When I first moved to Philly I noticed that the street art scene was mostly relegated to stickers.  I figure this may be because we have so many historic old buildings and local artists had the respect to not mess them up.  It could also be because we don’t have a very active transit system.  Either way it leads to a fun game of hide and seek.  Artists throw their work up on the back of signs, on the sides of newspaper boxes, and in the hidden spots that you only find if you’re really looking.

My two faves are El Toro and Bob Will Reign.  Great character design, always changing it up, and all over town. Frost (El Toro) – Bob Will Reign

So, obviously, I found his stuff on flickr.com one day.  Browsing through I found and decided to buy it.  We met briefly, I handed over some cash and the painting was mine!  It’s been up in my place for the last couple of years.  Time passes…

I started brewing beer and had the idea that El Toro could make me some labels for my brew, just for kicks. A painting called El Borracho seemed perfect. And so El Borracho Homebrew was born. We drank it all very quickly and called it good. Our girlfriends met and seemed to get along very well. Again we called it good.

Fast forward again and I’m up in Chinatown one day when I spot (the ducks are fake). I was driving and couldn’t stop but food and and sneakers are a holy union for me. See Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C and oh, I guess most of this blog.

When I finally got back to the shop I was beyond impressed. Killer design and a fun setup. I introduced myself to the guys and mentioned in passing that they should have an art show with El Toro. To make a long story short I told Frost, he went over, introduced himself to , and last night the whole thing went down in great form. I had a few cases of homebrew lemongrass wheat beer with a Frost-designed label. They were “free gifts” to go along with the purchase of a can. The show was a big success and the art will be up for the next month, so get over there if you’re in the area! I’m guessing the t-shirts are all sold out (but Karen and I got ours!).

[flickr matt.ohara 72157607556729419]

I was up in Chinatown a few weeks back getting some grub on a Sunday. While looking for a parking space I passed a shop window so gorgeous I did a doubletake. Sneakers and Peking ducks hanging side-by-side! Just today I rode my bike back to take a look inside and I’m glad I did.The shop opened up six weeks ago and I’m pissed that I missed the opening. These guys are super-nice and obviously know everything there is to know about the streetwear scene. I don’t know jack about anything except Adidas (they informed me that Nike is on the verge of buying Adidas) but these two are all up in it. Ky Cao, the co-founder along with Jackson Fu, showed me a pair of ultra-limited Bodega Pumps that they’re sitting on for the time being. They have a whole bunch. These guys are sick!

Just like Afficial and WTHN it’s mostly Nike and BAPE, but they have clothing and vinyl toys too. My favorite part of the shop is the design sensibility. Take a look at the pics and notice the Donkey-Kong display, the Peking duck display, the restaurant setup for the clothes and the walk-in fridge setup for the changing room. Glad to see a couple of young guys put together something so slick and be doing something they obviously love.

abakus official site
blog (tons of fun photos)
Sneakers in Philly Google Map
Full Slideshow after the break:

[flickr matt.ohara 72157605452514947]