khal: Thanks for sitting down for this interview. I wanted to first get into the beginnings of your design career. How did you first get into designing clothes?
Jason: Tom, Elliott and I all grew up together in Rochester, and were part of the same crew in high school. I saw one of Elliott’s designs he was doing as a freelance graphic designer and mentioned that it would be a cool shirt. He was stoked on the idea, and when Tom heard he was all about it so we collaborated and developed Ekonomix.
khal: What would you say it is about Ekonomix that sets you apart from other American clothing designers?
Elliott: With Ekonomix we try to bridge a lot of American cultural gaps. Wearing gear from some clothing companies immediately identifies you with a certain culture. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we believe people are too multi-dimensional to be pigeon-holed into one identity. Our designs cater to people with an eye for something unique, a mind that is open to new ideas, and a desire to express themselves in a creative way. Ekonomix is more about who you are than what you do.
khal: What was the first design of yours that caught on?
Jason: It was the first one actually,
Dual Nature. And it tends to remain as one of the most popular designs we have done. Tom did a painting of a NY city skyline and Elliott rendered the picture into a graphic idea. It is one of our more colorful pieces and I think people get drawn into it.
Elliott: I agree. Dual Nature gave us a lot of motivation from all the great feedback we were getting. On top of what Jason mentioned, I think people responded to the concept of the design as well. By using a mix of urban and natural elements, Dual Nature visually sums up the Ekonomix philosophy. For example, creating a mirror image of a bird against a plane... they make the same basic shape and work well together in the design, even though they are very different graphic elements.
khal: When did you realize that Ekonomix was something that could blow up into a larger operation?
Elliott: After we did the first few runs and were making good returns and getting good feedback, I think we all started seeing a bigger picture. We definitely set out with the determination to go big, but didn't really begin seeing that reality until we had some solid successes. I think all the networking that opened so quickly for us was another great indicator that people were really responding.
khal: You came into the game doing apparel for skateboarding and Hip-Hop crowds. How did Ekonomix start getting love from the DnB community?
Jason: Our initial exposure to the DnB community comes directly from Tom through his ties to the Rochester scene as
Plan B and his nights with
Jungle Bums out in Colorado. He introduced us to the scene.
Tom: I have been involved in the jungle scene for some time and always incorporate ekon. with Jungle Bums and the different things we are doing. I got a lot of motivation from
DRUMZ and seeing how they support the music. I wanted to do the same kind of support and involvement in DnB music but without having the style be strictly for DnB.
khal: You’re located in the Rochester, NY area. How close are you to scene staples like
Ewun?
Tom: Jake (Ewun) is one of the most straight up people you will meet in the DNB world. I met him a long while ago when he was working at a local record store and he actually gave me my first booking for a ROCDNB party. Even after he has been blowing up with
Kill the Noise and
Ludachrist he still keeps in touch and has been very supportive with Ekon. Luckily he gets a lot of bookings in colorado so i still get to kick it with him out here.
khal: Now let’s get onto the present. Ekonomix was been selected as the company designing exclusive t-shirts for the FSOB vs ViRAM show, which is definitely one of the largest showcases during the entire WMC. How did Ekonomix get selected for something like this?
Jason: We discussed getting involved in WMC this year but we were unsure how it would go down. Through some contacts over at UG Strategies, I was put in touch with Glenn at FSOB. and it was actually FSOB who put us in contact with Kevin at
Circle Management. Circle heard we wanted to get involved and asked if we were interested in designing the shirt for the Viram side of the show. The rest is history.
khal: Have you guys employed any special touches or unique features to this tee, stuff that might not be seen in the normal t-shirt of this capacity?
Elliott: We wanted to keep the DnB flavor alive in the design while taking a more original approach with it. The robot tearing a city apart while doing a turntable stab comes across as very hardcore, conceptually. We took an illustrated approach to it and used some crazy vibrant colors to push it away from the traditional tech look. Also, adding some organic elements like paint spatter and scratches, I think gives it a different vibe; this also tied in the Ekonomix formula of using contrasting elements in a cohesive design.
khal: How does it feel to go from being a spectator in this massive conference to be being highlighted in such an area as the ViRAM showcase?
Tom: Well, this year was I think my 6th or 7th year going to conference and VIRAM is always the best show of the week, so when Jay was asking me about doing shirts for them, there was no doubt in my mind that this was going to be great. We had a bunch of offers to do different things and you always want to research them out and make sure they are legit. When I heard about doing VIRAM I knew it was going to be great exposure for us. Not to mention selling shirts with
Subfocus melting faces right next to us, always a plus haha.
khal: What’s next for Ekonomix?
Elliott: We're working on some distribution and pushing the brand, and hopefully we will be able to start crossing over to producing some different apparel soon. Flannels and possibly outerwear for snowboarding.
Jason: We have alot of goals on the horizon including developing a more sophisticated operation. We will have new designs coming out soon for Spring/Summer '09 and I am excited to begin work on ideas for next fall and winter.
Tom: VIRAM in Miami was a huge success! I would like to see us get more involved in their other shows as well as do more with our DNB shows in Colorado. We will contiune as well with Act:Live and the Hip-Hop/DnB shows in the ROC. Also I think we need a tank.
Jason: Haha yeah. A big solid gold tank in our front yard like
Master P.
khal: Where do you see Ekonomix going in the next, say, 5 years?
Jason: I see us with a warehouse in Rochester and a solid chain of distribution. I also hope that we have good following of customers who truly get excited to see what we produce each season.
Elliott: I want to see the Ekonomix brand become a staple in creative communities all over the world.
Tom: I think by then we will have many more outlets for our designs including decks, jackets, bags and maybe even watches.
khal: Before we wrap this up, would you like to kick some shouts or drop some final thoughts on heads who might want to follow in your footsteps?
Tom: Def Kevin from Circle and all the ViRAM DJs for showing us so much love last week, and all the Jungle Bums Colorado/Rochester Krew, Betsy & Melissa @ the b.side Lounge,
Infiltrata,
Stunna for coming out to Bums this month, and Qdoba for their ongoing excellence in burrito technology.
Elliott: Definitely want to give much thanks out to the Act:Live crew, especially
James Niche and
Reece Q. Also to the Rochester scene in general for supporting us; Krudco, Skyehigh, Dubland... all the shops and clubs that have given us an opportunity for exposure.
Jason: Yes, big ups to Rochester. Circle Mgmt, The Crew, Syndicate distribution and all the skaters and snowboarders out there who hold us down..Thanks for the inspiration!
For all those in the footsteps just do you, and work hard for what you want.
I been waiting to drop this one on you guys for a minute. With each release on RTDLTD, I plan on getting a DJ to throw down a tough selection of beats to help entice you guys to cop it. For the inaugural session, DJ Cable steps up and rinses out a 23-minute Mini chock full of Drum & Bass pressure, including both sides of RTDLTD001 (which is available in quality download sites, which you can find via Google) and some forthcoming RTDLTD pressure from Mr. Dymz and Delphi Productions! Watch out for that Sinistarr tune, too - rough!
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