this, which is a collaboration I did with G-Shock for RESPECT Magazine. I got to choose a watch model (in this case the GA110-1A) and create my own rendition of it. I kept it colorful and rugged looking, which are both characteristics I associate with G-Shock. It was a lot of fun, and the photo shoot took place in my studio a few weeks ago. Photography by the amazing Tom Medvedich. Love and shouts to the Kids With Candy family. There is also a video segment coming soon, which has more surprises

Look for this issue of RESPECT now, with Mr. Maybach on the cover.

Timo Weiland @ NY Fashion Week

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Sup Blog. I got away from my desk on Sunday to attend the Timo Weiland show at Fashion Week. Great presentation, and I liked the simplicity of the mens' pieces and the patterns on the womens'. Great show. Brought the camera as usual.

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Apple Store SoHo Recap + THANK YOUS

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*notice* Consolidated posts.

Hey there Blog. Here's a little photo recap of what happened at Monday's Apple Store SoHo talk. Erin from the ADC and Jayson Atienza gave me a great intro and let me do my thing. My talk was titled "Braincicles" and was mostly me showing my work and providing (hopefully helpful) anecdotes about them. I showed a vid from my past and ended with some Dagr-Nott work, with Justin Weber utterly destroying with his yo yo. The only snafu was a failure to show clips from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. No big deal, however we did miss the Great Gonzo.

Great time overall, and many thanks to the world famous Ahmed Klink for hanging out with his camera. Also, audience member Elle Dio was nice enough to provide a couple more shots as well.

Many thanks to Jayson Atienza for the intro, Erin Biggerstaff from the ADC, Brian Davis from Apple Store SoHo, Tshombe Knight from OMBE, Ahmed Klink, Carmela Pereira, Gina Schiappacasse, Chris Rabanes, and of course my secret weapon Justin Weber! It was definitely a team effort and I would have crumbled if not for them.

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Storefront Jesus

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Hello Blog. I hope your Thanksgiving was nice. Mine was a nice reprieve from my usual schedule of insanity. Also, I had time to explore my recent obsession which is the phenomenon of Baptist churches which occupy former storefronts.

My main goal is to explore the places we find comfort in, in relation to financial, geographic, and racial demographics. In the same way that you see an abundance of coffee spots in higher income neighborhoods, lower income neighborhoods have their own tentpoles (Think coffee spots aren't tentpoles? See what happens when you close one down.)

I plan to obsess more.

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There Goes The Neighborhood

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Hi Blog. This is a collaboration between the OMBE Shop, Collective Revolution, and myself for a recent exhibit at 239 Collective called Design Newark, which showcases Newark based artists. The exhibit looks at the history and pride of Newark, with an eye towards urban renewal. The collab involved several pieces of apparel, including t-shirts, crewneck sweaters, and jackets. The pieces came out really crisp and don’t be surprised if you bump into me on the street wearing them.

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Wall Star

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Salutations Blog. Here is a piece I did for the good people at KICKS (the sister magazine of SLAM). I love experimenting and was really grateful to KICKS for letting me go wild with the brick concept. Every brick was created separately, and it was kind of like building a real wall.

As for the story, it concerns John Wall. Wall, in case you live under a large rock, is the heavily touted #1 NBA draft pick. He was recruited by the Washington Wizards, and in an interesting move has signed with Reebok, who is looking to re-establish their post-Iverson basketball division. I guess we'll see whether he lives up to the hype. No pressure, right?

Fuse the Boss

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Hi Blog, sorry for the silence the past few days. I've been preoccupied with what will hopefully become a much larger project so I and a few others are pulling some overtime. However, here is a spread I recently finished for SLAM Magazine and their feature on Nike's Hyperfuse, which Rajon Rondo was wearing during the NBA finals (causing many a sneaker fan to pause their DVRs).

Now first, a confession. I am a recovering sneakerhead and own over 100 pairs of sneakers, many of which I've never worn outside. I spent many nights on niketalk.com looking at what was coming out and what others bought. I know, it's sick, but I've seen much worse. At one point I was buying a pair a week. I quit that a long time ago, however, but still get very excited about them.

So, as you can imagine this assignment was a lot of fun for me, and Nike was cool enough to provide a lot of photos to choose from. Also, I've been wanting to explore more hand typography, and this was a great chance. I liked this close-up shot, as this red/white/blue related to my shoelace concept. I felt the key was to not go too crazy and let the shoe speak for itself, as it's beautifully designed. Personally, I have my eyes set on these.

Photo Favorites 2010

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Hey Blog, I haven't done one of these in a while, but I'm about due since its the middle of the year. If you're curious as to whose rings those are, they belong to this man. The Bishop was very cool, and very pimp... literally.

Also, this week has been hectic in a great way, and I received some AMAZING news which I can't talk about until October 7th (which might be a clue in itself). Otherwise, enjoy.

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Bang Boom Pow

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Hey Blog, this is a preview of a collaboration I recently finished with photographer Andy Lin for Kids With Candy's lookbook. Does it get cooler than motorcycles and aerialists?

Click here to view the rest of the lookbook.

The Manifest Equality Recap

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Hi Blog, as promised here is the Manifest Equality recap. I had my camera handy so I snapped away. Most of these pics were taken during the afternoon leading up to the VIP preview night and that evening. A lot of people came through those doors during the course of the week, and it was an amazing sight. Also, I did my fair share of celebrity watching (didn't take too many pics of that tho). It was really a pleasure having a piece in that space, as it was filled to the brim with amazing artists, many of whom I've admired for years.

Here is a write-up in Vogue about Manifest Equality.

And in a completely unrelated anecdote, I was walking my dog at 5am this morning and saw a milkman delivering milk. I found it simultaneously both odd and comforting.

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It's a Wrap: Rich Tu x Bombay Sapphire x Tokion Pt. 2

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Happy weekend Blog, here are more pics of the event at The Griffin in NYC, courtesy of the good people at Tokion. Next up is the Manifest Equality recap.

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It's a Wrap: Rich Tu x Bombay Sapphire x Tokion

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Hey there Blog, last week was insane. Here's the short story. On Monday of last week I flew to LA from NYC for the VIP preview of Manifest Equality, flew back to NYC on Wednesday morning to attend my own party at The Griffin for Bombay and Tokion, and then flew BACK to LA on Thursday to close out Manifest Equality as well as take care of some business. I got back on Monday and finally got some real sleep. However, as promised, here's a wrap-up of The Bombay Sapphire event.

I was commissioned to design a one-off Bombay Sapphire bottle. This was a challenge as I've never worked on glass before. However, I tried a couple of different methods, and discovered that custom painted decals were the best way to go. The design itself is definitely aggressive, but I have to thank Bombay for being so supportive of the arts by giving my carte blanche.

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My Favorite Photos This Year Pt. 2

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Hey Blog, Merry Post-Christmas and Happy Pre-New Year. Here are some more shots, including a little Halloween silliness, bboy ballsiness, and a few healthy etceteras. It's slighty schizophrenic, I know, but aren't we all sometimes?

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My Favorite Photos This Year Pt. 1

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Hi Blog. The world is in holiday limbo and right now we're all just trying to get past it. Also, I'm waiting for a couple of projects to publish/air so that I can post them (get your DVR's ready on Jan. 3rd, more info later). In the meantime I wanted to show you some shots I took, not yet seen on this blog. Most of them are for reference, off-the-cuff, and/or merely document shenanigans. I hope you enjoy them.

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This Is Just Fine

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Hi Blog, I hope all is well. Last night I attended the Parsons MFA Fine Arts Open Studios in Chelsea, and it was fantastic. The company was great and the work was amazing. I had my camera handy so I stole some pics. My personal favorites were Monica Bernal's seemingly amorphous abstract compositions, Michelle Yu's wonderfully untamed sketchbooks, and the young girl with incredibly graphic wolf-like creatures (whose name I can't remember for the life of me. I'm kicking myself for that.)

*update* The artist's name is Yen Ting Chung, thanks for the heads up Monica!

Also, I know that there's a danger of this becoming a "photo" blog as of late but I think its important to understand my aesthetic from all angles and the media that informs it. Was that an apology? I hope not.

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The Great Outdoors

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Hi Blog. I don't usually post at night but I just wanted show you these pics I took today in Newark, NJ. Edwin Vasquez let me know about a mural project he's working on with other Jersey artists and invited me to come check it out and maybe lend a hand. Fortunately, I had the camera handy and shot away (I swear I held a paintbrush too). Another artist involved is Kevin Sampson, a Newark-based fine artist along with two assistants Cesar and Rich (not me).

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When Was the Last Time You...

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Hey Blog. It's very possible that today's post is an utter waste of time, but I can't remember the last time I had Cracker Jacks. Well, I don't usually eat caramelized popcorn for one, but other than that I like them. In fact I like them enough to feel compelled to photograph the prize inside. Is it stupid that designing one of these "prizes" is a dream gig of mine?

Outside of these doors is Fairview, NJ

Hey Blog, looks like this week is for photos. Right now I'm still working on a couple of things, including a contribution to Death + Taxes magazine and a big new piece inspired by the show I was just a part of. Something that I've realized is that I really want a show by myself right now.

My own egomania aside, here are the pics from the studio in northern New Jersey I've been talking about. I share it with fellow SVAers Ray Jones and Matt Barteluce, who guest star in some of these pics. They're amazingly cool people, and its pretty awesome sharing a space, even though I think I do an absurd amount of BSing.

Two things should be noted. First, Matt had the space first and was gracious enough to let Ray and myself join in. Second, there are TONS of random things lying about the studio, which makes it very cool to visually wander around. Also, the ceiling is really high, which accommodates the tack-board-wall big enough for an American Gladiator. A few of the pics aren't the same size, because I forgot to reset my camera for some of them like a moron.













This last photo is something that Matt and I did in a drunken stupor.

See ya next week Blog.