The Dunes with Relwen
Just A Men Shoe, Yellow
I met Pedro of JustAMenShoe more than a year back now. My first question was if he had yellow shoes. Sadly, at the time there were no yellow options.
In a generous move Pedro recently shared these Yellow oxfords with me to test out. Yellow, for better or for worse has become the Sunflowerman brand color and I've fallen in love.
In preparation for doing a long road trip, Ruth and I have set a schedule for photoshoot. As I am primarily a fashion illustrator, going out and doing style shoots has always been just a practice of convenience rather than intent.
Now we have put ourselves in the position to make this a pivotal part of the Sunflowerman business, and we're going in full force.
SHOP THE LOOK
Shoes- Just A Men Shoe
Watch- Hanhart Pioneer MonoControl I
Jacket- Apolis Wool Chore Jacket
The Illustrator
Involving the full Sunflowerman Network. Sunflowerman/ Daily Fashion Project/ Sunflowermatt
'The Illustrator' is the ardent creator of beautiful things, the persistent developer of grand ideas, the idealist of quality production.
'The Illustrator' is my first real attempt at creating an editorial that pulls together photography and illustration in a single cohesive editorial. Here you will see a broader and more unique selection of the photographs that didn't make it into 'The Illustrator.'
See 'The Illustrator' editorial here.
Photography by Leigh Ann Cobb
go beyond the photography
Five Four at Rowster Coffee
The threat of torrential snow fall was everywhere, except out our back window. My mother texted me 'are you still coming into the city?' the weather channel posted warning, all local news made clear the danger. But in our backyard the skies were only thinly veiled with clouds.
So we drove the 35 minutes or so into Grand Rapids for Ruth's salon appointment and I stopped at Rowster Coffee. Snow was falling but the roads were fine.
Rowster Coffee is a favorite stop of mine in Grand Rapids. The coffee is exceptional and the space is exactly what you would expect from a third-wave coffee shop almost anywhere in the world. Lot's of wood with exposed construction. It's a great place for emails, for thinking and for sketching.
I knew I would be spending time drinking coffee while Ruth had her hair done at the salon a few blocks down the road so I left the house prepared with Brew Watches on my wrist. It's a favorite watch in my collection, designed with inspiration drawn from industrial espresso machines.
After an hour I had to move the car under threat of ticketing. In only an hour's time the roads had devolved into slip-n-slides, complete with water running down hills and that terrible feeling you get in your tummy when you go belly-down.
There was one thing I had to accomplish before we made the terrifying journey back home. I had to shoot my Five Four jacket and shirt.
Five Four recently partnered with Robert Geller to produce an exclusive line. I was first exposed to Robert Geller at the inaugural NYFWM several months back and have continued to love his work (see the illustration here). I consider it a great honor to sport some Robert Geller design from Five Four.
Five Four is a unique and altogether interesting menswear label out of LA. They offer collections on a subscription basis. For $60 a month you receive 2-3 exclusive designs delivered right to your door. The only way to snag Five Four is by signing up.