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I did this interview a while back in 2009 and got caught up with school keeping me from having the time to do this post justice. I know I could have just thrown some pics up and let the interview speak for itself, but there are some thing that are worth more time, energy and detail. I feel that the respect I have for this individual and his work should show through in my attempt to show the significance of his hard work and efforts.
So I customize sneakers in my spare time. I dabbled in the business aspects of the art, but eventually came back to just doing customs when I felt inspired or someone had a special request. While I personally feel my abilities are up to par with any standards that deem a sneaker fit for display or wear, I have nothing on the customizer you’re about to hear from. I marvel at the work of this young man time and time again. He never ceases to amaze me, not just with the creativity, thought and detail that go into his work, but the actual execution of the concepts are something to write a book on (seriously). For those of us in the sneaker game who keep up with the latest happenings within the industry and the underground culture, it is a well-known fact that Methamphibian and SBTG pretty much created the custom game. They, of course, went on to become world-renowned sneaker artists that are recognized and praised by the athletic shoe industries big names. Well, Emmauelabor is the Meth and SBGT of the next generation of sneaker customizers. To say that he changed the game would be an understatement. When DIY shoe reconstruction was just an experimental concept, he created a new game; causing customizers everywhere (including myself) to step up their game.
Tennis Ball Air Force Ones
How did you get started and how long have you been customizing sneakers?
I always personalized my shoes back when I was in high school, but I really didn’t take that next step, to actual customizing, till I saw Methamphibian make some Raygun AF1′s. I knew I had to do that! My fist couple pairs were terrible, but I still got a good reaction from people, and I was hooked. I think I got into it real heavy back in like 2001 or so.
What’s your favorite shoe that you’ve done to date?
Ah man…..that’s a tough one. That changes from month to month. I think I generally feel like my last pair is my favorite, but right now, I kinda feel like my Hardwood Classics with the pump needles on the laces is my favorite.
What made you decide to start reconstructing sneakers?
Well, I wanted to design shoes since I was like 12, so that’s part of it. There are things that you can do in reconstruction that you just can’t do with paint or gluing on fabrics. You can add different materials that you don’t normally see, that might not be glue-able. You might wanna do something different to the liner…you might want a different color or styled stitching. You can completely customize the shoe when you reconstruct it (aside from the midsole/sole). I’d also like to get back into creating my own upper silhouettes. Using a dunk or AF1 sole, but making the upper completely different.
About how much does a reconstructed shoe run?
It can get pricey…depending on how much work is needed, the cost of the base shoe, cost of materials…it could be anywhere from $350 on up. It sounds like a lot, but it’s worth it in the fact that you’re truly getting a hand crafted, unique shoe.
Since you’ve gotten to know the materials of shoes pretty well, what would you say the best quality shoe is out there; for customizing and wearing?
The vast majority of my work is done on AF1′s and Dunks, but it seems like some of the older(pre-2007) models are the best, or the “supreme” versions.
What are your holy grails and what is your favorite newer sneaker (released within the past 5 years)?
Holy Grails…I’d LOVE a pair of Rose Garden AF1′s or Stash Hi AF1′s I’ve been searching for the Gabriel Urist All Star Adidas that came out a few years ago too. As for my favorite shoe in the past 5 years…..do the Half Cents count lol? I know they’re hybrids, but I wore mine for a week and a half straight when I first got them.
Marty McFly Dunk Hi’s
What’s being overdone in the custom and traditional sneaker industries?
In traditional sneakers, I think there’s too much rehashing…whether it be a retro shoe, a certain element like safari or cement/elephant, or popular color ways used again and again. They find something that works and beat it into the ground. When I was coming up companies weren’t afraid to use wild colors, prints or patterns. Now they play it too safe for me. I understand it from a customizing standpoint, but if you have the means to make any shoe you want from scratch, I feel like the possibilities are endless and that the envelope should be pushed to the limits.
In custom sneakers, I feel like pandering to the masses is overdone. I mean I get it from a financial standpoint, you give people what they want, but how many Supreme-Tiffany-Paris-Unkle dunks can we see? Granted, it’s not as rampant as it has been in the past, but it’s still a lil too heavy for my liking.
Within the traditional sneaker industry, who is being the most creative and innovative and who needs to step up their game? The follow up to that question is do you think you could change a brand around with your designs and which brand would you choose?
hmm…I think I’d say Adidas. I really liked the A-Z campaign they had with letting all those stores make special make ups all at once, or the Superstar campaign they had a couple years back. I feel like they gave a lot of creative freedom and it worked out well in that a lot of interesting shoes came out of that.
I don’t know if I’d say I could change a brand around, but I feel like if I was given a chance to carry out some of the things I envision, that it would give a brand a boost. My brand of choice would be Nike only because that’s what I came up loving. They were the brand that made me love shoes in the late 80′s/early 90′s and inspired me to try to push boundaries. Adidas would be a VERY close second though.
What would you think if I started a campaign to get you hired by the sneaker company of choice? Would you allow me to?
They don’t even have to hire me…just lemme get a meeting lol! lemme bring in a portfolio or show some of the million ideas I have rattling around in my head at any given moment. I’d be all for any kind of help I could get. I just want a shot. The same way that SBTG, or Remix da Kickz, or Clark Kent got a shot…let me have a shot!
Do you plan on doing more than sneakers or perhaps more with sneakers, maybe fashion or mashed potato sculpting?
I used to sculpt mashed potatoes, but then I always ate my work and it got to be expensive and unhealthy.
I have ideas for clothing and accessories that I’d love to put into action, but shoe take up too much of my creative time. If I was able to have an actual company with employees etc. I’m sure I’d move forward on some of my other ideas.
Which celebrity whose been inspired to do a line of shoes, clothing, cologne ect. do you think is actually doing it right?
As far as shoes, I gotta say Kanye. I like that he didn’t take a pre-existing shoe and make some goofy colorway…he made a shoe to his specs. I gotta respect that. As for the rest of it (clothing, cologne, etc.), I gotta go with Diddy/Sean John. I don’t think HE’s the one designing the stuff, but I really like a lot of what comes out of that company. it’s all well made, and its hot. It’s nice looking stuff, without being tacky.
Would you be willing to take a picture of yourself in a pair of knock off Cazal’s for the Gazell Photo Album?
I don’t see why not (coming soon….).
Name one all white product you think everyone should have (doesn’t have to be a sneaker).
Toilet paper…. I think the rest is self-explanatory
And…. because all newer customizer’s feel like the veteran’s are keeping secrets; give one lesser known tip about customizing sneakers.
Don’t be afraid to take risks and fail. The best idea may come from experimenting and failing because you learn so much and it opens up other possibilities. Don’t follow the crowd. Why try to fit in when you can stand out?
And lastly, when hand painting, leave that tape alone! Learn to “stay in the lines”.It’ll improve your hand skill and prove useful later on down the line.
I was totally serious about starting the campaign to get EL hired by Nike. I’m working on it as we speak. Our goal for 2010 (one of them at least) is to get Emmanuelabor his first job with Nike….Expect the update on this shortly. If you feel He is a talented as I do drop a line here or email me and you can help to get this guy what he deserves.
Site: http://www.emmanuelabor.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/emmanuelabor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/emmanuelabor
I like to think of myself as a person who pays close attention to detail, and while that may or may not be true, I still think that little details do matter. It shows that you took the time out to think the thing through. It can also show that you care about those involved in what you’re doing enough to put a little extra time in. I had planned on making at least one of these shirts just because I love to design and my outlet of choice is often apparel….. so the fact that other people are interested in my designs enough to actually spend their hard-earned (or even begged for) money for them is an honor and a privilege.
As most artists do, I feel that I have something to offer that has a worth greater than money in my works. However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there can be no one to offer anything to if you don’t consider the individuals that may receive your work in some way or another. So to show that I appreciate customers, there are little touches added to the packaging to make it not so average. Those are blue M&M tied up with a blue ribbon.
Never forget it…..
If you haven’t picked up your Space Jam Bulls Tee, don’t miss your opportunity to own one. There are only 25 total. Buy.
This is the finished product. I recently posted that I was designing a one of a kind Tecknicolor tee in honor of the Space Jam’s Christmas release. Well, I have decided to sell a few since it’s Christmas. There are only 25 of these made so you’ll probably never see them ever again, unless someone rips off my design. They’re available in L, XL and 2XL and are $25 plus $7 for shipping. If you’d like a t-shirt to go with your new Space Jam’s you can purchase one here.
Here’s the approved proof for the Tecknicolor Space Jam tee. I’m excited!
I may not have mentioned it yet, but my holy grails are the Jordan 11′s. I have them in almost every color released. I intend on owning every color and December 23rd I will be one step closer to that, completely unnecessary, but ever so wanted, dream. If you haven’t heard the Space Jam 11′s will be released this month after the date being changed twice (Nike is good for that). I have been preparing for this all year, and by preparing I mean talking a lot about it my very limited number of sneaker head friends. I really never thought I’d own a pair of the Space Jam’s because the story is that there were only 5 pair made. I’m not sure why they’re being referred to as retro’s when they’ve never really been formally released, but whatever, I love them.
Apparently I’m not the only one who is anticipating the Space Jam’s release. New Era released a complimentary fitted cap with a blue Bulls logo, that’s blowing steam through its nose, which reads “windy city”. The hat is made of the same ballistic nylon (the word nylon makes me think “cheap”) as the shoes, and features a patent leather bill with an oversized Bulls logo pattern printed on the underside. The inside is lined in blue satin (which makes your hair so silky smooth after wearing it for a while…..seriously) and the back has the word Chicago written in the same lettering as the number 23 on the back of the shoe.
As you can see in the pics, mine came in the mail today. It was the perfect ending to a week of studying, papers, finals, and lack of sleep.
I honor of my favorite shoe being released I have designed a graphic for them that will soon be printed, making myself the only Tecknicolor, custom-made, Space Jam T-shirt. It goes perfectly with my new hat. Pics will be up as soon as it’s finished, so stay tuned.
So I made this shirt back in 2003 for Alicia Keys because, Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life is her favorite album. She wasn’t speaking to any of us because she was on voice rest. I remember being bothered by that, but I understood of course , lol…. Anyway, I’d really like to know where this shirt is now. Actually…. what do celebrities do with all the crap they get from everyone; fans gifts (like stuffed animals), clothing lines pieces and people wanting them to promote them, candy that they probably don’t eat because it could be some crazed fan trying to poison them? I remember seeing on Cribs that Mariah Carey has a room full of stuff fans give her. I keep mine in storage actually (what, I can’t have fans?).
I look lit….maybe I was sleepy.
This one isn’t a logo. It was as mock up used as an example of what could be done.
So Kanye West’s, yet to be released (we were supposed to start seeing pieces in the beginning of 09), clothing line, Pastelle appears to be on twitter and facebook. I’m not exactly sure which, if either, of these are official. However, the facebook fan page offers up several questions about how the line should be released. Whether these pages are official or not I still felt the need to offer up my two cents on the matter. If you didn’t know, I’m extremely confident in the fact that I should be the creative director for a clothing and/or sneaker line (only those on my approved list). I’m still waiting on my call from Ralph or Marc (strictly first name bases lol). With that being said, here are my answers to the following posed questions:
Where should the first pastelle stores be opened?
Chicago (duh)
What would you guys like to see most on the line?
Kanye is known for his trend setting styles, which the line should reflect. The accessories must be on the next level; belts, change wallets, scarves, bags, ties, even socks. Plus, we must have jackets: varsity(#1 priority), members only styled, motorcycle, bombers, and even do it up on the, always classic, jean jacket (with some good accessories).
Trying to think of ways that the clothing line should be released. What ya’ll think?
Not related to the question: Don’t use broken English when you’re sending out questions or information to mass amounts of people, especially people who you want to buy something from you.
Once again, you have to do it with the accessories. Not everybody gets that accessories are what they need to make the fit, so make them understand. For the first release of tees or whatever is coming out first you get a bag (preferably), belt, scarf or something in a package deal, but this is, of course, in limited numbers. Everyone will be trying to get that bag and those who didn’t get it will be trying to buy it on Ebay. People will be lined up across the city, because no one gives deals anymore on clothes, when we all know we’re paying like 200% mark up. Also, lets keep the prices Macy’s, not Neiman, we already have a BBC line we can’t afford.
When people start lining up for new releases don’t just leave them out there. Serve some doughnuts or muffins, go talk to the crowd, take pics and put them up on the site, do raffles or something. We all know that people are going to spend money based off the hype of Kanye. However, you want to be more than a hype, be a brand (don’t steal that line).
That’s my two cents…….What do you think?
This is the logo I’ve been using for Tecknicolor for quite a few years now and I love it, it’s great. However, in the near future the currently known concept of Tecknicolor is going to be taking a turn into a new direction. I’m really excited about this and I’m ready for a new logo to go along with the re-introduction of Tecknicolor. Keep checking back for updates on the progression of it all.
Not quite, but pretty close. It’s the Luxeed LED Multicolored Keyboard out of Korea. You can program it to change colors, stay certain colors to suit your mood and you can create your own color patterns. The Luxeed USB keyboards are available in a white back-lit version (KRW 118,800 / $127 USD) and a black back-lit version (KRW 125,600 / $134 USD), where the keys stay black and only the letters change colors. I’m really considering getting one of these and I don’t even use a desktop. They’re on sale right now at ThinkGeek.
