sneaks4freaks

Northern Sole Series Part II

This Saturday will see the release at Hanon of the last two models of their specially made New Balance kicks , the Night Owl 577 and the Soul City 576 . Part of the Northern Sole series from Hanon , these kicks are again limited to 120 pairs of each design and come with accompanying pin badges and hand numbered artwork . Both the 577 and the 576 are made from a mix of premium suede and nubuck and IMO stand apart from the previous release last month . More on the drop times later this week .

Eric Haze - A Moment of Style

Most of you headz out there should be aware of the work of early 70’s graff artist Eric Haze , from tagging and bombing trains on the NYC underground network as part of the ‘Soul Artists’ and ‘Rolling Thunder Writers’ crews ( Style Wars circa 1983 ) to designing ablum covers for the up and coming hip hop artists of the 80’s , commisioned by Def Jam/Tommy Boy to create covers for the likes of Public Enemy , Beastie Boys and LL Cool J . Eric Haze’s rise to fame has not happened overnight but from years of dedication trying to stay one jump ahead of the rest , switching his designs and graffiti art to clothing for Union and Stussy in the 90’s .

Starting his own clothing line in 1993 - Haze captured his own design ideas by producing simple graphic T’s ‘n’ sweats to cater for the growing ’streetwear’ market and also jewelry and furniture . His brand grew and so did his popularity as by the end of the 90’s the streetwear style was now becoming copied and more mainstream .

BeBike X Haze Ltd Edition -

Haze continues to produce artwork from his studio and gallery in LA , as well as selling his branded work globally in Japan , Hong Kong and the UK , but always returning to his graff roots time and again .

But it’s for his colaborations with Nike and now New Balance that his status as a influencial artist/designer has become known to the sneaker family worldwide .

Nike Dunk Hi & Low - photos courtesy of Dan aka Generic Guy @ the CT Forum

nb - good to see they’re well rocked and loved .

Some of the released Dunks ( 2003 ) had the Nike tongue label replaced by the Haze logo and also featured a Haze inner , these were super limited but can still be found now and again on the ‘bay .

All quiet for a couple of years then ‘BAM !!’ ……… the new colabs (2005) - Nike Delta Force and the New Balance 574 .

What next for Eric Haze ? Only he knows …………. to keep check on everything Haze check out his website   >>> INTERHAZE <<<

Thanks for reading dunny .

Above : Haze Dunny - part of ‘The Dunny Show’ 2004 hosted by Kid Robot

Back in the Day

The Nike SB sneaker , probably one of the most collected line of sneakers worldwide has a lot to thanks the people who developed skateboarding into the world wide phenomenon it is today , from the humble beginnings of people cutting out hardboard and screwing a hacked up skate shoe to the bottom , then freestyling against anything that had an angle . It has now moved into a multi million dollar industry with major brand sponsorship of the leading skateboarders , and more importantly their kicks .

Seen here below are some scans of an old UK Skateboard magazine from 1978 ( the complete mag scan will feature in the next few weeks ) which gives a real reflection of how the skateboarding culture has moved on since it first took off .

nb - No Nike/Adidas to be seen , just a few Dunlop GreenFlash .

In the next few months , Nike will release the Nike P-Rod ( Paul Rodriguez signature shoe ) in three new colorways , the hype begins I guess , but is the tie up with skateboarders lost on those who collect sneaks ?

Above -

Cover pictures from the Crystal Palace Bowl .

Stitch Hitchcock performs handstand and the ‘Loop of death’ .

Boarders outside the NFT on London’s Southbank ( Still a favorite place for skaters today ) .

Tips 4 An Easy Life

For sneakerheadz , ebay has to be the most popular and best tool for buying , whether it be for a new colorway , an Asia/US exclusive or that vintage deadstock kick . If you look long enough over a period of time , you always find what your after ( with originals , not always in your size , but proof that there are fresh deadstock pairs out there ) .

There are of course a few do’s and dont’s , the main thing being ‘ CHECK THAT FEEDBACK ‘ - does 100% mean 100% ? . It may sound obvious but you’d be surprised how many people still bid on auctions where the feedback is less than flattering ( I’ve seen people bidding where the seller has got negative feedback ) - Why do it ? It’s worth taking the time to read through the feedback , find out what they’ve sold before , see if their delivery is up to speed and so on . It’s also worth checking if they’re a regular seller or have other items , these people can normally be trusted and may include multiple shipping costs ( normally a lot lower than a single purchase ) on extra pairs .

Secondly , do your research . Don’t be worried about asking for that extra photo . If your not sure about the description of an auction ( FAKES ) , e-mail the seller for pictures , a genuine selling will be more than happy to give you extra snaps . Then check these in a sneaker forum ( fellow headz are always willing to help out ) or if they’re a newish kick , any authentic online store - eg . there are simply loads of Nike SB stockists with photos on their sites . Or against my detailed kicks category .

Make sure the photos haven’t been lifted from elsewhere . As you may have noticed , all the photos on this site are watermarked to prevent them being used elsewhere ( on auction sites in particular ) . The seller’s name on a piece of card/paper is also a good sign of authenticity . And what ever you do , don’t bid blind ( No photos at all ) , no matter how tempting the description .

Dont bid up your own auctions . If your trying to win an auction , leave it until the last possible second to bid , this will stop you bidding against somebody else when there’s no reason for it , so keeping the price as low as possible . This of course will not garantee a win , but at least you won’t be chasing the price up and paying needless $$$’s .

Check the bid history . I often see auctions being ‘blown up’ from other bidders with zero feedback , this can be off putting as you don’t know if it’s just the seller inflating his own auction with another ebay ID .

You snooze , you loose ( haha thanks dommy ) . If you want that sneak badly enough , be prepared to wake up at all hours of the night for the end of that auction ( hey - it’s a global t’ing ) . Experienced ebayers used ‘ebay sniper’ , a program that will bid at the last second for you when your not at your computer to type in that bid . I recently missed out on these Nike Huarache Burst’s because of a program like this bidding in the last second ( damn you sniper * shakes fist * lol )

Check the postage . Unfortunately , not all sellers post worldwide , so check that before bidding . Also check the price of p&p against some other like auctions to see if it’s over priced .

Always use Paypal . I have found that Paypal is the most easy and reliable way to pay for auctions on ebay in any currency , plus you have the assurance of your money back should your sneaks not arrive or are not as the seller descibed .

That’s about it , I’ll add more when I think of them , until then ‘ Be Lucky ! ‘ .

Why Multi Pairs ?

On the subject of collecting sneaks and deadstocking , thanks to Martin for sorting me out with a new pair of Micropacer III’s . After putting the photos on the Blog this week I realised that although well loved and worn by yours truely , I wish I never had . It’s the kind of kick that I just wished I’d left in the box for the future and then start wearing them say in 10 years time . The only way round this is multiple purchases , this may be okay for general release sneaks but a little harder for limited editions .

Finding deadstock kicks is a labour of love , there are many sources , but it’s all about paying the right price and doing your research , after all you don’t want to go paying out for a deadstock pair of sneaks for top $$$ , only to see them retro-ed and put on general release after you’ve bought them .

Still saying that I’m now a happy man ………..

The First Day -

Okay , so here it is , will my life change due to my new blog on ‘The Game’ and what it entails , ‘The Game’ being the search for that elusive pair of kicks that nobody else has ? Only time will tell .

I first got into all this about 10 years ago , since then I’ve totally lost control on the amount of sneaks that I’ve purchased , fuelled by my first trips to the States , the growth of ebay and the internet .

The market for kicks has somewhat changed since then as the major brand players wise up to the culture that is ‘The Game’ . They play on our hunger for the need to be indiviual and count the $$$’s as we go wanting .

Hopefully I can shed some light as to why this has grown into a worldwide phenomenon and why it doesn’t look likely to end . Here starts the lesson ………..

Harry .

Any comments or questions about the site in general should go here and I’ll answer them as quickly as I can . Or just contact me by e-mail at sneaks4freaks@graffiti.net , thanks for looking .