Martin Greenfield

Martin Greenfield x Galen Summer


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A Supermarket in California by Allen Ginsberg

What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!--and you, Garcнa Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?

I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in an hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets?
The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we'll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?

Berkeley 1955


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Handmade | The Sailor's Whisk

Made out of a single piece of rope only a few inches long the sailor's whisk was the multipurpose tool on board ships.  Used for cleaning, cooking and washing with these became commonplace among sailors of all degrees of seniority.  Made in a plethora of sized using scrap rope on deck these tools have been a lost art for many years, but recently have seen a small resurgence.  Recently featured in the London's Design Museum only a few folks still make these -- specifically a gent in Suffolk, England and one in New Hampshire, U.S.A. -- the traditional way, by hand.  Most can be found online for a small fee of around $10.00 - $25.00 and can be used for just about anything.



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Walk In Their Shoes...For One Night At Least

Of all my favorite places to purchase items online there is only one place that I will call my Favorite Brick & Mortar Store. This particular store has brands ranging from Rogue Territory -- a favorite denim line of mine -- to Sugar Cane, from Left Field to Alden and have an aesthetic that stand alone among a sea clustered men's shops. As you might have guessed that store is the one and only Craft run by Pete, Rosa and Bill. Well, tomorrow Craft will be adding yet another amazing company to it's already well curated list with a launch party at their store. The Wolverine 1000 Miles Boots have become so fond of Craft that they have given Craft distribution rights. That says a lot. So check it out tomorrow.


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Forged in the Fires of Mount Doom | Parveen

Well, not exactly. More so in the hearth of a village in India by a woman by the name of Parveen.  Parveen is an independent blacksmith in a small unknown town in India.  She specialized in make shears for barbers and tailors, each hand forged of bronze and steel.  Each item after being forged each edge is then sharpened -- enough to cut my hand picking up the closed shears by the blades.  They are weighted to a T and hand stamped "Made in India (12)".  They can be found at random places around the world but only one place in the USA, DARR in Brooklyn (disregard the automated music that can't be turned off on their site).

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Tweed x BBC

Harris Tweed x BBC


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The Billykirk No. 155 Card/Cash Case, Pt. 3

It has been a total of 3 months of constant, everyday use and it has been scratched, mashed, beaten and sat on in the process. So what story does my Billykirk card case tell? Read it and see.

The leather has stood up to the most unsettling of situations and has aced the test of time (3 months time). In the process the leather has been scrathced, indented and has even darkened in some points of major wear. The waxed cording has soaked in a little indigo and a little dirt giving it a great coloring. There is no sign of stretching, tearing or any other sign of deterioration. By far on of the best investments I have made. Hopefully with a little more time, this will be a quality entry into [YOU_HAVE_BROKEN_THE_INTERNET]'s Well Worn series.


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Imogene + Willie

Imogene+Willie + Project Artisan

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Billykirk x The Scout

"Brothers Chris and Kirk Bray have been producing leather goods for the last ten years. They launched Billykirk from Los Angeles in 1999, learning their craft from a third generation leather maker. A simple leather strap kick started the business, a decade later their collection has flourished into other offerings that consists of bags, belts, shoes, wallets, hats and other accessories. Since expanding and moving their operation to the East, they've employed a group of Amish leather makers to produce much of their line, while wrapping up production in their studio. We visited the brothers over the summer to observe their operation first hand and to discover the beauty behind the process."

Billykirk x Brennan Stasiewics x The Scout


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Apolis Activism + The Nepal Project

Shea, Raan and Stenn have done it again. The gentlemen at Apolis Activism have taken their small company and put it to good use once more with the Nepal Project. Following their collaboration with Filson for their Philanthropy bag dubbed the Uganda project -- for the reason that they sourced their canvas from Uganda in conjunction with the non-profit Invisible Children -- Apolis Activism partnered with the non-profit Citta for their second "Project".


Apolis is offering 3 different cashmere items for their Nepal Project. Each item is 100% cashmere from Nepal and is offered in a navy or heather scarf, a heather crew-neck sweater, and a navy or heather beanie. Beautifully constructed from the finest of cashmere. Would you expect anything less from them?




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The Last Remaining Cowboy | Freedman's Clothing

Being greeted at the door of Matt Freedman was of no surprise for the older brother and face of Freedman's Clothing Randy Freedman was doing what few other brands attempt to do. Randy was on his way back from the children's hospital in downtown Los Angeles working with children on an art project which will be displayed this weekend at the the launch of their ready-to-wear line at Ron Robinson in Santa Monica. The launch and art exhibit which will include artwork by friends of Randy's including custom painted shirts and much more will be accompanies by Freedman's custom shop where you can get a made-to-measure shirt of your liking.

Hand painted shirt by Dave Dickey

But Randy didn't start out in the world of Design and Merchandising, in fact Randy didn't start out in Fashion at all. Randy was the guitar technician for Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, and many other musicians and fell into the fashion industry some years later. When he realized that he was wear a select few of his shirts that he had picked up over the years from vintage stores and thrift shops. Striking his curiosity as to what made those specific shirts so different than any others he sought out on his journey to recreate the perfect shirt. And I must testify that after trying one on there is no way I was going to take it off. From the fit to the detailing, Randy Freedman created a well fitted and beautiful piece of art.


The collection is built off two different fabrics (to start). A corduroy which comes in several different colors and wales (SPOILER ALERT: There is a beautiful pinch-pleat grid pattern introduced as well) and a denim in different shades of indigo. Beautiful snap buttons in assorted colors to complement the each shirt with 3 on the sleeve to create that western look but each shirt lacks the top button, yes the top button forcing you to relax and stop strangling yourself with ties and too tight collars. And from there each shirt is different whether there be the inclusion of a Navajo print detail or a contrast piping or even a contrast back yoke. Unfortunately due to their little knowledge of the ability of their manufacturing house to hand certain task their infamous rising sun back yoke was not included in this ready-to-wear line, but that will be remedies in the seasons to come.

But much of the vibe came from the showroom and workshop itself being that it was originally the house the Freedmans grew up in. Rather than your average showroom and workshop Freedman Clothing is houses in a 1960's style house built for entertain and filled with music and Grateful Dead memorabilia, rolls of fabric and racks of shirts. Other items include half a hand painted/carved surfboard made to look like the Freedman Clothing logo, embroidered pieces of Grateful Dead artwork and the word "CREATE" made from paper machete'd letters.

But when it comes to presentation, and if you know me -- or if you don't you will soon find out -- you know that I think, presentation is everything. You can have an amazing product but if you don't present it in the right way it will have no appeal. So that is why I was so attracted to the way Randy and Matt had displayed their product as shown below. Along with personal crates that each said Freedman on it or something to that point was Navajo blankets to match their Navajo detailing, a signed guitar by of course Ben Harper, and plethora of other trinkets that screamed out old West. Your attention was grabbed and you understood their inspiration in seconds. Merchandising at it's finest.

But the main reason I went to talk with Randy was to know everything I could about his custom shirts. So, Randy walked me through the process of getting a custom shirt made starting with the consultation. This is where the nitty gritty happens and you get to personalize the shirt. Having a plentiful amount of options to choose from lets start with fabric. The fabric is the most important part obviously and the different fabrics will create a different shirt. So you have the option of choosing from a denim/chambray of all different colors and weights, corduroy in different colors and wales, and flannels in a multitude of different plaid and plain colors. Then Randy will have you try on a ready-to-wear shirt depending on your size to see what from that needs or could be fixed to your liking. And once the sizing is done comes the small details like stitching (specifically chosen for it's strength), buttons (personally made for added strength) and anything else available like Navajo print ribbon to add the the placket on the cuff or the back yoke and/or the addition of the rising sun on the back yoke.

All the choices for custom details (loving that gingham under the table)

Once all that is done, sometime later Randy will call you back for either the final product fitting or a muslin fitting depending on how difficult the fit might be to get down. Randy then finished up the product by adding the cuffs and hemming the bottom of the shirt and within a few short weeks you will have yourself a custom shirt by Freedman Clothing. Now you might be thinking to yourself that this is way out of your price range, but I must say that for how often you will be buying an off the shelf shirt the approximately $250.00 is quite reasonable. But maybe that is a little expensive, well go this Saturday and pick yourself one up from Randy's Launch Party at Ron Robinson for $190.00 and up. My Brooks Brother shirt cost more than that and Randy's shirts fit me better than anything I have ever tried on.

Certified Americana: I would say so.

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The Pocket Pal | The Apache Pocket Pistol

I sometimes sit around thinking to myself that true gangsters must have a problem storing all their weapons between the knuckle dusters, the gats, and the shanks. Okay, well I don't really ponder such things but if I were a gangster, a mobster or a cowboy there would be the conundrum of where I would store all my weapons and other accoutrement. There is the possibility of a holster but with your hands in pockets how useful is that? So, in 1869 L. Dolne à Liege developed a patent for a steel and brass revolver. Not your average revolver. An 8mm caliber pepperbox revolver that folds away to be a total of 1.5 inches in width with a handle that folds away to become a slightly useless knuckle duster and a dagger that folds out no longer than an inch. Overall this work of art is absolutely useless unless your point blank. The pepperbox revolver action is as accurate as would be a blind sniper. So basically the only use for one of these would be to carry around with your around town for the periodical mugger. But if I were a gangster I would carry some sort of modern model for show. But is the original worth the $4,000 for an original? You decide.



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EverLASTing | The Alden 966 Wing Tip Blucher

Lately there has been one shoe that has gotten the blogging world back to American made shoes rather than the Italian and English shoes that have inundated the market as of late. That shoe is by the same company as the one that made me think twice about my career and wanting to be a stylish and adventurous archeologist. The same shoe by the last remaining New England shoe maker having been created in 1884. That shoe is the Alden 966 Wing Tip Blucker Oxford. Okay, so all that build up and you already knew what it was I was talking about. You had to have looked at the title. Nevertheless with Fall right around the corner I have been looking for good alternatives to my Vans and my Sperrys. I could think of nothing better than switching out my sneakers for something more formal with a casual aesthetic.



In Los Angeles there is no room or season change to warrant the layering and the outerwear that the Fall/Winter seasons usually brings along with them. The worst that L.A. gets is the usual Winter rains and for that I have my waxed Moncler Conder. But besides the rains the weathers tends to become timid and dry in which case my Vans and Sperrys will no longer be acceptable (well, I could wear them but why waster my Summer shoes on Winter). That is where the Alden 966 comes into play. They are an acceptable shoe to wear sockless with a pair of khakis, an OCBD and a baseball jacket or with a pair of jeans, a flannel BD and a Belstaff International.



The part that attracts me to the Alden 966 is not that they are made in America but that they are made in America using some of the finest leathers and tanneries around. The insole is made of a heavy duty leather and tanned using specially made pure vegetable tannage. That the shoe is fully lined using a special stock of high grade glove and kip leather. That specially designed lasts and steel shanks are designed to unsure comfort. That each shoe is hand stained and polished to get that perfect patina. And this whole process is done for you and your satisfaction. Not for them, though I am sure they wear their own shoes and for good reason. If you have tried on a pair go and do it I can assure you that you will never take them off.

For some great pictures of a pair of Alden 967s check out Ryan's new pair at [you_have_broken_the_internet] | Arrived: Alden 967


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The Billykirk No. 155 Card/Cash Case, Pt. 2

With the embossing finished and all the parts ready for assembly all that is left to reveal is the wax-infused cording used to tie the whole thing together. And that is where Kirk, the second half of Billykirk or the whole of being that Kirk is William Kirkland to be shortened by their father to Billy Kirk, steps in. Where Chris did the embossing Kirk stitched it up to finish the production process.

Using a single cord to stitch the card case, each seam is stitched in a cross pattern to give it that extra amount of strength. the back is stitched and then the bottom and tied off back where it started. Check below for more pictures of the whole process.

Kirk stitching up the backside to start to process.

Stitching the loop closure to the card case

The making of the cross stitch for double the strength

A quarter of the bottom seem finished... almost there.

The final product all stitched up.

And the final product...stitching, embossing and all.

I would like to thank Chris and Kirk for taking the time to take pictures of the process for me so that you can have something to enjoy. They were a great resource when planning my purchase and I would recommend their service to anyone. Their products live up to their reputation and their service is top notch. So what are you waiting for. Shoot them an e-mail. Check out the rest here...

The Billykirk No. 155 Card/Cash Case, Pt. 1

The process was started a little over a week ago when I e-mailed Chris Bray, one half of the infamous Brothers Bray at BillyKirk, about the possibility of a custom wallet like explained in a previous post (Fall Buying Guide | Fall = Custom). And this past week has been filled with questions, answers and communication between himself and myself trying to pick the leather color, the wax-infused cording color, and what and where I would like embossed on my new custom wallet. And with a little help and some suggestions the wallet has gone into production. But you won't have to wait Chris has kindly agreed to keep me updated of the production process.

It all starts with the same birth that all wallets come from. The basic cut-out for the No. 155 card/cash case from Amish leather workers in the state of Pennsylvania is made of one whole piece of leather. The strap is a separate piece of leather and that is where I chose to place my embossing. And having adopted my Opa's (and his Opa's and his Opa's and so on and so forward) name it means a lot to me so that is the obvious choice for my embossing.

The Supplies

The start of the embossing

Chris Bray himself working out the embossing

Now all they need is the assembly, check back for Pt. 2

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The Resurgence of the Man | The Hill-Side

As the runway shows progress in Milan and Paris the trends show nothing more than feminine frills and nonfunctional design. See-through mesh clothing, tights, hair accoutrement, and the like but the companies that my eyes are focused on are not on the runway. In fact, they are not even in most stores, they are in the hands and pockets of a select few true men out there. And if you look close enough you just might see the canvas tag on the edge of that beautiful selvage chambray handkerchief that reads The Hill-Side.


Emil Corsillo, part owner and designer of the Hill-Side, is one of those men. So, while he was in Los Angeles I could not pass up the chance to talk and get to know the man behind the selvage chambray. So, I invited him to join me for an early afternoon drink at Coach & Horses, a phenomenal dive bar on Sunset. It didn't take long to point him out with his familiar but new canvas bag, Folk shirt and vintage Oliver People glasses. So we sat down and ordered a drink.

From there we talked about the progress of The Hill-side, how it's taken off to the point where they are turning stores away for their first season and saying no to a very, and I mean very, large account that would take them from the small brothers-owned company they are to a powerhouse in no time. And all for good reason. Emil and his brother are creating a relationship and a trust between themselves and the stores that have taken a chance in purchasing their product before they had a reputation to back themselves up with. And what a smart choice those stores made.

Emil then reached down to grab the canvas bag that looked all to familiar. I didn't realize till I was already on my way home that he had showed me an all canvas bag with leather handles and straps and brass buckles from the L.A.-based Heritage Leather Co. As he grabbed the bag, I noticed his logo stamped on the front and when he pulled out a rolled piece of canvas I knew I was in for a surprise. Unraveling the canvas to reveal some of the most beautiful ties I have ever seen was like opening a birthday gift that you couldn't keep. Excited, happy, and appreciative to only have the contents wrapped back up after the line was shown to me. And as I looked at each piece, it was the little things that mattered that made The Hill-Side what it is.

The love of a product is most expressed in the details. In the hand stamped number on the back of each tie, the selvage edge at the edge of the ties and handkerchiefs, the store that was expressed with each individual tie, and the line sheets that were professionally printed on card stock and hand tied with string. The care that was put into each item he handed me, even though they were samples made each of them that much more special. Restoring my faith in the once thought to be ever lost art of the hand made/hand tailored apparel item.

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Find of the Day | Vintage Craftsman Tool Box

In light of Father's Day this weekend I will be posting a series of Father approved items. These are pleasantly useful and pleasantly fun. The first is, at least for my Father, one of the most useful and beautiful things I could get him. Having a garage filled with tools, both hand and mechanical, the only thing wrong is that they are scattered all over the garage. Maybe he needs a wall to organize everything rather than a tool box, but whatever.

So, check it out for yourself on eBay for some descriptions or after the jump for some pictures of the insides. It ends today at 9:45 AM so go quickly and try to beat me.

VINTAGE WOODEN CRAFTSMAN MACHINIST TOOL BOX 5 DRAWER

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Weekend Recap | SSLA/ATtG Pinewood Derby

The last and final post about the pinewood derby. It was a ton of fun, got to meet some interesting people and saw some creative people's work in action. So, with no further ado here is the much awaited unveiling of the TWGA & DAD entry for the derby...


Check after the jump for more pictures of the cars, the derby and the winner...

The Track with Chad of Secret Service LA looking down from the starting line

The Trophies: First Place, First Loser, Best in Show, and Worst in Show

The line-up as it was when I first got there

The line-up as it was when I left

TWGA & DAD's Entries (AKA my entries) and the one on the left I got from my Aunt at only a few months old and glad I could actually use it

A Time to Get's Entry

Steven Alan West Coast's Entry

Getting Beat Like You Stole Something's Entry

The Winner and Beer Supplier, Nakhon's Entry

The Vael Project's Entry

10 Engines & Son's Entry

Dianna Maggio's Entry (Jimmy Shoo)

A Continuous Lean's Entry

Lead Derby's Entry

The Ship Wrecker (Not sure who entered this one)

Best in Show and the First Loser, Mr. Winter's Entry

The real deal

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