LIFE AFTER: SZN 2 beanies
If you’re a serious brand, you quickly learn that each product you invest your energy into must have a story and a purpose. They don’t always have to be the most life-changing tale to tell, but if you don’t take the time to think about why you’ve created what you’ve created, you begin to become just another group of people dropping gear in a saturated market.
Initially, the thought process behind these beanies was simple. People have heads. They get cold. Let’s solve that issue lmao. Last year when we dropped the OG beanie, we sold out way faster than anticipated. People were digging the approximately 3-inch embroidered Spiff logo slapped dead center on what would be your new favorite piece of headgear, but we released them a little late in the season. It was becoming too hot for a restock. Instead, we opted to patiently wait for the next chilly time of year to provide y’all with the warm cranium you deserve.
After months of chilling (pun intended), the Spiff Team was at the early Halloween party thrown by the only and only JC. A few shots of water in, Bob (changed their name for the sake of privacy) and I got to talking.
“Yo! Let’s link up this Tuesday. Let’s get those beanies designed and ordered.”
“Down man.”
I made sure not to forget that short and sweet conversation throughout that blurry, Saturday night. We’d all been waiting to get these beanies made and the time had come for us to get this shit done.
So that Tuesday morning, I happily texted Bob to confirm our little date. It’d been a while since him and I were able to hang and work together thanks to the nature of growing older, so I was honestly hella looking forward to chopping it up and designing gear with him. But when I finally got that text back, I got a response I wasn’t expecting.
Bob got held at gunpoint in the parking lot of his own apartment complex. Some loser stole his phone and his backpack that had his laptop and hard drive. The full story is pretty insane and includes an unnecessary pistol whip; I’ll let you ask him about it lol.
After texting Bob and realizing that it would be tough to collab at the moment, I wasn’t sure how to proceed. One of my best homies got mugged--designing the beanie without him felt wrong. I really wanted to order the beanies that day so they would come in time for Arvie and I’s trip to Seattle, but I really, really, really didn’t want to design them without him. I kept imagining this scenario where I made the beanies on my own and the headwear ended up serving as a reminder to Bob of the day he got mugged. (I’m almost 100% sure that he would not be thinking like that at all and would’ve been happy to just have the beanies to share with y’all, but my dramatic ass couldn’t help but think this would be the case. lol)
So I waited. No product should be made if the vibe isn’t right.
Halloween came around and I figured it was time to give this another go. Bob and I couldn’t link up, but we could definitely text (he still had his iPad). We discussed his vision for the beanies, I threw in my perspective, we sent options to the team for everyone to vote on, and the rest is history. (My car got broken into that same day and someone stole unreleased L.A.S. creator vests, but that’s another story. Hahaha)
Shit happens. I've said it, you've said it, and my mom has probably said it in Tagalog. I've found that the best way to accept whatever life throws at you is to put in an honest effort to make new memories. It becomes easier to move on from the crap you have to deal with when your attention is on what's next instead of what just happened. In the case of these beanies, that's exactly what we did. I'm mad happy that Bob is alive and well; this release is for him.
Today, we’re dropping the first wave of what will now be your new favorite headwear. We’re giving you a taste of what’s to come by releasing the black, pink, and grey beanies with an embroidered SZN 2 logo blasted on it. These beanies are meant to be worn with pride. It is literally impossible to ignore the logo and will likely become the first thing people will see when you’re wearing it. If you’re rocking one of these, you’re telling the world that you rock with Spiff P. and our message. For that, we thank you.
https://spiffpasse.com/collections/frontpage/products/beanie