ReFUGEES.

Eat. Fashion District. Eat some more. Sleep. All Play. No Work. My favorite thing to do when doing something isn’t in the agenda.

There are a few surprises coming your way from the Sketchpad crew. We are actually working very hard, in spite of what you see in our daily happenings. I will be posting up some Spring sneak peeks really soon so just sit tight and be patient. As of right now, we’ve been doing a lot of ‘Wii-Hab’ and collaboration projects also, which has kept us out of our soft, comfty beds more often.

–dinoxsketchpad!!

Stay Ground!d.

After scouring through the entire Lakewood Mall on a quest to find myself some purples shoe-laces, which ended in disappointment, we went to visit our favorite folks at Ground!d once more. We had some interesting conversations which ranged from the harsh economy and overly-saturated market of ‘streetwear’ to just ‘LOVE LIFE!’

And I have an interesting story about the night. Here’s how it went down the last few minutes before everyone dispersed.

After we Voltron’d and united our superpowers, everyone headed towards the exit, BUT…

…some of us went crazy…like psychotic. Except Dave, who managed to look cool through the whole ordeal.

We couldn’t save him so Gerald got the best out of this situation. No HOMO! So anyways, we — the Sketchpad team — decided that because we couldn’t rescue anyone, we dashed out of there and helped our empty stomachs to some good ol’ Korean food.

And then the oddest twist to the entire night happened when….

..the food was so good, Kui turned into a dog. Random, huh? So now, we would like to introduce everyone to the newest member of the Sketchpad team — our team dog, Leilee. Despite the craziness at Ground!d and the misfortunes of our friend Kui, we survived another day. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it. Take it as you will.

–dinoxsketchpadmakesgoodstories.

Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop.

Today started out on a bad note with us not being able to get into Poly HS as planned. There must’ve been something stuck up the security’s behind because we were there on time and saw them letting everyone else in while telling us we were not allowed due to ‘visitation policies’. I hate campus-cops behaving like they’re more superior than they really are. Anyways, we are TRULY apologetic to everyone and we honestly did everything in our power but to no avail. All was not lost though.

We went to eat at the local Cambodian restaurant, La Lune, and I guess when your stomach is growling the whole morning, everything tastes so much better. The food was alright, now that I think of it, but it was a lot better than if we went for the usual burger and fries.

Afterwards, we headed out to Ground!d and peeped out their new tees. Please stop by the shop and show your support. The Ground!d boutique has been one of my favorite local joints — being that they always have some of the friendliest people there and they have a nice selection of brands to choose from : Mishka, Hellz Bellz, MarriedToTheMOB, 3Sixteen, Greenville, etc. Also, check out their BLOG! for all store updates and stock. Shouts to Moria!

(where’s dino?)

 

And shouts to Brandon for keeping his closet stocked with the whole SKETCHPAD collection. The picture came out blurry, but it just shows you that we’re really starting this whole project with nothing in our pockets but a cheap Sony aim-n-shoot. Support the cause. Keep the independant power strong.

–dinoxsketchpad!!!

ALL PLAY. No Work.

Another slow day at the office, so this is sort of a cheat blog. For now. Stay tuned until I feel like doing this thing again.

 

–dinoxsketchpad

Peace.Love.Soul.

 

Soulful. Thoughtful. Progressive. This is HIP-HOP. Be THERE! 

Sorry for the lack of updates. Despite what some have believed, our daily routines are not that exciting and it’s usually not really worth blogging at times. I never thought blogs would be this demanding, but since I took a couple of days off of this thing, I’ve received a few messages from people wanting to know what’s going on. To answer a few of the popular questions : 1-YES!! We are still working on more releases; 2-No, I’m sorry but we’re not hiring; and 3-YES, we do get a lot of women. (One of these three answers were made up.)

–dinoxsketchpad

Two BBQ & One Day.

Yea, I tried to do the headline as a play-off of that nasty videoclip everyone loves to vomit to, but I swear this blog isn’t even close to being that sick. What a DAY though — ended up at two BBQs and left hungry and tired. First off, we stopped by the Rosewood Royale BBQ. Just wanted to thank them all for showing love to the Sketchpad crew.

DJ Ralphey Ralph took time out to show us some love while keeping the party going with some really dope mixes. Stay tuned for some RalpheyRalph X Sketchpad projects in the near future.

What’s different — and totally DOPE! — about Rosewood Royale is that it’s more than just a boutique. The store is just a part of the lifestyle — they’re a barbershop also. Judging by the crowd in attendance at the BBQ, seems they have a solid fanbase of kids from different backgrounds coming together to represent its own community out here in Bellflower, CA. The vibe of the whole atmosphere showed that it’s more than just selling clothes or being trendy, but to celebrate the one thing everyone had in common — which is free food. (Did you really think I was going to say something much more clever there?)

Afterwards….

I didn’t get to take any food pictures this time around. WHY?!?! I left both gatherings with nothing more than a bite of some really good papaya salad (courtesy of Ang!e). But regardless of how empty my stomach was, it was a perfect way to end the hectic weekend.

I never thought I’d do it, but I did sock her with my fist of fury, and for that, I offer her no apologies. I love my shirt but I don’t know what happened to my left-eye. This picture is pretty random, being that it has nothing to do with Sketchpad, but she made the papaya salad (which to my understanding was specially made for ME). Until next time….

–dinoxsketchpad … booya! got ya all in CHECK!

The Foreign Exchange.

We were at the DunkXChange at Club Incahoots in Fullerton today. The overall reception of our debut was overwhelming and we met some good people along the way. Shouts to Philip from Trendy Trash for showing us love.

Our first customer, Chris was rockin’ the right shoes at the right time. I told him I was going to give him a shout so here it is.

Yea, we didn’t need a booth. The guerilla style worked well enough but it made for a long day as we had to work that much harder for a look. The great advantage of hanging out in the back by the stage was….

U-N-I came through to show us some love. These guys are coming up QUICK..first, they were the Myspace featured artists and then they made it onto HipHopDX as Certified DX NEXT. They’re the rappers — heiling from the city of Inglewood — who were behind the underground hit ‘K.R.E.A.M. (Kicks Rule Everything Around Me)’ which has become the anthem for all sneakerheads and/or hypebeasts. Check ’em out.

Afterwards, we had dinner at Pat&Oscar’s out in Buena Park. Those breadsticks are literally to die for.

Tomorrow, we do it again.

–dinoXsketchpad

Expect More.

These last couple of days went by pretty fast but we had so much done. Today, MADA and I are going to be at the DunkXChange event at Club Incahoots. We just finished up our last shirt last night and we owe it to Brian for having everything done so quickly.

 

On Thursday, Kui came rolling into town and I had my first dining experience at an authentic Indian restaurant out here in Cerritos.

 

The food was awesome but I tried to be ‘experimental’ and ordered this yogurt drink called Lassi (sp?). It was different, to say the least. Thanks to Christine for finishing it up and not making it a complete waste. I enjoyed my food with my original beverage of choice — an ice-cold Coca-Cola.

Afterwards, it was a trip the Target. Expect More. Pay Less.

As soon as the shirts came off the press and delivered, MADA and I sat down and folded all of the shirts to have them ready for the DunkXChange. When all was said and done, it was the most beautiful sight.

So…here’s the sneak peek everyone’s been asking for..and by everyone, I mean a few people.

Enjoy.

–dinoxsketchpad

Eduardo Bertone

Eduardo Bertone is an artist who has inspired me in my daily sketches. He’s a very well-established artist whose works can be seen on the pages of Beautiful Decay, Fused, Semi-Permanent (designiskinky),Colors, etc. Eduardo also works with graphic design, creating brilliantly poignant drawings with some haunting political messages.

Every month, I will introduce a new artist whose pieces help me from getting a mental block. I’ve scoured through many pages of many different artists who’ve kept my eyes open and it’s my motivation to keep drawing and filling up my book with the most random, and yet most creative pieces. I encourage everyone to do the same — indulge in the arts.

—dinoxsketchpad

Adidas x UNDFTD x Estevan Oriol

Earlier, we had the chance to attend the AdidasXEstevan Oriol Gallery show @ UNDFTD LA. The show was a huge success and we were able to meet & greet people who are in the ‘industry’. Everyone came out for the event to make it a packed house. It was an awesome oppurtunity for us to network with many different people..The Hundreds’ skaters, photographers from indie-pop magazine RIME, Nick Diamond, etc.

Turned out to be one of the more productive weeks for us.

–dinoXsketchpad