SECRET FORTS

OPEN FOR BUSINESS : As Is Shop

mrforts — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 23:08:54 +0000

As Is Shop is an online project offering up for sale items from the SFs Head to Toe archives as well as some other cool things and the occasional special project here and there. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Over the coming weeks and months, wrinkles will be ironed out as items rotate through. So please bear with me.
The initial group of 25 items are up now with more to come.
Shipping (UPS ground) within the US right now. Head over now to have a look. Hope you find something you like.
As Is Shop link at right ——————————————————————–>

ANTE, UPPED : THE HILL-SIDE AW14 COLLECTION.

mrforts — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 14:15:12 +0000

Fresh on the heels of their custom shirting program that debuted at the Pop Up Flea this past December, the good fellas behind The Hill-Side have upped the ante yet again. In a big way.

After nine seasons of sharply focusing in on the wares and impeccable fabric selection that The Hill-Side made their name with (the occasional collaboration aside), season 1O sees a drastic and what some might see as an inevitable move into a much broader range of offerings. Think The Hill-Side’s signature fabrics and textiles in sneakers, hats, bags, belts, watch bands, and more. According to Emil, “For AW14, the collection will be almost four times the size it was just a year ago, and the overall vibe of The Hill-Side is continually taking on a richer, more sophisticated direction. In the AW14 collection we will be presenting shirts and unstructured sport coats for the first time, along with three styles of sneakers, ball caps, wool felt hats, wallets, belts, bags, socks, and a significantly expanded range of neckwear, all made in the USA (with the exception of the sneakers, which are made at a wonderful factory in Kyushu), and all using the beautiful, unparalleled fabrics we’ve become known for since we launched the brand four years ago.”
And in regards to the aforementioned sport coats, here are the pertinent details:
- unlined body, lined sleeves
- center vent, patch pockets, removable throat tab, functional cuff buttons
- “three-roll-two” lapel
- made in NYC
- available in 7 fabrics: selvedge hemp denim, selvedge indigo covert stripe, cotton herringbone tweed in grey and navy, indigo/brown plain weave - custom woven for us in Pennsylvania - inside-out wool/cotton blanket stripe and French “lizard” camo
And what better venue to debut their vastly expanded AW14 line than the MAN tradeshow currently going on in Paris through Sunday and again in New York, January 21-23rd.

US retail prices range from $395 - $510, depending on the fabric and will be available sometime around August-ish. If you’re in NY next week, head over to MAN to have a look first hand.

OUT/ABOUT/HERE/THERE.

mrforts — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 14:59:07 +0000

mrforts — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 07:42:33 +0000

mrforts — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 15:32:50 +0000

SNAKE OIL SALESMEN.

mrforts — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 14:53:59 +0000

Something’s afoot in Long Beach CA. Established by Ben Neuhaus and Josh Eck, the recently-opened online (for now) shop Snake Oil Provisions is the result of two friends coming together over a genuine and earnest appreciation of hard-wearing, long-lasting American made goods. Having put together a solid initial roster, SOP takes a straight forward approach in the choosing and stocking of quality brands, among them Tennessee’s own Pointer Brand, the SF-based Taylor Stitch, boots by Chippewa, bags from Filson and denim by Rogue Territory. And in keeping with the wouldn’t sell it if we wouldn’t wear it ethos, all brands the two wear daily and back 100%. Along with simply stocking Rogue Territory (on a tear as of late with the extremely dope, already sold out Rogue Territory x Need Supply Co. 2013 Supply II Jacket), SOP have teamed up with their friend Karl Thoennessen in the creation of their own (and first of what I assume to be many) collaboration, the extremely limited RGT x SOP Washed Pure Indigo Work Shirt.

According to Josh, “The shirt is made from 10oz Japanese indigo-dyed canvas that has been rinse washed, meaning no two shirts will be alike. The threading is brown and is triple chain-stitched with run-off, similar to the current RgT Maker shirts. The buttons are brown imitation horn, all for the bottom one, which is blue cat-eye. There will be co-branded artwork screened onto the inside of the front left panel of the shirt, and there will also be a small second detail that we’re keeping mum on for the moment, leaving it as a sort of fun Easter egg hunt for buyers. There will only be 30 made, total…ever.”
As if that’s all not enough for the two friends to take on, in addition to opening the shop online, the collaboration and coinciding with the release of the resulting work shirt, SOP has a pop up event planned for this coming weekend. Again Josh, “We wanted to give people a chance to get a glimpse into our vision for the shop; to be able to see and feel the goods we have in our store, hang out with us, and maybe get some cool stuff for Christmas. We wanted the work shirt release to coincide with the pop up to commemorate a special moment for us, and to reward some of the people who come out to support us.”

So if you’re in the area, stop in and say hello to the fellas. “We want people to know who’s behind it, that we actually love and wear all the brands we carry, that we are the ones packing and shipping the things they buy from us, etc. That’s really important to us. This isn’t a scheme for us to get rich—we’re not in it for the money, or else we’d be working on the next big app or something—it’s an outlet for a huge passion that we both share, and that we want to share with anyone who will let us.” Well put Josh. And if you can’t make it this weekend, don’t worry, a brick & mortar SOP is in the works for Spring of next year.

THE FALL THREE : CHRIS GRODZKI, STANLEY & SONS APRON and BAG CO.

mrforts — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 14:08:31 +0000

Chris Grodzki. Stanley & Sons apron and bag maker. Surfer. True craftsman. Brooklynite-turned-East Ender. My #farout dude. His Fall Three.

1) Warm meals: Romertopf Clay Baker. We got this German chicken roaster recently and love it. Really looking forward to all things chicken. CHICKEN CHICKEN CHICKEN! It cooks really well and we have been making all sorts of things with it.

2) )Music: Psyched on this Robbie Bashow record that was recenlty re-issued by Gnome Life Records. Also looking forward to the first solo record from Kevin Morby coming out on Woodsist later this month. Fall is a great time to be indoors listening to music.

3) Wheel Ceramic: Incense Huts - Lindsay has been making these huts. Burn some little incense bricks in these jams and let the music guide you. Feel it brother.

THE BOARD, F/W ’13, pt. I.

mrforts — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 16:08:17 +0000

Your pictorial guide to a proper, stylish, adventurous and perhaps dangerous Winter. Happy Thanksgiving.

THE FALL THREE : STEVEN KIMURA, OWNER OPERATOR.

mrforts — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 15:19:05 +0000

Steven Kimura (here with other Owner Operator, Pete Sieper). Mountain-ready, US Made outdoor gear. Mt. Chiller ambassador. Solid dude. (Both of em actually.) What follows is Steven’s Fall Three.

1) Seeing friends getting first tracks of the season in our gear is as rewarding as it is torturous. Where’s the powder in NYC?

2) Making a couple of one-off powder boards with Jesse Loomis over at Powderjet. Handmade snowboards remind me of better days in snowboarding.

3) Fall is prime time for road trippin. Too hot in the summer, and this thing won’t even start in the winter.

THE FALL THREE : TODD BARKET, UNIONMADE.

mrforts — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 14:03:06 +0000

I met Todd a few years back on the opening day of a little shop on Sanchez street in San Francisco called UNIONMADE. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Since then, Todd and co. have been busy steadily growing from their original address on Sanchez south to Brentwood Country Mart in LA as well as opening the excellent women’s shop Mill Mercantile closer to home in SF. Happy to count Todd a friend and happy to present his Fall Three again this year.

1) 1. The Riems Marron Loafer from Paraboot : I haven’t worn a pair of Paraboots since the 1980′s. We started carrying them again. I got a pair and I love them. We just got the loafer in and I think it’s the perfect shoe for Fall. It looks great with everything and it’s a cool take on the loafer.

2) The Sea Ranch Lodge : We just shot our Fall indigo campaign in this modernist coastal retreat. It’s 165 miles from San Francisco, and is a 10 mile stretch of land on the coast that has an amazing collection of modern houses that blend into the scenery. It’s the perfect place to spend the last of the warm Fall days.

3) 45 RPM Cord Blazer : I always love everything at 45 RPM. The quality is always amazing and I always think of their pieces as a keepsakes. I love cord and it’s the perfect piece for a West Coast Fall. You can wear it as a jacket all winter long.