Welcome to the new Studio8darkside blog
Here we want to keep you up to date on everything we are getting up to, from buying for www.studio8shop.com to other things we are constantly looking at for inspiration and fun.
Dating by the power of (f)three
19th January 2012Life can often be too serious. Especially on a Monday… So we hope we can lighten up your day with a little reflection on the dating scene. Should that not do it for you, retail therapy would be our second suggestion.
Camden town to brighton to camden town on my bike.
1st November 2011A week ago I got on my bike. Not any old bike mind you…more like a sword drawn by a 36th generation, cave dwelling Japanese master craftsswordmaker kind of bike. You canne beat steel. Well ye can…but ye need a hammer. And I rode like a madman to Brighton and back. Rolling hills, climbs through the forests, downhills to face certain mayhem and carnage if it all went wrong. Can my bike snap at 75kmph?
A rare need breed of Mamil caught on camera for the first time
Notes from the Darkside
20th October 2011Last year my wife reorganized my filing system..I’ve been screwed ever since! She has the ability to file alphabetically, sub-sect and put the post into Venn diagrams. I put it all into a box and open three months later. Based on this information I believe that women really do run the world and that us men are mere stunned bystanders, who were given the useless ability of being able to play tennis and rugby. Why do you think men keep screwing up the economy over and over and over again?
Footwear and other notes from the bike
19th October 2011I have two new obsessions: Shoes and cycling. Shoes because they perform a function yet have an inherent mysteriousness. They are technically constructed and put us in touch with the earth. They are also often overlooked because of the distance between our eyes and the ground. Cycling because of the element of adventure and freedom as well as the ridiculous health aspects and possibilities for extremeness. This Friday my old mate and I are going to attempt to ride from North London to Brighton and back in one day. About 200kms. I am sure this is going to bring us into contact with levels of pain we didn’t know existed! But it should be a right old blast too. Watch this space and I’ll keep you posted and in the meantime check out this bangin’ bike shoes I have been using by Chrome
Interview with Nigel Cabourn at Studio 8
7th October 2011
Last Thursday we had the amazing Nigel Cabourn come down all the way from Newcastle to our shop in London to talk about his passions, inspirations, aspirations, obsessions and everything else. How Paul Smith worked for him, how he owns all the first edition books on the 1912 R. Scott’s expedition to the South Pole and how he’s doing a new shoe with Converse. If you missed it, it went more or less like this:
Visit to Nigel Cabourn’s studio in Newcastle
15th July 2011
SS2012 Buying Trip to Paris
29th June 2011Just back from Paris to buy and spy some new product for next season for Studio 8 London. Came across this lovely label from Japan which we are thinking of taking a little hit on: Spellbound. As usual with Japan..awesome quality denim and fabrics
What we have been up to, liking, seeing, doing.
27th May 2011Here is a little taste of where we are in the universal cosmic energy.
Opening Ceremony and Rag & Bone
7th May 2011The new shoe addition to Studio 8 is loud. Shoes that will make you weak in the knees when you see them (but not when you walk in them).
Alexander Boyd in Studio 8
31st March 2011The brand new Alexander Boyd collection based on Britain’s first Formula 1 World Champion Mike Hawthorn’s wardrobe is now in!
Trip to Pitti Uomo for AW2011
15th January 2011I have just returned from Pitti where I put my first orders together for mens AW2011. Florence is beautiful and I was staying in an old converted convent. They were even hosting a convention for priests when I was there. Cassocks are the new Cabourn for 2011!
Time keeps a tickin’ tickin’ tickin’
4th December 2010Like to share my latest find with you…it’s a late 60′s Enicar Sherpa Graph. I blogged about this watch label a few months ago but it had been a long time since I came across one, especially one in such good nick. These are becoming highly collectible nowadays. My mate Steve got straight on the case after seeing my one!
Arctic exploration comes to Primrose Hill
2nd December 2010It’s been a while and the last time we posted a blog it was a balmy 19C and we were sunning ourselves on deck chairs, handwoven from organic, naturally grown, indigenous banana twigs from the Mentawai Islands. Not any more no ho ho…as I cast my rheumy eyes toward the freshly polished front door of Studio 8, I can report that it is an icy Siberian scene of wintry snow and frigid winds. Fear not my hardy comrades…for although you have not heard from us for a while, we have been hard at work.
Studio 8 Johannesburg gets a facelift
24th September 2010This week we completed a bit of ‘botox’ and ‘filler’ on our Studio 8 Johannesburg store to give it a lift after being successfully open in the Hyde Park Corner shopping mall for seven years.
Continue reading…
Mad fashion blog
23rd September 2010It’s been three weeks since the last post and we have been super busy at Studio 8. There has been a lot of new deliveries and we are about to have our Autumn Winter launch in Primrose Hill. We have some AMAZING pieces here this season and there is more to come. We also sent out our newly designed newsletter yesterday. Here is a little peek at what is getting us going at the moment:
These will last 100 years at least
A post truly from the Darkside
1st September 2010I recently went to an exhibition curated by my friend Ida Champion. She is part of an art collective called Space in Between. This was an art exhibition called ‘Where Beats This Human Heart’. Admittedly it was a couple of months ago now, but I just came across some of the pictures I took that evening. It was put together in an old World War II bunker in East London – hence the eerie and dark light. So, as I felt like blogging about something fresh today, I thought I would share some images with you.
A serious taste for watches
28th August 2010I have always had a serious love for quality watches. It comes from having a father who was a deep sea diver and growing up admiring the functionality of his timepieces as well as their beauty. And knowing that they could handle the depths he worked at – sometimes 600ft. When I was really young he had a watch called the Continue reading…
Awesome new products by M Tokyo and Rick Owens
21st August 2010We have just uploaded to our online store www.studio8shop.com some of the best product for men and women we have seen for a least 3 weeks (but that’s only because we have had some incredible stuff this season already!). Seriously, M Tokyo Japan has put out some world class pieces and Rick Owens is SO amazing for the women…sexy, different and sensual. Plus we have just taken on a couple of new top visual merchandisers so our bricks and mortar store is turning heads in Primrose Hill!
To view this amazing Tweed jacket by M Tokyo Japan then click here
New winter Marithe now online
19th August 2010The latest arrivals from Marithe are now live and kickin’ – click here to see http://bit.ly/betxze
Please feel free to join our online store mailing list to be regularly updated of new arrivals. Click here to join http://bit.ly/bcDzQG ….go on you know you wanna…and we will love you forever. And ply you with Tangfastics when you come and see us! Maybe Nik Naks too (the South African ones obviously as they are the best….and can glow in the dark too).
Oliver Spencer rocks the Donkey and fine button downs
16th August 2010Oliver Spencer’s star is definitely on the rise. Just remember….we were one of the first! We are diggin’ this Donkey Jacket. The cut is fantastic and it’s also available in navy
Marithe Francois Girbaud Autumn Winter
15th August 2010We have stocked Marithe for about 5 years now and decided during last season that we wanted to get a new take on this successful brand. So during the last appointment we tried to see it with ‘new eyes’ again, stripping it right back, going for a much cleaner look without all the bells, strings and whistles! The new delivery has arrived and it’s really fantastic. We selected only the really standout pieces. Girbaud is a massive collection and can quite overwhelming to buy
Rick Owens Autumn Winter 2010
14th August 2010Rick Owens Lilies collection comes to www.studio8shop.com. We are excited about developing a relationship with the Rick Owens brand, as this subversive designer fits so well into our vision of dark, indulgent and minimalist deconstruction.Here is small preview of the coming pieces. The pics are not great as these are from the buying appointment in Paris!
Nigel Cabourn Autumn Winter 2010 collection
7th August 2010We are thrilled to get the 2010 Autumn Winter Nigel Cabourn Collection in. It is some of the best stuff we have seen in years. Based on the Edmund Hillary Everest Expedition of 1953
North Pole...nah mate....I'm warm as toasty me
James Capper
19th June 2010I recently attended an art exhibition and met this crazy artist whose work totally inspired me. His name is James Capper and he designs and builds machinery that helps sculpters to perform their work. He is a young welder, sculpter and artist. I loved his drawings as well, which were sketches of his plans.
Dig this…
12th June 2010The inspiration never stops at Studio 8. Here is an update on what is floating our boat at the moment!
1. Secret hangout
The Candid Arts Cafe hides just behind Angel tube station in a run down warehouse building. Velvet sofas, Rubenesque ladies on the walls, chocolate cake and wine, can’t get much better than that. A good little secret. Shh…
Studio 8 5th Birthday Party
18th May 2010
Studio 8 celebrated it’s 5th birthday this weekend and we had a little party to celebrate. Kari being serenaded…something tells me she was enjoying it!
10 tings inspiring us at Studio 8 right now
30th April 2010We feel so inspired at the moment and we wanted to share some of it with you. So we have come up with a Top 10. Kind ‘o like Top of the Pops.
10. Inspiring Location – Mljet Croatia
anyone know where the nearest cashpoint is?
Beautiful remote island of Mljet in Croatia. Odysseus was shipwrecked nearby and spent seven years on the island as the lover of Calypso, daughter of Poseidon, god of the sea.
Oliver Spencer interview with Studio8Darkside
23rd April 2010Recently, Simon from Studio 8 went down to spend some time with respected designer Oliver Spencer
Oli hard at it...
Lost and Found
16th April 2010
Found this amazing print on the seat of a chair in an Irish pub!
welcome to the world
5th April 2010
Breakdancing clarinetist from Switzerland Continue reading…
Rundholz….beautiful avant garde womenswear
4th April 2010Love the asymmetric shapes and references to Yohji and Comme
Continue reading…
Superga at www.studio8shop.com
25th March 2010
The classic Superga deck shoe
In 1911 in Italy, Walter Martiny began production of the brand he named Superga Continue reading…
Shunt
20th March 2010
I recently went to see a show by the theatre company Shunt of which my friend Dave is one of the directors. I loved some of the lighting they used in the play and so decided to do a little experimenting of my own during our last product shoot…
Photographs of the River Severn
17th March 2010
I recently got booked for speeding. The first time they ever threatened to put points on my licence! To avoid getting the points, the yellow box speeding men gave me the option of attending a speedsters course in Bristol. After being warned that points on ones licence, greatly increases insurance costs, I decided to attend. It worked out well…
Princess Belsize Dollar
17th March 2010
Helen Benigson is a young London artist we have had our eye on recently. She is finishing her Masters at the Slade art school and mixes mediums such as photography, film, food and performance.
Mad for Nigel Cabourn
17th March 2010
At www.studio8shop.com we are mad for Nigel Cabourn. Until recently, Nigel worked out of an old windmill in Newcastle. But he moved…..to a cricket shed!
Acne
17th March 2010
This season we are excited to be representing Acne in our stores. This cult Swedish label is really going places. We often try to put our finger on where we think it sits in the market, but it seems to have its own identity: sexy, punk, chic.
