BlackBlue

justin

2011-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

came by the shop with some friends
to hang out and happened to pick up
this dunderdon tweed suit, LVC
1920s chambray work shirt and a
duluth pack money clip -- the next
best thing to a shower after a weekend
of hunting in northern wisconsin.

walter

2011-11-12T17:20:00.001-08:00

...looking dapper
in his Harris Tweed
A.P.C. coat and
Pendleton scarf
from BlackBlue.

kara & amy

2011-07-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

summertime snaps in the back alley.

Waiting For The Sun / sunglasses (left)
Dunderdon / boyfriend shirt
the Hill-side / ties (as belts)
F-Troupe / sandals
Tretorn / sneakers
A.P.C. / skirts, tee

Duluth Pack / double-shell bag
F-Troupe / sandals
A.P.C. / tee

Duluth Pack / market tote
F-Troupe /sandals
A.P.C. / jumper

Gitman Bros. Vintage / shirt (men's)
Duluth Pack / double-shell bag
Tretorn / sneakers

Waiting For The Sun / sunglasses
Dunderdon / dress
Tretorn / sneakers

Duluth Pack / haversack
F-Troupe / sandals
A.P.C. / tee

Dunderdon / boyfriend shirt
F-Troupe / sandals
Filson / tote

F-Troupe / sandals
A.P.C. / sweatshirt
Filson / tote

0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 384px; height: 576px;" src="http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af261/blackbluesaintpaul/ka10.jpg" border="0" alt="" />

Waiting For The Sun / sunglasses
A.P.C. / dress
WILL / tote

carlos

2011-07-15T12:16:00.000-07:00

Levi's LVC / striped chambray shirt
the Hill-side / bandana

Apolis / utility chino
Rachel Comey / chukka

Gitman Bros. Vintage / woven
Apolis / service pant
Red Wing / chukka

Taylor Stitch / woven
Uniform Wares / watch
Ben Sherman / pullover
Fred Perry / swim trunks, shoes
Waiting For The Sun / sunglasses

red wing lifestyle

2011-07-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

hand-stitched
made in the US of A
will last you forever
super comfy

these are the quintessential
shoes for summer.

Red Wing / Wabasha Collection / oxfords and chukkas

nick

2011-07-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

...is not afraid to wear vertical
stripes and nor should you be.

CPT / chambray shirt

jesse

2011-07-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

it finally feels like summer in Minnesota!

adan

2011-02-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

black and brown is the new black.

Alternative Apparel / thermal
Filson / expedition duffle
Red Wing / chukka

john

2011-01-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

this coat was made for this man.

vintage Lee chore coat

angel

2010-12-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

...looks, really, really good in this cardigan. Really.

Pendleton / cardigan
Red Wing / Work Chukka

christmas eve

2010-12-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

ellen

2010-12-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

we figured that since Ellen spends a great deal of her time snapping
photos of good-looking and stylish Twin Citians around the metro
for her blog, The Minneapoline, it was about time to take some photos
of the good-looking and stylish lady behind the lens of our camera
(even though most of the photos we took were taken with her camera).

A.P.C. / merino shawl-neck sweater
WILL / d-ring belt
Filson / field bag

A.P.C. / coat, scarf
F-Troupe / button-boot

vintage Woolrich shirt
vintage Pendleton blazer
F-Troupe / button-boot

Hyden Yoo / flannel
A.P.C. / petit standard jeans
F-Troupe / button-boot

Minnetonka Moccasin / Tramper ankle-boot
WILL / satchel
A.P.C. / chemise

Fred Perry / cotton v-neck sweater
vintage Ray-Ban wayfarers

A.P.C. / green dress
F-Troupe / fur-lined boot

Shades of Grey / button-down
Red Wing / Iron Ranger

Hyden Yoo / trench, flannel
Filson / tote
F-Troupe / button-boot

Tretorn / wellies
Dunderdon / belt
Duluth Pack / Scout Pack
vintage Wrangler snap shirt
vintage Ray-Ban Wayfarers

Derwent Jacket
Tretorn / wellies

receipt book

2010-12-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

jhon

2010-12-19T13:56:00.000-08:00

...teaching us a thing or two on how to dress.

Gitman Bros / vintage cut oxford
Red Wing / beckman chukka
Shades of Grey / pantalon
Vintage Pendleton Shirt
Pierrepont Hicks / tie
Vintage Tie Clip
WILL / belt

greta

2010-12-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

...stopped in to do some Christmas shopping, and
also decided to pick up this adorable outfit for herself.

WILL / D-Ring Belt
Pendleton / Rider Shirt & Getaway Hat

this thursday....

2010-11-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

isak

2010-10-18T20:23:00.001-07:00

Isak recently flew all the way from Norway to the Twin Cities to pick
up this Hyden Yoo trench coat at BlackBlue...or, maybe to come
visit his girlfriend. We like to think it was because of the
trench. Either way, it's sweet.

Hyden Yoo / Ernesto Trench (dark khaki)

steve

2010-09-18T16:03:00.001-07:00

checking out some of BlackBlue's fresh stock of Fall vintage Pendleton and Woolrich
goods for both men and women. we love our virgin wool so much that if you come
into the shop dressed as a moth for Halloween, or any other reason, chances are you
will get swatted with a ping pong paddle.

steve scooped up this vintage Woolrich shirt with the most amazing swatch and it fits
him perfectly. looking good, steve!

barbour

2010-09-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

this beautiful article of clothing just arrived from Barbour today...one of the many new
items available at BlackBlue for Fall.

the backdrop is part of the shop's new window display and is an enlarged image that was
taken by our pal, Cameron, from his "hok si la"collection. we can't say that it was easy to
get up on the wall and there was some blood shed, and, perhaps, some mild profanity that
could be heard in the process of putting it up, but it was well worth it.

Barbour / Derwent Jacket

minnesota monthly

2010-08-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Minnesota Monthly magazine for voting BlackBlue
as "best men's boutique" in St. Paul and Minneapolis!

This photo was taken, courtesy of Amy and Adam at
Digital Art House - some of the best event and wedding
photographers / videographers around. Seriously!

dan

2010-08-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

is probably one of the coolest kids on the block.
he also mixes up a mean iced mocha down the street
at Nina's coffee shop and can definitely pull off a fedora.

Goorin (est. 1895) / Filmore Slim fedora

carl

2010-08-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

...never ceases to impress us with her ability
to come in and find the perfect piece of men's clothing
for herself and make it work so well. not only do we admire
her taste and style, but also her healing shiatsu skillz.
visit her here.

Shades of Grey / pantalon in navy

cameron

2010-08-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

Cameron will soon be having an art show
at BlackBlue showcasing his photographical skills.
He's also the senior photographer at the
Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Here's a niblet of his amazing snaps.
Stay tuned...

F-Troupe / white canvas lace-ups
Alternative Apparel / Champ sweatshirt

ryan

2010-08-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

...scoping this perfectly fitting raincoat by Shades of Greige.

katy

2010-08-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

Katy was kind enough to let us drag her
off the avenue to model these new wellies
we just got in from Tretorn. Just in time
for all this rain we're supposed to be getting
over the next several days!
Thanks Katy!

Tretorn / Langta Wellington boot
(available in black and grey)

grace

2010-08-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

Grace has mad style.
She walked into BlackBlue with this amazing dress on
which pairs perfectly with the F-troupe sandals she's wearing.
She also works at the hip vintage clothing boutique, UP SIX, in St. Paul.

F-Troupe / 4-strap sandal

carl

2010-08-03T16:48:00.001-07:00

Carl came into BlackBlue looking for a rain coat
for his upcoming trip to Bogata
and we found him the perfect one.
Check out this killer outfit.

Filson / all-season rain coat
Rachel Comey / Derringer oxford

satchel

2010-07-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

Satchel is the man, and one of BlackBlue's dearest friends.
When he's not hanging at the shop, he's holding it down
at Golden's Deli (their bagel sandwiches are the bomb)
and the farmer's market in Lowertown, St. Paul.
He's also a wicked cello player if you're ever looking for a cellist.

Opening Ceremony / slip-on oxfords
A.P.C. / Petit Standard jeans
Vintage T
Coconut Juice avec lime

philippe

2010-07-28T11:29:00.001-07:00

Please welcome the newest member to the BlackBlue family, Philippe.
He was named by the shop's 8-year old neighborhood buddy, Yasin,
who can be seen here.

katy & dan

2010-06-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

...having a sing-a-long at BlackBlue on a rainy afternoon.

On Katy: long sleeve madras shirt by Pendleton
On Dan: vintage Pendleton shirt ; Doctor Martins

matt

2010-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Here's Matty getting ready for his trip to Cali.

He's wearing:

Shades of Greige seersucker pants
Fred Perry gingham shirt
Shades of Greige blazer
Vintage Dior tie
Tretorn sneaks

daniel

2010-05-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

we are having an art opening
for this fine young chap,
and you are invited.

grant

2010-05-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

here's Grant
looking pretty
darn sweet
in his
Hyden Yoo jacket.

andrew

2010-03-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Andrew, creator of Minneapolis-based, Q-BA-MAZE,
stopped in for a peek at BlackBlue's selection
and to get some good old-fashioned
exercise. He's wearing 6" classic
mocs from Red Wing and a
"Rider" shirt from
Pendleton.

andrew

2010-01-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

This is Andrew. He took a break from teaching English in Japan

to visit his family back in good ol' Minnesota for the holidays.

After having read about the shop in Metro Magazine, he decided

to make the trip over to BlackBlue to check out the goods.

In these photos Andrew is sporting: Hyden Yoo shirt, A.P.C. denim

and, Red Wing boots.

shawn and angel nails

2009-11-12T12:22:00.001-08:00

No. No. No. Steve and Shawn are not in a metal band called ANGEL NAILS,
even though Steve’s facial expression says that he might be. (We venture to
guess he is just starting to resent being photographed all the time. Sorry, Steve.)

These two are in fact trying on the t-shirts specially made for the art opening
that BlackBlue is hosting this Friday, the 13th. The imagery is from a Polaroid
picture taken by Nadine Gross, our photographer du jour. The legend is that,
one night years ago, Nadine came upon a defunct manicure parlor’s sign
discarded in some dark ditch and she thought it a perfect subject for her
photography. BlackBlue agrees. This is easily one of our favorites. You will
have to stop by tomorrow to see the print in person and perhaps get yourself
one of these t-shirts from the very limited run of 20.

BlackBlue will have a sale during the event. 10% OFF ALL THINGS!

Thank you Shawn for stopping by and for dancing. Your new sweatshirt looks
sweet. We are now addicted to the Sin Fang Bous song, Lies, that we listened to

(on repeat) while you were here. Everyone else should be, so we are sharing.

Listen to this brilliance!

art opening

2009-11-05T16:25:00.001-08:00

Art times, people!

So stoked to tell you that we will be hosting our

first Art Opening on November, the 13th . A Friday.

We will feature the photographic work of Nadine

Gross, a good friend of the store (also the person

responsible for the funny eyeglasses we all wear

here at BlackBlue.)

An observer at heart, Nadine has an ability to find

beauty where most wouldn't think to look, and using

her Polaroid camera, she composes what she sees

into new minimalist patterns and images. 24 prints

of her work, selected from a pool of over 500 Polaroid

photos shot between 2001 and 2009 will be on display

and will be available for sale. Come in droves, friends!

Wine will be served.

perfect fall look

2009-10-31T14:31:00.000-07:00

Fred Perry Gingham shirt
Filson Outfitter jacket
Corpus raw denim jeans
F-troupe boots
--

Come and get it!

pioneer press

2009-10-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

If you picked up the Pioneer this Sunday,
you might have noticed a little feature on
Steve and BlackBlue.

bo and pendleton

2009-10-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

This is Bo. Bo was one of first people to ever buy

BlackBlue stuff and now she has become a good

friend of the store's.

This Saturday, she cruised over on her long board.

Absolute style! She was such a sight (in her amazing

thrifted sweater, black jeans and Pony high tops) we

had to seize of the moment. Photographically.

After trying on shoes, we decided to throw her in a

couple of the new Pendleton shirts and go outside for

a ride and photo times. Eventually Steve joined Bo with

François who was excited to finally get a skating buddy.

Bo is also wearing a sweet Alternative Apparel heather
t-shirt in some of the images and Steve is wearing an
Original Penguin polo. And in the last two images, he
put on one of new Hyden Yoo jackets.

grenson

2009-10-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

We have a very limited selection
of this Grenson shoe. It could be
yours, if you so desire.

style note

2009-10-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Backyard Bill is way up there on our list of awesome blogs.

Check out the latest feature. Evidently this fine looking man
is from our own Saint Paul, Minnesota. If we are not mistaken,

he's wearing Quoddy boots. You cannot go wrong! It is our hope

to offer this brand some time in the future. Fingers crossed!

the show

2009-10-21T00:15:00.000-07:00

So we did this group fashion show. Here
are some not so great pictures that we took
of our portion of the show. (Note to self:
Must learn how to use that fancy camera).

Thank you Colin, Elizabeth, Sam, and Chris.
You kids were so professional and beautiful,
you should all be actual models.

PS. The show was introduced by Cathy Wurzer
of MPR fame (Morning Edition). It was kind of
exciting to hear her utter the word BlackBlue.

jeff and the models

2009-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

(not that Jeff isn't a model)

Awesome Jeff came looking for something to wear
while in Paris (yeah, France). We tried on a bunch
of somethings until we felt it was très cool. Go tell
those Parisians what's up in the Midwest, Jeff.

Jeff's visit coincided with some serious fashion times.
We were getting ready for a fashion show. The nice
people at FIVETWOSIX invited us to be part of a show
to benefit the Children's Hospital Association. We were
like "Fashion show, huh?" "And you said it's for the
children, right?... OK."

We asked four of our beautiful friends to help us.
Here are the friends slash models trying on looks.

minnesota up

2009-10-17T12:41:00.001-07:00

It's always fashionable to dress with
the appropriate sense of place. We
live in Minnesota. We love Minnesota.
It's certainly starting to feel like good
old cold Minnesota these days. So gear
up, boys. Come on over for a pair of
your Woolrich pants with flannel lining
and an Alternative Apparel hoodie to
complete the look.

sam and satchel

2009-10-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

When Satchel and Sam (short for Samawada)
stopped by, we could not help but put them in
all kinds of clothes and photograph them. Yes,
we have a problem.

Sam is so beautiful, it's out of control. Satchel,
also beautiful, is such a funny guy. Great people.

We did what we did in Hyden Yoo's shirts, Penguin
cardigans, v-necks and polos, Fred Perry's oxford
shirts and shoes, Woolrich parkas, Tretorns boots,
F-troupe and Superga shoes (everyone should own
a pair of Supergas. Everyone!), Minnetonka moccs
and Shades of Greige blazers. You know, the works.

Have a look!

many thanks

2009-10-13T18:27:00.001-07:00

BlackBlue would like to take a moment and thank everyone
who came and celebrated the Grand Opening with us last
Thursday. It was more than we could have hoped for. And
then some. With all the excitement and champagne, we
totally forgot to take pictures of the evening. Weird.

Weird because we usually spend a lot of time taking pictures
of friends around here. The one time everyone was gathered
in our little shop... The perfect opportunity for one gigantic
Kodak moment...It slipped our minds. Sighs.

Anyway, we would like to especially thank those who helped
out. Alex, Jenna, Edna and Safrat. Thanks for the hard work.

Also,
Our thanks to (the people whose pictures we actually have)...

Michael. For the hilarious jokes while
washing the hundreds of glasses.
And for music. Always.

Patuu, our own business model.
For being on top of her game at
the cash register.

Ever so lovely Elizabeth. For bringing us
a much needed snack and moral support.
And leading the champagne and wine
glass washing task force.

Dustin. For your profound knowledge of
cheese and quince. Also, on a side note,
for knowing how to play Beirut on the
Ukulele. And of course for poetry.

Knol. For making mixtapes for the evening.
Hope those Tretorns are working out
for you. Your style is inspiring. And
so is your poetry.

2009-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

The cool kids over at Refinery29 listed
their top 20 shoe picks for men for fall
and guess what? They forgot to mention
that the first two picks are also available
at BlackBlue. We'll forgive them this time.

xavi

2009-10-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Xavi kills. In a sense, he's like Françoi s,
the skateboard store pet, because we feel
way cooler whenever he is around. The other
night, we decided to have some good times
with the balloons. Yeah, we drop everything
we're doing for this kid. Even if it is for a "blue
balls fight". Another thing about this kid...
He looks great in BlackBlue stuff. Look at him
in his new Tretorn boots and Corpus jeans.

Xavi is moving to New York this November.
We'll miss him ridiculously.

.

minnesota daily

2009-10-02T00:04:00.000-07:00

Oh boy. Exciting times.
We were mentioned in
the Minnesota Daily.

Read the article here.

ted

2009-10-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

Since BlackBlue is primarily a menswear store,
we thought we should do a post similar to Patuu's
but this time with a man. So we thought of Ted.
Unlike Patuu, Ted came in with pants on. He
wore a nice pair of his own jeans that we rolled
for most of the shoot. We love haphazardly
rolled pants.

When asked if he would be up for a modeling gig,
Ted said, and we quote: "I think I have a beautiful
body and would be perfect for that. I don't know
why no one has ever asked me before." Surprising,
indeed. We're not naming names, but some of us here
at BlackBlue have a huge crush on Ted. Maybe it's
because among other very excellent things, he plays
the pedal steel in several bands. And beautifully so.

Anyway, here's what we did. You might notice the
same pieces we put on Patuu.

Thanks, Ted.

2009-09-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

patuu

2009-09-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

Patuu works at Mango Thai, the restaurant two doors
down. She stops by the shop every so often, sometimes
to bring us food and sometimes just to hang out.

The other day, she was not having the greatest of days.
It was kind of hard to take her seriously because she was
wearing the daintiest, shortest shorts of all time. She was
the cutest. All the 5 feet of her. To cheer her up, we decided
to put her in BlackBlue's clothes and have us a photo shoot.

Here is what we did.

With the exception of the shoes and the Unisex Alternative
Apparel stuff, she is wearing all men's clothes.

tretorn

2009-09-16T17:58:00.001-07:00

minnetonka moccasin

2009-09-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Just a preview of the Minnetonka Moccasins
we have available for both men and women.

balloons

2009-09-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

BlackBlue is a clothing shop. Yes.
So why have a non-clothing related
window display? I don't know...
We love balloons.

The balloons are planted in actual
potting soil. We are hoping for baby
balloons to grow soon.

Because above all things, we dream.

Also, almost forgot...
WE HAVE OPENED OUR DOORS, PEOPLE.
Still waiting for few things arrive,
but Filson and Woolrich are here. Yes.
[to be shown in another post]

Stop by anytime, friends.

2009-09-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

Generic Surplus
shoes as modeled
by Chris,
a good friend
of the store.

style notes

2009-09-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

You have to take notice when you
see an older gent who looks fresh.

hyden yoo and co.

2009-09-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

The racks are slowly being filled with garments.
BlackBlue's first collection will reflect the
impending change of season.

Autumn, yo!

In addition to Shades of Greige, we have
recieved clothes from the following:

Hyden Yoo
Cockpit
Original Penguin

generic surplus

2009-09-01T18:18:00.001-07:00

For the generic man! The first
arrival of footwear.

shades of greige

2009-08-21T16:11:00.001-07:00

We've had one exciting day at BlackBlue.
We received our first shipment of garments.

We are so stoked to present "Shades of Greige",
one of the excellent brands we are going to be
offering.

We will be introducing each brand as they arrive
at the store. Be warned because it's all going
to be swell stuff.

style notes

2009-08-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

2009-08-04T16:30:00.001-07:00

meet françois

2009-07-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

François is the store's pet. He is the kid who makes us feel cool.

On top of that, he is a hard worker. He has been as busy as anybody
else doing what he can to get BlackBlue ready. He is there when

Steve is making important calls and needs a ride around the store.

François doesn't ask why, he is just happy to help. He is strong, too.

The old door mirrors were super heavy and François was like

"Pas de probleme. Let me do it." I mean dude's awesome! (He did

get a little tired though and had to take a quick nap by the table.)

These last couple days, François seems a bit distant. It could be that

there is a rather large 1920's Chinese Deco rug right in the middle of

his playground. He agrees that the rug is pretty rad but let's hope that

Steve takes him outside more often to make him feel better.

storefront

2009-07-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

our store, as it is right now.

2009-07-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

birds and maps

2009-07-23T20:51:00.000-07:00

There was a little friend, a bird, in the store the other day.
The same day we got a bunch of super old bird prints to
put on our walls. We also got some old maps. Kathleen
hooked us up.

book shelves for shoes - part three

2009-07-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

The shelves for shoes are finally done (word of advice: never assume
that a simple idea, like using old books as shelves, is easy to execute).
Quite pleased with the result. It was worth all the hard work.

Jeff and Steve, hard at work.

2009-07-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

mapping the books on the walls

2009-07-23T19:13:00.000-07:00

style notes

2009-07-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

blackblue eats

2009-07-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

At BlackBlue, if we are not working hard, we are eating...hard?
No. Well. (That's the word I'm looking for).
Here's the evidence.

Here, we had stopped at Punch Pizza after that amazing trip
to Rex Mills Printing, and had real Neapolitan pizza.
I don't exactly know what that means but it's really good.

This morning we went to Birchwood hoping Anna was working.
Sadly she wasn't. She broke her pretty leg biking so
she's taking sometime off work. I did get a salad,
because frankly, all this eating is starting to show.
But the salad had loads of amazing bacon. So. Huh.
I don't know.

The other day, we went for a nice burger lunch at Red Stag Supper Club
after we stopped next door at City Salvage to pick up some
store fixtures. By the way, CS still won't let us buy that
taxidermy pheasant. We want it to be our store mascot, too.

We've been searching for the perfect rug (to tie the room together.
There's a Big Lebowski reference for you. Boom!) and Cahoots
Coffee shop has some pretty amazing vintage Persian rugs. Every
time we stop there to ogle at them, we eat at The Neighborhood Cafe
for some good, greasy, American breakfast goodness.

Once in a while, I will whip something up. Steve calls it
Chicken Goodness at Big Mama's House. I usually blast
the music and wildly dance to it while cooking. Fun times.

We also let our friends give us food. This one afternoon, we had paid a visit to Kathleen, my good friend and former boss
at her store,Whitney Books Prints and Maps. We had a great time looking through her ridiculously amazing collection of
antiquarian prints and maps. Then after, we went to Anna's house for really good burritos and some hula-hoopin'.
What a really good friend!

Last weekend, we went to Stillwater, a half hour drive outside the city to do some antiquing and
water sports at the St Croix river (does skipping rocks count a as water sport, you ask? You bet.)
Steve was kind enough to carry my big African bag all day. I think he carried it well.
While there, we ate at Savorie's Bistro, this little french place and had some super super
(I like the word super) nice foods.

steve and racks

2009-07-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

book shelves for shoes - part two

2009-07-08T13:29:00.001-07:00

we have a door sign

2009-07-07T17:31:00.001-07:00

taking cues

2009-07-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our hope is to help you guys look something like this.

from the archives of The Sartorialist

rex mills printing

2009-07-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

The other day we headed over to Rex Mills Printing to talk about letter pressed business cards for BlackBlue.

It was highly recommended to us, but we were not prepared for the radicalness of the place.
I almost jumped out of the moving car when I first saw the front of the store.

This is Jim. Jim is a craftsman. Jim has worked at Rex for 35 years.

And Jim is now one of our favorite people in the entire world.
I started taking pictures when he wasn't looking, fearing he would object.
But he was cool. Super cool. He shared stories about the place.
About Rex, the guy who started it all and about past co-workers.
I was so enchanted that I hardly listened to anything else.
He and Steve talked business (cards) and I walked around,
taking in everything with the crappy camera of my phone.

The place is unreal. It's full of machinery, beautifully letter-pressed stuff,

other printed stuff, paper, plants, odd objects, Jim, paper, paper and paper.
I have an inexplicable love for paper to begin with, but it was merciless what this place did to me.

I tried, without great success, to take a picture of myself in the space

but I did manage to take one of the "Fleet Foxes" t-shirt that I borrowed from Sara.
Speaking of clothes, we loved Jim's outfit too. From the apron
(that reads Fox River Paper with a cute illustration of a cute fox),
to his loose, rolled, light gray jeans paired with a striped navy polo shirt
and his Vans-like shoes. You cannot go wrong. Steve is wearing
my favorite jeans of his.

If you ever are in the area, do yourself a favor and stop by Rex Mills Printing
(1914 Washington Ave North # 1, Minneapolis 55411). You will die.

The place is so punk rock, it doesn't even believe in interwebs.
All Jim needs is a phone number, fax number and word of mouth.
Thanks Jamie, Aaron and Will for your recommendation.

YOUR PROTECTOR by Fleet Foxes

umit benan

2009-07-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

thom browne, we love.

2009-06-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

via cafe mode.

book shelves for shoes - part one

2009-06-25T16:54:00.000-07:00