sneaks4freaks

Happy Crimbo One ‘n’ All

Firstly , thanks to everyone who’s had the time to read and comment on my blog - all your emails and all your input . Since starting this project back in February I’ve met alot of new faces and friends so thanks for the experiences .

Thanks also goes to the people who’ve supported the site with information , with-out which this site would be nowhere . At just under 1000 hits a day and a stream of new readers daily I would never have guessed how big the site would become .

Special mention goes to Alison at Puma , Vicki at Oki Ni , Ed at Hanon and to Nike and the powers at be at Crooked Tongues ( thanks Russ ) who made a lifetime ambition come true when I designed my own sneak at the London iD studio during the summer .

Highlight of the year for me was the Puma Clyde release and party at Koko’s , yup , it still feels like I’m getting over it ………..

MERRY CHRISTMAS and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!! stayed tuned for sneaks4freaks clothing and a new catalogue sneaks site in 2006 .

Audi .

Hanon Get Personal

72 hours - 25 % off - if you’re on the mailing list or purchased from Ed and the boyz over the last 12 months what do I need to say - It’s payback time ……………..

With 2 great NB releases in the bag , Hanon have put it out there this year and take it from me - IMO - they’ve been the best online retailer in the UK for 2005 . Yup, despite their meltdowns ( Nike One Piece and the 35th’s to name a couple ) they have tried to be fare from the outset , giving you release dates , times , etc …….. if you missed out , you’ve only got yourself to blame .

So , from midnight and for the next 72 hours , it’s 25% off time -  get on it !

Stussy Court Force Land

You’d have to be really out of the loop if you didn’t know that the long awaited Stussy Court Force dropped last week-end . Naturally , the interest created by these kicks saw eager headz making camp outside the store in London from the early hours of Sunday morning . It was bitterly cold , so hats off to all you people who braved the elements and hooked yourself up with a pair , for me though , this was just one release too many before Christmas although that didn’t stop 100+ punters in the queue for the store opening .

As well as the 150 pairs per colorway , Stussy also had the matching T’s and jackets to go with them on offer .  

My thanks to bobalu from the CT forum for the use of the photos , I’m glad you got hooked …………..

Late night headz , as early as 11.30PM on the Saturday night and also 12 hours before opening start the queue .

By morning it was clear to see that this going to live up to the hype as the queue just grew , already 50+ strong by daylight , there were going to be some dissapointed late comers this time round .  

Early on it was clear to see that the purple colorway was the shoe of choice and by 12 noon all the UK 8 , 9 and 10’s had gone . At the time of writing they had some rogue sizes left , very small / large if you didn’t manage to get there on Sunday .  

Oki Ni Ending Christmas Orders

Tomorrow sees last orders for Oki Ni this side of the holiday season , we’ve been told that orders will be taken up to 3PM GMT tomorrow for deliveries before Crimbo that will include the two new exclusive colorways of the classic Adidas Marathon 80 that arrived this week .

This 80’s runner has had the Oki Ni treatment coming with it’s trefoil patterned sole , two part heel impact spoiler and light nylon upper , this shoe is still ahead of the game .

It has the usual Oki Ni tongue detailing and I must say I’m loving the Alabaster/Lead/Warning colours .

At the time of writing they also have a full size run in the new Stan Smith II colorways , this iconic 60’s tennis shoe still doesn’t know when time’s up and with it’s simple and functional design , I’m sure this kick will last and last . Oki Ni detailing includes tongue tag , lining , insole and laces .

Exit Stock 4 Christmas

The Thrasher Blazer SB will be dropping this New Year’s Eve at Exit . At £55 , this is a great price . This forms part of Exit’s SB re-stock which includes the Pushead Dunk SB arriving tomorrow and the current favorite , the Trainer 1 SB ‘Gold-Digger’ designed by Keith Hufnagel .

More pics and opening times for Crimbo are below , but website and telephone orders will be taken up until Wednesday 21st . They will be discounting every order placed between now and 3pm on the 21st of December by 10% and will manually deduct the amount from your final order total .

Christmas Opening Times

The mailorder line will be open as usual with the exception of these days:
Christmas Eve: Closed
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Closed
Neew Years Eve: Closed
New Years Day Closed

Dave White Wet Paint Event @ Size?

In London for some Crimbo shopping ? Be sure to check out Dave White’s appearance and live painting at Size? in Canarby Street this evening . To celebrate the launch of the AirMax95 anniversary addition shoe , Nike asked Dave to produce a series of three painting of the three newly released kicks as well as his own customised AM95 .

The three kicks in question are the AirMax 1 , AM90 and naturally the AM95 . All three kicks sport the original neon / grey colorway with the 95 etched with that all improtant PSI moulding . The three kicks are also joined by a plain white 95 with neon lace tags and bubble that are just crying “PAINT ME” .

It all starts at 5.30PM and space is limited , so you’d be advised to get there early .

Up for grabs will be 3 exclusive prints of the kicks by Dave with every purchase as well as a special reveserable presentation box with the OG box styling adorning one side . If you do miss out on this evening’s event you can still purchase the prints via Dave White website or by contacting him HERE .

Also for those of you interested in the history of the AM95 , please take a look at the fantastic feature produced by Crooked Tongues , that looks at the history , catalogued designs , spotting fakes and an interview with 95 sneakerhead , Yasuo Kuze who owns 130 colorways and 350 pairs .

If Only We Knew ?

Last Friday saw the opening of the 2000AD exhibition in London . Running until early January , this saw the chance for many new and up ‘n’ coming graff artists to interpret a comic that has influenced generations since the late 70’s . From niche amateurs like Mattt and JeffMetal from CT to Nick Walker , James Jarvis and Pete Fowler - as Warhol put it so well , everyone has their 15 minutes of Fame . So with the drinks flowing and the tunes playing , sneaks4freaks got the hands on view of the evening .

What struck me as a early reader of 2000AD ( yes I am that old ) and this show was how diverse the exhibition was , after all the comic’s best loved and probably best known character is Dredd , however it was good to see that he alone didn’t dominate the evening . With installation varying from the small to the over-powering , the exhibition couldn’t contain the artists involved .

With original artwork and live sketching taking place on the ground floor , the cellar bar and display space offered up a real treat ……..

It was good to see how after all these years , 2000AD still hasn’t lost it’s edge . Back in 1977 , it was the UK’s first chance to read a Manga style comic , it’s characters were bold and exciting and captured a new and young audience that was ready to embrace this new medium . Thanks to the help from the people at Puma , Playlounge and Glorias , the standards that were set in those early days look set to last , with a new breed of illustrators ready to step in and breathe new life into the covers .

One of my favorite pieces was the Dredd painting by Nick Walker ( above ), the artwork was stunning and Nick was bold enough to tackle a character that has truly carried 2000AD all this time . The accompanying text summed up the cross over of the graffiti artist into the main stream , where they are only now being judged ( no pun ) for the talents they have . Nick’s artwork was a true show of what can be acheived with time and a little creativity with the can ‘n’ nozzle . Phat !

For me though , the installation above stole the show and left a few people guessing as well ( see photo ) . Where it may have seemed like a stack of posters , ready for the eager crowds to lift and take home , Rosie Lees’ Rogue Trooper shooting target mounts were simple but effective . Stacked 100 or so high on wooden palettes , the installation caught a few people out , but a bit of thought saw it for what it really was .

The exhibition runs until the 10th January and is a must for AD fans and graff lovers alike , with the exhibition t’s now on sale online at PlayLounge .

Once again , a big thanks to Alison at Puma for the competition prizes and the invite to the opening night - we will meet soon ( third time lucky maybe ? ) .

Zurich Here We Come

Back Tuesday with photos and details of last night’s 2000AD party in London , so until then …………

Stussy Court Force Put Back

Well if you’ve made plans to come down to London next week-end for the Court Force release you may be upset to learn that the rumored release date has now been scheduled for the week-end of 17th/18th December . As of yet , there’s been no official word from Stussy so I’m guessing that we’ll just have to wait for the news .

Last Week-End

Due to my ISP and BT being a pain in the arse I was unable to get online over the week-end but a few notable drops occurred . Firstly , on Friday the Hanon Shop website went into melt down after they released the Nike 1piece Dunk Low on their site , after the initial time was put back due to some technical difficulties from 1.30pm to 6pm . Needless to say they cleared their stock as soon as they went live . Also at Hanon , the long awaited secret NB990 went online yesterday , with a good size run left at the time of writing .

But surely the release of the week-end was at FootPatrol where the awaiting crowds gathered to pick-up the newly re-worked Nike Air Stab . These were only available instore at the week-end but if you could n’t get down to London , FootPatrol will be keeping back 15 pairs for phone orders starting from 12/12/2005 .

You’ll find more photos of Saturday’s events at FootPatrol in the CT news  as well as the kicks themselves .