The Czar Agency

Berlin Baby Berlin…

TheCzar — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:39:06 +0000

Just got back from the Bread and Butter Berlin trade show. What a cool city. If you’ve never had the pleasure I do recommend doing so whenever possible. One of our delectable brands Sedgwick & Cedar was unveiling it’s new capsule collection entitled “Planet Rock.” Rolled out there with the founder of S&C Ray Riccio. Good dude. Everybody loves the cultures of street, art and music, but Ray has a dedication that is really what its all about. Doing it for the love.

So had to swing by CLVII , quite frankly they’re doing things over there. You know if weezy lookin’ to your spot for the most exclusive ish, then you’re doing something right. As soon as I walked in I had the pleasure of meeting a young lady named Daniella. Good day. She was super cool. Told me to come back later to see Francis, he’s the big boss of hot sauce over there. So after combing through their fine goods I took off. When i came back he couldn’t have been more helpful in telling me the story behind CLVII. But as it was Berlin’s Fashion Week and with expecting celebs and media en route, i wanted to get out of his hair.

The trade show itself was pretty bad ass. Everyone was on top of their game and the shops came out in droves to see whats hot. Shops like Citadium, Auguste, Beretta, Montana Shop UK, Pigalle, Wood Wood, White Sole, etc…best of the best. So cool to meet and rap with the best of Europe’s retail game. There were tons of big brands/stores there as well, but i’m partial to the boutique market.

we incorporated this old dumb waiter with our signage.

Here's Ray knee deep in a conversation about the images of Joe Conzo

We were lucky enough to be in town for the semi-final match between Germany and Spain. Watched the game at this beer garden in Ku’Damm. Very cool because in addition to 90% of the crowd rooting for Germany, there were also about a dozen beautiful women from Spain cheering on their team as well. It certainly added an extra layer of excitement. As a typical American, i didnt see what all the fuss was about regarding soccer let alone the world cup. But being there in town, right in the middle of the townspeople German, and Spanish, I was started to get it. I guess when you have other countries so close it makes it more exciting. Obviously we know that Spain won. Here’s the weird part. After about 30minutes of grieving their loss, the folks at the beer garden decided to GET DOWN. Out of nowhere a dude shows up with a coffin and pulls out his turntables. All of a sudden its BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, and then cats just start lighting off fireworks left and right! Peppered with cries of “DEUTSCHLAND!” When i asked someone why they’d be celebrating after a loss they said “we wouldn’t allow ourselves to lose face. It was still an amazing run.” Ya know what? Ya gotta respect that.

Check out the taxis they have. Beats the hell out of the Crown Vic's in NY or Philly

The food, the women, the shops, the culture, the city, everything about Berlin was easy to love. So great to put a face to some of the people we had never met before. Not only shop owners but the other brand owners as well. Until next time Berlin, until next time…

Touching down in a few...

I always wanted to board a plane like this. Casablanca stylee

Found this cool little sculpture. Looks like it has something to do with some aviation pioneer, but really i have no clue what its about. Just like it

Getting towed sucks no matter what language the signs are in

The big dogs...

Classic, well done Nike. Hysterical

How cool is this?

Dudes from Federation down in New Zealand, good dudes. Big ups to Nick.

The dude Mehdi (on left) from Apartment 16 in France. He's also part of the brand Sawa.

Here's those shoes by Sawa. Made in Africa. Very cool, exquisite quality

Native footwear as well as Gourmet doing the damn thing

I don't know who this dude is, but i just had to sneak a pic of him. Looks like the Duke or Viceroy or some shit like that. lol

Very cool to see the ol' surf brand Jimmy Z back in biz. Their gear was amazing when i was a kid. Good to see em' back

That’s all folks…

Lookin back…..

TheCzar — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:06:02 +0000

My goodness my guiness. Yesterday here in Philly I was listening to the “Old School Lunch Buffett,” a radio show that comes on at lunchtime to keep yer head bobbin’ while you grub down. Always droppin jewels it’s a no brainer from 12 to (about) 12:40pm. Anyway, i heard this classic track played yesterday and MAN did it bring me back. Just to paint a lil’ picture of when i first heard this…..

August of 1991. I’m at my family’s beach house in Ocean City, NJ. Chillin’ with my homies Steve and Keith. Just kickin’ it outback my homie pops out this new disc he just copped. Now he was on the cutting edge of technology. I’m not gonna lie we were sweatin’ his tech. After showing us this CD called Cypress Hill by the group of the same name. Obviously we wanna listen to it. So my homie Steve pulls out his totally sweet yellow Sony Discman. Removed the headphones and proceeds to pop in some external speakers to the discman. This was so F’n hightech for us. He was rollin’ phat, no question. Amazed by what we were hearing we immediately hit repeat and repeat and repeat. As if the music alone wasn’t enough, we ran inside where we turned on The Jukebox (think pay-per-view MTV) to see what the hell was going on with the Cypress Hill cats. Latin dudes from LA??? What!!! Cypress went on to becoming a powerhouse of true school Hip Hop over the next few years and an all around fan fave.

Thanks for strollin’ with me down memory lane. Hope you enjoy this here little jewel.

Quintin x Bandit1$m Get Down…

TheCzar — Tue, 25 May 2010 01:25:51 +0000

You know we love the 123Klan (creators of BANDIT1$M)over here. If you don’t know who they are, ya better ask somebody! So, today i hear the mailman (our mailman is hysterical, always complaining about his wife ) with a special delivery from Canada. Opened it up, don’t ya know it’s two fly lids from the 123Klan x Quintin (creators of the 5panel) collaboration. How cool is that! Anyway peep the pics and a dope lil vid the 123Klan just did for an event they have. We’ll be sure to let all you shop owners know when there’s more items for wholesale purchase. Aight? P E A C E.

Fellastar Launch / Goodies Sale @ 123Klan Creative Studio from 123 KLAN on Vimeo.

We’d like to welcome Selector! to the Czar family!

TheCzar — Sun, 23 May 2010 08:10:27 +0000

I’ve always been a huge reggae / dancehall fan. Every since i was 10 years old and happened to buy a The Harder They Come album on wax for a quarter at a garage sale. I always was frustrated by how reggae culture was represented in clothing. No one ever got it right. Stussy would have some cool designs hear n there but it was more of a every once in a blue moon thing. So when last year i spotted this brand called Selector! I was stoked. Here they had filled the gap that was always bugging me. A clever dynamic brand which was heavy on the cultural icons and references of reggae while sidestepping that common pitfall of red/gold/green and Lions of Judah cheesily done. This was a brand for true reggae fans by true reggae fans. No meat-heads driving a Jeep blaring redemption song here! Anyway, long story short, when i had the opportunity to link up with Selector! owner and founder I jumped at the chance. In addition to the streamlining we’ve done here at The Czar Agency, we’d like to officially welcoming SELECTOR!

Now hit the “BRANDS” in the menu bar above. If you have a password to enter, hit it and check out what we’re rocking with. If this is your first time here and you don’t have a password, shoot us an email at showroom@theczaragency.com In most cases we can have product on your shelves in 2 to 3 weeks. Don’t sleep on us! AUDI5000

Very cool vid on ESPO, OG Philly Graff Legend.

TheCzar — Sun, 23 May 2010 07:51:45 +0000

Growing up in Philadelphia guarantees a certain number of things in life. An aggressive attitude, strong cravings for meat n cheese ala long roll, a broken heart from losses from the 6ers, birds n phils, knowing a shit ton of dudes with mustaches n beer guts, just to name a few of the benefits of being raised in or around philadelphia. One of my personal favorite benefits is a bond or affinity to anything or anyone having to do with or pertaining to Philadelphia. For example my wife often makes fun of me because I can name almost every actor, musician or pseudo celeb who ever came outta Philly. No matter what the content of ones character may be, growing up in or even living in Philadelphia gets you a thumbs up in my book. Knowing this it’s certainly no surprise that I’m a fan or Espo. His elevated style is unmistakably sophisticated. Tapping into multi layered concepts steeped in the dying art of sign panting somehow Espo is able to tell a whole story in a instant via brand like slogans to inflict self examination. Just watch the vid or i’ll keep rambling. Peace.

If you can find me someone with a cooler head of hair than Espo…i’ll call you a LIAR!
(via HypeBeast)

Legendary Star of Stage & Screen has Died…

TheCzar — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:54:18 +0000

Lena Horne had too many first as an African American singer/actress to list here. Let’s just say she was a pioneering trailblazer without whom our world would be much more dismal. My earliest memory of her goes back to lying on the floor of my parents living room. While watching The Cosby Show she made an appearance on and my parents soon after explained who she was and how important her role in the history of entertainment and really social change was. Here’s a clip from that episode. Hope it takes you back…as much as it did for me.

Happy Anniversary to Maestro Knows…

TheCzar — Mon, 10 May 2010 04:08:51 +0000

Just checked out Levi Mestro via Twitter and it seems as though, as usual, the dude is up to something cool. Never one to be a spoiler, peep the vid i just caught. No clue how long the vid will be available to view….P E A C E.

Maestro Knows 1 Year Anniversary teaser from levi maestro on Vimeo.

SORRY FOLKS! GUESS MAESTRO WAS A LIL’ TOO QUICK ON THIS ONE. TELL YA WHAT, FOLLOW US ON TWITTER HERE AND WE’LL GIVE YOU A SHOUT WHENEVER ANYTHING LIKE THIS IS POPPIN’ OFF. COOL? YA DAMN RIGHT!

Kutmah needs our help people…STEP UP!!!

TheCzar — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:55:32 +0000

We don’t normally get involved with anything to do with legal matters. But the dude Kutmah, aka Justin McNulty, out in LA has had some real troubles with immigration. The guy has been here since he was 12 and he’s 34 now. He is a vital and essential part of the LA music and arts scene as a DJ, artist and music producer. The guy is a proud American, won’t you help him out by signing this petition to reopen his case in order to obtain a new trial to obtain citizenship? He has tried since age 12 to obtain a green card but he’s always been shot down. He deserves to at least be given one more chance. Signing this petition doesn’t ensure he’ll stay, it just gives him the chance to be heard in court, a right he hasn’t been granted in over 14 years. Regardless of what your thoughts are on immigration surely as a 22+ yr American, he deserves a shot. Sign the petition here!

Happy Mothers Day!

TheCzar — Sun, 09 May 2010 19:15:50 +0000

Without our Moms none of us would be here. Today we’d just like to send out our thanks to all of the Moms in the world, especially ours. Thanks Mom!

So you think you know Hip-Hop? You need to read this…

TheCzar — Fri, 07 May 2010 02:51:34 +0000

Joe Conzo, the man the NY Times call “the man who took Hip-Hop’s baby pictures” and Sedgwick & Cedar’s CEO Ray Riccio, talk with Fader Magazine about the collabo they just dropped. So cool to actually hear from the man who was there when it started. Well worth the read. The CZAR Agency is the exclusive distributor for Sedgwick&Cedar. Peep the link below.

FADER MAG: S&C x JOE CONZO
If you would like to become a stockist for Sedgwick & Cedar we are currently screening for limited number of new accounts. Interested applicants should include a store description, web, pics (if you’re a brick/mortar), brand list, and anything else you feel pertinent. Please send this information to info@theczaragency.com

CHEERS!