Ok so a while ago yours truly needed some new spectacles and while gallivanting through the city we found the mothership of Eyewear, quiet possibly the best optical store I personally have ever stumbled into. Vintage, quirky, stylish, cool, praise worthy and the most eclectic collection of eyewear as far as the eye can see (pun wholeheartedly intended). I’ve been to great stores in Paris, London, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok, but no one place has ever offered more than the 4000’s own, Optiko at Tattersall’s Arcade, Brisbane.

- P4,

Curator Michael Makras’s knowledge of current and vintage models of eyewear is borderline insane but for the most part astounding. Calling the selection of eyewear “eclectic” is an inappropriate appraisal of the incredible amount of thought behind creating such a astonishing collection of optical eyewear. Be sure to drop by Optiko on your next visit into the CBD and checkout their website and blog in the meantime.

I’m betting you have no idea what is so unique about these particular pairs, look very closely and you might catch it…they all have movie  “Cells” from Donnie Darko, The God Father, Bourne Identity, and Match Point, inlays in the temples…Nerdgasm :

These particular ones are sandwiched by hand made in resin with real feathers:

I have these in black, everyone asks where I got them from and I let them know Optiko! :

The rest is just spectacle porn…

This past weekend, Brisbanites took to the Chandler Velodrome to celebrate the launch of newly established bicycle themed brand, “Domestique”. A large group of fixie heads gathered to check out the new brand, show some love and just have a damn good time. For many this was their first experience on the velodrome, whilst a few were already seasoned competitors. Along with the track there was also a few fellows that came along to oversee the velodrome newbies and offer a word of advice (or three). We went along to take some photos and drop some of our new stickers off.

Domestique is now available at The Outpost, Gear and Sneak & Destroy and a big thanks to the stores for organizing this dope day, as well as the velodrome support staff for putting up with the rag tag bunch.

- P4,

The photos are also up on Facebook please tag yourselves.

Up There, is a contemporary mens fashion boutique to be based in Melbourne, Australia, opening Mid 2010.

“As a store Up There’s mission is to bring to Melbourne a mens specific contemporary fashion store. ‘Up There’ want to create a memorable retail experience for their fashion housemates that helps them to embrace their culture and create a high end street wear lifestyle.” – Up There

The new issue of Australia’s premier streetwear publication, Acclaim Magazine is bound to be a collectors item as it marks the 20th edition and features a line up that is truly next level.  The new issue focuses on the land of the rising sun (Japan duh!), and has been executive produced by For The Homies founder Pete Le Chic and featuring the work of celebrated Tokyo-based photographer, Yasumasa “Yone” Yonehara.

Under the direction of their art director PJ Smith, the new layout is completely different, from the Acclaim of past, he has really produced a fresh, clean and minimal new issue that really enhances all the nuances of Japanese culture. Features include Ambush, Dexpistols, Yone, Loopwheeler, Designer BIG-O from Swagger and Fenomenon just to mention a few and dives deep into Japan without saying much more. This is by far our favorite issue so far and is just one meaty issue that you have to make sure to pick up, it is locally available at Laced and Borders and internationally.

- P4,

“With this being our 20th issue and with our new approach to covering the best in creative culture, it seemed right to give our visual identity and layout an overhaul. I’m excited with where we’ve taken this issue and look forward to continuing the progession of ACCLAIM” – PJ Smith

Over the Easter break I took to the road and drove from the Sunshine Coast all the way down south to Sydney. The 1000+ Kilometers of journey would’ve been hellish if it wasn’t for my good friends and good food stops on route. While there i got to check out the new range of Feit, dropped into Supply, had a dope meeting with Ones Clothing and got to checkout the HMAS Darwin.

- T,

We stopped off at Grafton, which looked pretty much like a ghost-town except for this joint, which was overflowing with cars outside we ducked into checkout the menu and boy did we get a pleasant surprise. Elegant and simple bistro food at a country town pub. The whole trip we just kept discussing at the sheer dumb luck of finding such a nice restaurant on a trip where we definitely excepted a fast food binge.

Next stop was Port Macquarie, just to have a stretch but the lovely visuals definitely rejuvenated us.

We started 8:30 am Friday morning and 14 hours later we got to Sydney!

I went to Oxford Street, to checkout Feit and Supply who happen to be next door to each other. The Feit Moc Hi is the toughest boot I’ve ever laid my eyes on, these things look like they could crush any terrain in luxurious comfort, just an unmatched combination of aesthetics, quality and functionality.

After I finished groping all the shoes at Feit, I ducked into Supply. They gave me a look at their new range of tees, gotta say they look pretty damn good. Should be getting some pictures shortly. If your unfamiliar with the store they stock some of the most sought after brands such as Visvim, Supreme, Neighborhood, Tenderloin, Head Porter and many more. Check them out at their official website, and definitely drop in and check it out if your in Sydney.

We met the guys from Ones Clothing at Buffet, Junior was nice enough to invite me down to their studios and checkout their operation in person. These guys are true hustlers producing their own stuff when they have down time from their own full time printing business. We had a long conversation about producing quality products and bounced of ideas each other, we look forward to working with them sometime in the very near future.

One of my best friends is in the Navy and he gave us a tour through his ship, the dude is 6”8 I have no idea how he can last in that place for more than a couple of hours its so claustrophobic. But I was pretty much nerding out pretty freaking hard (pause), all those instrument panels, guns and hatches, the ship is a fucking maze; it was fucking awesome. Oh there is this crane called the Hammer Head, apparently its falling into bits but i though it was pretty impressive sight nonetheless.

We had to head back to the 4000 Monday morning, even though all the fun was over we did get to stop for one last meal in Taree, it was pretty rubbish, except for the cold drinks.

Bonus Shots:

Good friends, lots of drink ensued in hilarious moments captured on my newly acquired Fuji Instax 210, consider this my review of the camera it is just fun, no other explanation needed, its just fun to have around. Nothing beats instant gratification.

We here at P4 really admire what FEIT has been doing from day one, but it always seemed that people never cared about these fantastic Australian made shoes, because they didn’t come via Japan/Europe/LA/NY. Well all that bullshit aside, its time to pay some attention FEIT just put together what we can only think of as a game changer.

FEIT Direct gives individuals a chance to get a custom fit shoe with their Made to Measure service and store a chance to create their own with a Private Label service. It involves a consultation with a master craftsmen who will create your custom last, your last then is kept at their factory, and all your future products can be built on this last. This is completely unprecedented in recent times, especially for our generation, that people care enough about their product to give only the best to their customers. Finally you don’t have to be a rapper/hipster icon to get your own custom shoe.

- T, all the links above take you directly to their pages

“UNDRCRWN” a brand that took my notice a couple of years ago, with their contemporary sensibility and with a throwback swagger they produced some pretty memorable designs like the Coogi inspired cut and sew collection and the Mos Def cut and sew collection. Their latest offering, follows along the same bold designs they are known for, my personal favorite the “POINTGOD” shirt is just money!

Available from Sneak and Destroy, Level 3, Halfsleeve, Kickz101 and Highs and Lows.

- T,

Finally convinced three of my favorite compadres to sack up and join me for a night of titillating tastes in Brisbane at one of my favorite restaurants, called “Sono”. Even though they are some of my favorite people to hangout with I must say they’re taste buds aren’t always up to the challenge for my culinary expeditions. Three fussy eaters who take a dislike to certain seafood, aren’t exactly the correct demo graph for a Japanese meal, however if any place was going to leave a good memory for fine seafood on their taste buds, Sono definitely meets that criteria.

- T,

The first dish which sadly didn’t survive long enough for a picture was a “Wagyu Tataki with Ponzu Sauce”, it really set the tone for the quality of the meal ahead. I won’t bother (also cbf) explaining every single dish, nevertheless we dined on some of the best seafood dishes to be had in Brisbane City, presented with simplicity and elegance that can only be achieved by fine Japanese cooking technique.

We had a great time and a fantastic meal, though it wasn’t cheap we all had a consensus that we would be going back there sometime in the very near future. Sono is definitely worth a visit if you are in the city or you can also try their river side location at Portside Wharf, however which ever one your visit you definitely want to make an advanced reservation to secure yourself a table, even for lunch. Yeap! they are that popular.

A milestone was set this past weekend with the launch of Asia-Pacific’s first ever Streetwear tradeshow, “Buffet” in Melbourne Australia. Major distributors and independent labels from across Australia and from as far as Singapore showed up to participate in this monumental event, organised by Acclaim Magazine founder Andrew Montell in conjunction with Fashion Exposed.

In attendance were streetwear scene icons such as Jeff Staple, Simon Woody, DJ Mafia, Hans DC, Frank Liew and a many others who spoke in four discussion forums to school us new kids on the blog how to make it in this game. We had a great time attending, there was a tonne of proddy to grope, lots of good food and way too many drinks.

- P4,

In these tough economic times like most industries Streetwear also needs a reboot, and Buffet is definitely a step in the right direction to yet again set the tone for streetwear for the new decade.

We landed early Friday morning to a chilly Melbourne and eagerly waited for the break of daylight. The clock hit 9:00 am and it was time for Buffet!, which was set in a amazing old factory right at the edge of the city.

A dope space still bearing reminence of an old factory, lit up by piercing beams of sunlight that peak through old fashioned skylights and glaring flood lights. The entire space was hurriedly transformed into Aisia-Pacific’s first streetwear tradeshow, we went in extra early to meet with all the vendors and take pictures as everyone helped each other to get settled into the space.

The first day was for vendors only, however as we’re power bloggers (ha!) we got hooked up with media passes thanks to the fine fellas at Acclaim Magazine. Our efforts of getting up early paid off handsomely as we got a chance to get acquainted with all the booths owners, wowed some people with our amazing business cards, had a good chat to almost everyone there and checked out all the fresh new products before the public got their hands on them.

There was a mix of independent local and international labels and well as the big boys such as Staple/STPL, Casio, Incase, In4mation and many others showcasing their new seasons on the show floor. To give you an idea why this event is so important, it is first time in Asia that buyers got to actually see so much product physically at the same time before it hits the shelves, usually this sort of showing is done on a one to one basis.

This event also gave new comers to the game a chance to showcase their product to prospective buyers, which is a hard task for any new brand to do in Australia/Asia with out spending thousands on traveling door to door.

Our favourites were definitely the indie labels representing on the show floor, these guys definitely bring a great injection of fresh energy to the game and most can party pretty effin hard too but those pics are private.

Deep Surface – Sydney | Ones Clothing – Sydney | Sup Clothing – Singapore

Grand Scheme – Brisbane | Mont La Roc – Melbourne | Quiet Riot – Melbourne

For The Homies – Melbourne | Bbot Systems – Melbourne | Blank/BKTM – Melbourne

Lower – New Zealand

Okay your thinking why the fuck is there 4 pictures of Gear above? Its cause Erik is a fucking champion, he drove down with the entire Gear Team 24 hours straight from the 4000 to Melbourne to attend Buffet and was the only store from Brisbane to make it all the way down south, now that’s commitment! Checkout their store and blog Gear Brisbane online.

There was a tonne of new product, however we intentionally avoided concentrating on the product as we rather feature the actual people and the labels they are representing. The human aspect is definitely what made Buffet such a great event, it was about sharing ideas, making connections and coming together as a industry. We hope to do feature interviews on everyone we met in the very near future.

Discussion Forum 1 – Starting Out

The second aspect of Buffet were the discussion forums presented by some of the pioneers of the Streetwear industry. The panel consisted of Dj Mafia of Sneaker Freaker, Nick Denton owner of Freshin and Second Family Distribution, Graffiti icon Rafael Rashid aka Raph Boogie also creator of Blank TM, Jimmy Bligs creator of Grand Scheme, Steele Saunders of Spire Distribution and Sure and Acclaim Magazine creator Andrew Montell.

It was great to hear from this distinguished panel of speakers about how they started in this business, their personal stories were very compelling and gave everyone some perspective on the commitment and hard work it takes to achieve success in this industry and also life in general. It was like sitting around with a bunch of friends talking about old times just was a good time listening to them.

They went into great detail explaining how to approach retailers to how not to get ripped off buy manufacturers. The silence in the room was a clear indication that how closely the crowd was paying attention to every word these guys were sharing with us, a real revelation.

Discussion Forum 2 – The Next Level

The second forum was the big show, featuring Jeff Ng of Staple, Simon Woody founder of Sneaker Freaker, Jake Pyne creator of New Zealand label Lower and Andrew Montell who organised this whole event.

This forum was a whole different ball game compared to the first one, class was in session to say the least. Silence filled the room as the discussion began and Jeff Staple took the podium to give his presentation on his personal history and gave insightful speech on what it takes to make it in this business.

Jake Pyne then took to the mic and introduced himself and his background with Lower and what it took to establish a brand that was started in a steel shed to now being stocked in 75 stores in New Zealand alone. His story is what many up and coming labels in the crowd and ourselves related to the most.

After the introductions were made the discussion became more indepth talking about everything from collaborating with large companies to understanding what it takes to elevate your business/label to the next level. Sadly we couldn’t stay for the last day of Buffet as Twiz had to get back to work at Laced and I was just absolutely shattered from being on the road before heading out to Melbourne and partying with the Buffet crew didn’t help our stamina either.

We would just like to thank Andrew Montell for putting together this monumental event and a special shout to Sup Singapore crew, Deep Surface, Ones, Nick Denton, Frank Liew, Brendan, Jimmy, Jason Papa, Pete Le Chic, Mafia, Xdrift and uncle Hans DC for making this a trip worthwhile.

If you read this whole thing…Thank you very much.

The end for now, a lot more coming from us shortly..

- T, read on

It was gonna be either the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G or the older manual model the Nikkor 50mm F/1.2, as i wanted a lense to work with my older Nikon F3 as well as my D90 I went for the latter. I got mine from a nice eBayer out of South Korea for about $500 (AUD) delivered. These are some sample shots i took at a poker game earlier this week and I have to say its not the easiest lense to use on a D90 but god it has potential to produce some stunning images.