The New Face Of An Old Brand

Remember when you where a kid and you went into little country stores or farm and home stores with your Dad? Remember seeing all the farmers, laborers, and plain old hard workers sitting around a table sipping coffee talking about the current events? Remember what all of them were wearing? I can guarantee it was 99% Carhartt. Well worn, each stain probably told a story, some jackets, some full coveralls. Well I remember it like it was yesterday and while the quality and durability has not changed, the times and era have.

Enter Carhartt WIP (work in progress) The designs and fit are a little more modern fitting, the stores more modern but with a reclaimed heritage feel, and the clientele....well lets just say we don't sit around and sip coffee and talk about current events anymore. All in all we are still hard workers, just in different ways. The new era of Carhartt wearer still cares about the durability but puts a little more emphasis on the way it looks. I'm sure the old timers may laugh and scoff at the way Carhartt is worn today, but they can rest assured that it is still the same old brand just evolving with modern times.

Check out this awesome video at a new Carhartt WIP store to see what I'm rambling about.

HBTV2: Carhartt Work in Progress E1 London Store from HBTV on Vimeo.

You Never Forget Your First

Ki has had a wiggly tooth for the last few weeks or so and he has been so anxious about it, asking lots of questions about how it will come out, will it hurt, bleed, etc. Well last night my Mom came into town and we went to Olive Garden for dinner, which was lovely (any old school fans out there?). After a round of bread sticks and toasted ravioli, the little chocolate Andes mints were delivered. Ki immediately tore into one and during his first bite, out came his first tooth. You would have thought he took his first steps all over again. We became the giddy, overly eccentric parents taking pictures and causing an over the top obnoxiously happy scene. He did good though and after the initial shock wore off, he got a little nervous about the tiny bit of blood and tried real hard to regain his composure. I got up and took him to the bathroom to rinse his mouth out and word had already started to spread around the restaurant. Every waiter/waitress, greeter, patron that we passed asked "Did you lose your first tooth?" and rewarded him with more chocolate mints. It was a really funny ordeal and really made me proud of him for how he handled it and graciously reaped all the chocolate rewards.

Now he has a quirky little lisp and he sucks in his bottom lip through the opening. I left this morning before I heard the final figure on what the tooth fairy left for him,but I'm sure he made out pretty good.

There's a tooth in his hand, it's just small, if you look closely you probably still can't see it. You get the idea.

Before bed, excited for the tooth fairy, you would've thought Santa was on his way.

February Happenings

When I started this whole blogging thing I thought " Man, this will be so fun and easy. Blogging everyday, showing pictures and projects. Blah Blah Blah!" It seems to be a little tougher than what I expected. The winter months are slow for projects, for me at least. I really have no excuse other than it's winter and it really hasn't dropped below 40 degrees and is hasn't snowed and it's been sunny for the most part. So basically I have no excuse except for pure laziness.

Here are a few things that have happened so far in February. Misty and I took a trip to Chicago for her birthday. It was a blast but guess what, the only pics I have are of an old fashioned made with lime, my new Red Wing boots, and the Carhartt store in Wicker Park which was amazing I might add.

Then it was Mistys "real birthday" and we came home to a fully decorated kitchen with streamers, a cake, and a little art from Ki. It was awesome and sweet and he could barely hold in the excitement.

We had parent/teacher conferences that week as well. I took a couple pics of the art that the kids do in class and it blows me away. The way each little brain interprets the way he or she draws or paints or glues or builds, its awesome.

Then it was Valentines day. Ki wanted to build a robot, but as we started I said "This kind of looks like an army tank." That's all it took to change the direction. Misty said the morning that she dropped him off for school he got real shy and worried about what the teacher and principal might say about having a tank at school. She assured him that it would be fine and it turned out to be a big hit. Here's the "Love Tank" and the soldier that was blowing up hearts (cheese) on Valentines day. He was giving me that Dad I'm tired and don't want my picture taken look.

Hand Made KC - HAMMERPRESS

I could, and sometimes do, watch stuff like this all day long. When is KC, go visit HAMMERPRESS. Something therapeutic about hand made goods these days.


Realtree from MAMMOTH on Vimeo.

The Making of a Tradition

Dad, I wanna look good....

Last Friday night Misty had to work late so me and Ki met here for dinner. He got all excited after he got to pick the place and said " dad, I wanna look good tonight. " I told him to go pick out what he wanted to wear and this is what he came up with. Not too bad if you ask me. He borrowed one of my watches and little bit of cologne and he was ready to rock it. Needless to say he pretty much had every girl in the place giving him compliments all night long....stud!

Checking His List, Checking It Twice

Christmas was busy as usual, but this year like all others, was different than the last. Watching this kid get so excited about Christmas is enough to get any Bah Hum Bugger in the spirit. He couldn't even wait to get the tree up and help decorate.

My mom came to visit and Misty put her in charge of the mantle and living room decor. There was glitter everywhere and while I love the way it looks, I run and hide while this going on. I despise glitter.

We took some days off before the craziness started. One of the mornings I went to the gym and came home to this. Ki with the help of Misty made pancakes and eggs and a special blueberry, strawberry and yogurt parfait. He set the table along with festive napkins and paper plates for easy clean up. And check out that tablecloth, I have no idea where he found this horribly ugly tablecloth but he really wanted to use it.

Hope & Envy

Over the past 2-3 years I have really started to pay attention to mens fashion. I'm not talking about New York Fashion Week runway style, or big box store button downs and denim with overloaded graphic detail. I'm talking about handmade goods, the heritage type of clothing. From denim to hand bags, ties to boots these are all still made in america by craftsman that use the finest quality material and extreme attention to detail. Raleigh Denim is just one of those brands. Courtesy of Need Supply Co.


Meet The Maker from Need Supply Co. on Vimeo.