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I had a bit of spare time on my trip to check out some new retail concepts in Tokyo. I’ve seen the Indigo Camping Trailer FIL store on the web but it was cool to check it out in person….I’m still trying to wrap my head around how they got the trailer onto the 3rd floor of the Gyre Shopping centre….

The flooring is amazing….the product too!

After checking out Indigo Camping Trailer, I went to Meguro to visit Kazuya at the visvim Tokyo head office and showroom….The entrance to the visvim vault….

What’s up Kazuya!!

Last month FIL Tokyo had some cobbler artisans come do a demonstration on their hand stitched good year welt technique. Looks incredibly labor intensive.

Check out the individual waxed and knotted hand stitching on the sole

Here’s some shots from around the showroom that was previously occupied by a rice factory.

Next seasons corduroy, fur lined earflap cap with felt smiley face…Next Level!

Stay tuned for visvim hitting our shops this upcoming fall.

- Arthur

For a good chunk of April I was in Tokyo for the tail end of our AW2013 buying season. Tokyo is always a good time but exhausting as well, especially when you come 2-3 times a season! Two days of flying and 10 days on the ground is the usual schedule. The good thing is that In between all the endless meetings there’s always some free time to catch up with some good food, good laughs and good company.

One of the first orders of business was to hit up the SOPH. and Uniform Experiment AW2013 exhibition. The collections keep getting bigger and better. It’s always tough to edit down the collection for what works for us when everything looks good. We got some great pieces coming for next Fall that I’m sure everyone will be excited about.

Racks on Racks!

Can’t show much, but here’s something interesting….Paisley Printed Flannel Paneled Oxford!

After all the business is said and done there’s always time for beers and good food…. Before starting the night, Mitsuru had to pick up some stuff at Bridge.

Down the street from Bridge is a shop called ‘Wafflish Waffle’! Thought that was hilarious….only in Japan

We ended up hitting up some fancy industry opening party……

Mitsuru has the right idea…Free Booze, Time to go deep!

After a couple quick wobbly pops we bounced over to the Gyre to have Dinner with Nishizaki. The SOPH. guys always know the good spots.

Great Food at Honoji Izakaya in the Gyre Building on Omatesando.

The next day I met up with James from The New Order Magazine and we hit up the Native Sons exhibition.  For those still unfamiliar Native Sons is a joint collaboration between Tommy O’Gara (formerly of Dita) and Shinsuke Takizawa (NBHD).  Everything is ‘Mastercrafted’ in Japan with exceptional quality.

Can’t wait to wear these Salingers with the cross bar this upcoming summer….coming soon to HAVEN

Gold Mirror Lenses….damn!

Myself and Tommy, both sporting a couple new styles of sunnies that will be available shortly…

Finished off the day at Golden Brown, a Tokyo must!

more updates shortly…

- Arthur

Here’s a few more highlights from the Pitti show.  Minotaur hailing from Japan is doing some really cool stuff.

Cable Quilted Wool Blazer….wha!?!

Dan showed some Tricker’s highlights and here are a couple more. I love this picture. These gentleman just relaxing reading newspapers and magazines.

We had a couple days in Florence and Tuscany before heading out to Paris. Mine and Dan’s blogs might overlap a bit but you’ll get to see two separate point of views….Here are some randoms I captured…..Brass Model of Florence…

One of the best parts of Florence is that the city centre is relatively small….You can literally walk the entire city…..needless to say we walked a ton!

Dan taking a breather to enjoy the amazing view….

Afternoon Cappuccino breaks….

Duomo in Florence is probably my favourite Cathedral in Europe…..

Ain’t no blog with out pictures of food…Quattro Leoni is probably my favourite restaurant in Florence.  Try the pear filled Raviolli! Bomb!

Deep fried bread with prosciutto…

It’s all about the Anti-Pasti dishes in Italy.  Expect lots of meat and cheeses! So good!

Tuscany vineyards…

We made a point of visiting Dario Cecchini in Panzano.  He’s renowned to be the world’s BEST butcher….Check out this Youtube Vid HERE

Meat Locker!

I asked the Master butcher for a picture and he said “sure”! As we took the photo he gave the thumbs up and said “EAT MEAT!” Ha…

Next stop Pisa to check out the lean….

Leaning tower of Pisa….

Haha… these tourist photos are hilarious….I have a few ridiculous pics of myself as well…

Back on the road in our Fiat Panda!! Dan in the driver seat taking us through the narrow roads of Cinque Terre…

More soon..

It’s that time of the year again. For almost the entire month of January, me and Dan travelled Europe buying for the shops. First stop was Florence, Italy. Italy is beautiful….But we’ll blog more about Italy later on…on to some buying highlights…

The main reason for heading to Florence this season was to see what the big deal was about the Pitti Uomo show….One of the first stops was with Yuketen.  Every season they get better and better.  Fall is exceptionally strong.  We got a lineup of amazing boots that I know will be staff favourites.  Here’s one of them…

Nanamica in the building….

Nanamica still on that Camo tip, but making it look dope. Goretex….Camo….what’s not to like?!?

Head designer Eiichiro and myself…

Engineered Garments is joining TEAM HAVEN!

These mittens will definitely come in handy for Canadian Winters!

Team Engineered Garments! Thumbs Up!

Needles, another Nepenthes brand will also be joining the roster for Fall. Tweed Climbing pants are on my fall must have list…

Some more Needles essentials….

Ten C is killing it as always. Same idea, just a couple new silhouettes and fabric/color options. If you haven’t gotten a Ten C Jacket I suggest you do, you won’t regret it, they are amazing.

Ten C Red seal approval

Waterproof Printed Herringbone!

Veilance continues to make some of the best technical apparel on the market.

They will also be dabbling in a few accessories, here’s one of my favourites below.

Finally done for the day…..Pitti Uomo is fuckin’ exhausting!…. On a side note spending a whole month with Daniel is exhausting…..lol

This is how I felt…..

Next stop that evening was the White Mountaineering Runway show.  This was the first time they showed the collection at Pitti and they did not dissappoint.

Thomas from WM doing his runway side job…

Front Row at the Show!

The Fall/Winter 13 White Mountaineering collection was by far one of their strongest to date. More highlights from our showroom appointment with them in Paris soon.

That’s all for now….Part 2 highlights from Pitti Uomo and our Europe trip coming soon….

I had a chance to visit Niagara Falls for the first time last month while I was in Toronto.  For those unfamiliar Niagara Falls consists of 3 of the world’s largest waterfalls that separate the Ontario (Canadian border) and New York State (USA border).  It’s pretty amazing to see in person. Over the years the Canadian side of Niagara Falls has also become a mini Las Vegas with the huge influx of tourists, hotels and Casinos. It’s only a short drive from Toronto so it’s well worth the short trip.

WTAPS exhibition

We got a ton of amazing footage and ‘INTELLIGENCE’ features coming soon….TET at the showroom

A rare glimpse inside the GIP store.

At the Heather Grey Wall offices with Kazuki

We had a chance to attend the book release for Kazuki’s new ‘ODDS and ENDS’ book. Shinsuke from NBHD was also in attendance.

NBHD Shibuya

Bedwin SS13 exhibition

Late nights in Tokyo at Kinfolk with John and Team Bedwin

At the SOPH. offices.  Mitsuru in work mode!

Taking some footage of the SOPH. Tokyo shop. People taking pictures of people taking pictures…

Late night with Nishizaki and Mitsuru involves lots of beer!…good times

Thats all for now.  Be on the lookout for lot of INTELLIGENCE coverage in the coming weeks. We’ve been putting in work to try to bring you guys lots of behind the scenes looks at what makes your favourite JP brands tick…stay tuned

On this last trip to Japan we were out there for two full weeks.  In between work we had a chance to check out Yoyogi park. The weather was nice so it was full of people and there was some type of festival and outdoor market going on.

Incense for days!

These guys were jammin’

Theres a bunch of random Vintage stalls set up around the park.  Here’s one of them that had some decent stuff.

This group was sitting in a circe playing Ukuleles….weird!

The best part came near the end of Yoyogi park we we ran into this group of Rockabilly crews.  Apparently every Sunday this goes on…. These guys were wearing full blown leather fits and battling it out in the sweltering heat. Straight up Rockabilly bboy shit!

Haha….If you’ve ever noticed a lot of Japanese people pronounce their “R’s” as “L’s”. Thought this was hilarious when he misspelled “Rebels” as “Lebels”…

Me and Ryan were out in a Tokyo a few weeks back. Did a bunch of ordering for next season as well as a bunch of ‘Intelligence‘ stuff.  We got some amazing content in the works with some of our favourite brands and we’re looking forward to getting the info out there shortly.  Here’s some random highlights from the trip with more to come.

Omotesando Koffee Bar is a super cool coffee shop that is located in a residential area just off of Omotesando. It’s really tucked away so you might need to GPS it. It’s a tiny little spot with a single guy manning as barista.

Golden Brown is a Tokyo must if you love burgers. They have one in Naka-Meguro and another in the Omotesando Hills shopping centre.

Hender Scheme makes amazing leather products.  Before…..

After……Here’s a pair of the Shell Toe “replicas” with full Leather upper and outsole that have had some wear on them. They age beautifully.

Had a chance to pop into Nigo’s atelier to meet with the guys at Human Made.

There’s a bunch of random cool stuff everywhere.

Popped in to the Undercover shop.  Their windows are crazy. All the eyes are cut out. On a nice day the sun shines through the eyes bringing light into the interior space.

Wild times at the Trump Room.

Going through all my pics….More shortly…

After Berlin I had a short few days to catch a train ride to Prague, Czech Republic. Not sure when I’ll ever get the chance to return so I made the most of it. Checked out a lot of tourist spots, ate some good food and tossed in a little bit of partying. For those who have never been I’d definitely recommend it.  It’s for sure one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited. Prague feels ancient compared to any Canadian city. Theres so much character, heritage and old world charm everywhere you look, it was amazing!

Meat, Meat, Meat…. at the tail end of my trip I must say I wanted a salad, and I hate salad!

Czech people make potato chips with Milwaukee power tools, you should too!

End product…

Fancy photo 1!

Fancy photo 2!

Absinthe is legal! ……so is Prostitution!!!

From my experiences in Europe, everybody loves to sit on a dope patio. Lounging all day at the cafe and brasseries people watching…I dig, it’s relaxing!

The Czech Republic is one of the few places that haven’t fully joined the European Union.  Instead of Euros they have their own currency. And here I thought Canadian money looked like Monopoly money….ha!

Prague was packed with tourists!

Fancy photo 3!

Can’t remember the name of the cathedral, but it’s important….

Prague from the hillsides

Fancy photo 4…..IMO this looks like it is postcard worthy!

Not sure what this is, but this was some type of memorial we stumbled upon in a park on the outskirts of Prague……reminded me of The Walking Dead….. season 3 is so good!

Trying to catch up on some blogging after being away for awhile.  Here’s some images from the tail end of my trip to Berlin a few weeks ago.

On the last couple days we rented some bikes and toured the entire city to check out all the monuments and tourist attractions. Berlin is super bike friendly and is one of the major modes of transport for the locals. You can rent a bike for about 10 bucks a day. If you got a day to spare I highly suggest renting a bike instead of taking the underground.

This is the Berlin Holocaust memorial for all the murdered Jewish victims during the holocaust. Designed by architect Peter Einsmenn it consists of 2,711 giant concrete slabs arranged at varried heights. It’s amazing in person and one of my favourite sites in Berlin.

You’ve probably seen this in movies! The Brandenburg gate is one of the most well know landmarks in Germany.

The Charlottenburg Palace was a trek to get out to on our bikes. Worth checking out in the end.

After a long day of touring on our bikes we had to take a pit stop. One of the Berlins most beloved fast food snacks is the Currywurst. Here’s one of the joints that specialize in it Curry Station 36.

A Currywurst is essentially a big german wurst sausage covered in curry powder and ketchup. Looks pretty simple but surprisingly it’s actually quite tasty.

We ended up having some free time and decided to go check out the Berlin Zoo, which is apparently one of the largest Zoos in the world. This guy looks pissed off….I would be too if I was behind a glass wall and stared at by 1000′s everyday….

Our last night out we hit up the Pratergarten which is the Berlins oldest largest Beer Garden. Germans love their Beer!

And with that said…. ain’t no Berlin blog without a picture of Beer! Chormer is a local German beer that I got in Mitte that was quite good.

Berlin train terminal is dope.

Onwards to the Czech Republic…..