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Q1 Could tell us about Beard & Bangs? How did it start?
Beard & Bangs is a screenprinted t-shirt and accessories line for men and women. We are based in Brooklyn, NY and work out of our studio. This is the 5th season for B & B, and our line is carried in 18 stores worldwide. While we were students at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, we started screenprinting vegetarian themed shirts and sold them on the sidewalks of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Although that was a lot of fun, we eventually wanted to do something more creative, stable, and long-term. We began B & B in the Summer of 2005.
Q2 Please introduce yourself. How did you guys meet each other?
Beard & Bangs consists of a pair of best friends and partners-in-design, Mark Kane and Doris Ho. Mark grew up in small town Upstate, NY, while I grew up in the bustling suburbs of Dallas, TX. Years later, we would cross paths in NYC and that sealed our fate! |
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We met while attending F.I.T. Mark was studying graphic design, and I was majoring in fashion design. During our first semester there, we met while working on art projects in the community workroom. We instantly bonded over common interests and quickly became inseparable.
Q3 For the Fall 2007, what sort of pieces are feature in the collection?
Our Fall 2007 line consists of garment dyed and screenprinted t-shirts and neckerchiefs.
Q4 Could you explain the meaning of collection title, 'The Philatelic: A Fantastic Collection of Stamps'?
The idea for "The Philatelic" comes from a family stamp collection which was passed down to Mark from his older sister. The collection contains stamps from letters his grandfather sent home during World War II, as well as from other family members' travels. It is also a reference to Bob Dylan's "Tombstone Blues" song from 1965. During the designing of this collection, we listened to a lot of Dylan. |
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Q7 What has been the greatest challenge so far?
Our greatest challenge has been on the financial end of things. Beard & Bangs started out of our own pockets and it continues to be a challenge to expand a growing young company. Regardless, we love working together and having something separate from our day jobs, so it's all worthwhile. |
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Q8 Currently which stores carry Beard & Bangs in US and Japan? The range of prices?
In New York, our line is available at Steven Alan, Stuart & Wright, and In God We Trust. Other stores in the US include Active Endeavors in Chicago, The Royal Family and Octane in Austin, Ian in Seattle, LFT in Dallas, and Base in Miami. In Japan, we're stocked in Barneys Tokyo and United Arrows Green Label Relaxing. Our t-shirts are $65 USD and neckerchiefs are $75 USD.
Q9 Are there any places or countries you would like to visit?
We would love to travel all over the world, but here are a few off the top of our heads: Languedoc and Paris, France, Vietnam, India, Helsinki, Stockholm, and of course Japan! |
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Q12 Any last words?
If Mark shaves his beard and I grow out my bangs, can we still call ourselves Beard & Bangs? |
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Beard & Bangs is a screenprinted t-shirt and accessories line that incorporates Old World woodcut prints and classical typography into their designs. Combining their fashion and graphic design background, Doris Ho and Mark Kane debuted Beard & Bangs in the Autumn of 2005. Now in their fifth season, the Autumn/Winter 2007 collection is entitled 'The Philatelic: A Fantastic Collection of Stamps.'
The importance of constructive integrity and soft hand of a fabric are reflected in the 100% cotton t-shirts and neckerchiefs of the Beard & Bangs collection. Each individual piece is garment dyed and distressed in small batches in their studio located in the E. Williamsburg Industrial Park of Brooklyn, NY. The imperfections reveal a story within a story, that of the prints, as well as the hand quality and care that goes into each pieces of the collection.
The Philatelic: A Fantastic Collection of Stamps is an homage to the visual barrage of graphic imagery found in the favorite past time of stamp collecting. Mark's family stamp collection and a line from Bob Dylan's song entitled "Tombstone Blues" written in 1965 particularly inspire this collection.
Parallels in philately and the Autumn/Winter 2007 collection of Beard & Bangs include the similarities in the use of a limited color palette, flat line art, and the slight differentiations of each piece. At first glance, the shirts may appear uniform, but upon closer examination, there are inconspicuous variations in color shades, and different line qualities embedded within the fabric.
The beauty lies not only in the stamps alone, but also in the placement of cancellation marks that reveal the travels of correspondence from quiet towns to bustling cities. Philately is also the study of revenue, which Beard & Bangs considers another medium for traveling graphic art, passed from one person to the next.
Beard & Bangs is available at Steven Alan, Stuart & Wright, and In God We Trust in NY, Active Endeavors in Chicago, The Royal Family and Octane in Austin, Ian in Seattle, LFT in Dallas, and Base in Miami, Barneys and United Arrows Green Label Relaxing in Japan.
The range of price: T-shirts $65 USD and neckerchiefs $75 USD. |
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Q5 What’s inspiring your work? What are some of your interest today?
Our biggest inspiration has always been the look and feel of quiet libraries, old books, and the imagery and typography of past eras. We're also really inspired by music including Beirut, El Perro Del Mar, Songs of Green Pheasant, Nico, Edith Piaf, and of course, Bob Dylan! Along with fashion and design, we also love photography and have a small but growing collection of vintage cameras. We love the idea of being able to do everything on our own, without having to rely on too many outside resources. Things begin to get watered down, and the integrity of your work suffers. Our past two photo shoots for Beard & Bangs were taken on an old 35mm Nikon, and a vintage medium format Yashica. We also shot some film footage with an old Super 8. |
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Q6 What do you emphasize most in your work?
We put a lot of emphasis on quality and detail, including creating custom dye colors and using comfortable t-shirt bodies. The originality and line quality of the imagery is really important to us. We never use an image as-is, and refrain from using only one color for our shirt designs. We try our best to create an original piece of art that you wouldn't find on any other shirt. |
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Q10 Could you tell us your favorite spots in New York?
We are constantly working on our our line, which takes up a lot of our free time, so for some peace and quiet, we sit on our rooftop in Bushwick, Brooklyn. There's a nice breeze from the Hudson River and a great view of the Manhattan skyline. Planes fly overhead from Laguardia Airport. It's a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Since we're vegan, we have to be careful of where we eat, but thankfully New York is very veggie friendly! Our favorite restaurants include House of Vegetarian in Chinatown, Candle Cafe on the Upper West Side, and for greasy diner food, we love Foodswings in Brooklyn. For amazing vegan baked goods, Babycakes on the Lower East Side is a must. Their spelt cupcakes and raspberry scones are delicious! Our favorite places to shop are Stuart & Wright in Fort Greene, Brooklyn for great clothes by indie designers, A.P.C. in Soho for lovely basics, and the Whole Foods in Union Square is huge! Grocery shopping just got a lot more fun. |
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Q11 For the future season, what else can people expect from your line? What is your goal as a designer?
We have a lot of ideas in progress for our upcoming seasons and plan to gradually expand the scope of the collection beyond t-shirts and accessories but we don't want to spoil the surprise! Our goal is to make things that make people happy, and in return, makes us happy as well. |
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