We have all witnessed the evolution of Franco Shade and the Ghost and Knives logo over the past several years. Both the Franco Shade name and the logo have generated a lot of interest in this time. Franco Shade and the Ghost have both become a part of the fabric of streetwear culture in Orange County and beyond.
Now in 2009 Franco Shade and the iconic Ghost and Knives logo will split into two separate companies. Franco Shade will continue on with Joe Navran at the helm and the whole Franco Team intact: Tui, Thomas, Jerm and crew.
Arlo Eisenberg will direct a brand new spin-off company featuring the Ghost and Knives logo, appropriately named GOST (pronounced “ghostâ€).
Franco Shade will begin a new chapter with its new Hammer icon and will continue to provide the streetwear community with its signature brand of stylish, cutting edge clothing and its often offbeat sense of humor.
GOST will continue the legacy of the Ghost and Knives logo and will carry on the artwork and unique vision of creative director Arlo Eisenberg.
2009 promises to be an exciting year for fans of Franco Shade with a lot more to love! Follow the new direction of both brands at francoshade.com and gostbrand.com.
I’ve been working on a collaboration with Jon Julio and I thought I was going to be able to give a sneak peak, but we couldn’t pull it off. So for now all you get is this (little) teaser. OMG it is going to be SO AMAZING!!
up : ONE Issue #2 Back Cover featuring Arlo Eisenberg
Arlo Eisenberg is an icon to rollerblading who has maintained almost unheard of longevity within our culture.
Today he is as widely respected by rollerbladers for his artist creations and design as he was more than a decade ago when he invented a groundbreaking persona for inline skating.
Wheel Love posted some scans of Box, the old blading magazine, starring Arlo Eisenberg. Link
For those too young to remember BOX Magazine, here’s a quick recap. BOX began in the mid-90s and was the brainchild of Chris Mitchell and was considered the thinking roller’s magazine.
Whereas Daily Bread (DB) was mainly visual, with skate photos and “so-so†articles, BOX went a little deeper, with longer, indepth stories and daring (at that time) layout designs. Some might say BOX wasn’t as cool as DB, but I think the dudes at BOX knew that, and didn’t really gave a rats, making them heck of a lot cooler.
Here is a Arlo Eisenberg timelapse video of the artwork he painted at the D-Structure International Grand Opening in San Francisco, California. Thanks to Jon Julio for mailing me the info. More photos of the opening and Arlo’s Arwork are availiable here.
Watch the video :
Download the video here (quicktime mov), courtesy of Empire.
The ARTYARD Summer Showcase will be held on Saturday June 3rd, from 5PM to 10PM in the East Village Lofts Courtyard, located on Bush Street between First and Third Streets. It will coincide with, and be part of, the monthly Santa Ana Artists Village Art Walk.
Arlo Eisenberg, who as all of you should know by now is our graphic designer will be showing all of his original pieces. If you are in Southern California and haven’t been to the art walk you really should check it out. These days being a graphic artist pretty much means, at any given moment you know the name of every font in your font list. It used to actually refer to people who were believe it or not, “artistsâ€. Arlo is an artist, and he is worth seeing at this show, and with all the free wine and crackers you really would be dumb not to go.
Arlo Eisenberg did some custom work on a pair of Adidas Adicolor, the result is pretty original ! (source)
About the Adidas Adicolor :
Adidas launched the adicolor in 1984 to aid those who needed help getting in touch with their creative side.
This introduction became one of the first customization projects executed by individuals on a global scale. The all white shoes were delivered with a set of coloured weatherproof and quick drying markers allowing the wearers to create their own original look.
‘PEOPLE REALLY SEEMED TO LIKE IT. IT DOESN’T HAVE QUITE SO MANY KNIVES OR PENISES.’
Arlo Eisenberg is holding a semi-cooked hamburger, seated by the side of the road in Los Angeles’ most nefarious hooker district. He is talking about his recent art show, ‘Let’s Be Nice Forever,’ where he debuted six years of original artwork. By all accounts the show was a huge success. He sold eleven pieces on the evening of the show and generated glowing reviews from a hypercritical art community. Even his ex-wife bought a piece, although it’s questionable if she actually knew the work contained a scathing subtext Arlo wrote in his journal while they were going through their divorce.
Across the street from where we are sitting, a hooker in four-inch steel stilettos flags down an Escalade.
Eisenberg spent his high school years at the Arts Magnet high school in Dallas, Texas, where he studied visual arts and theatre. From there, he went to the University of Texas. ‘I was studying communications, but I was really majoring in rollerblading. I wore my skates to class and skated the campus every night. It could’ve been a movie. I had to evade security every day.’
