Jason Bass of JB Classics
courtesy of The Royal Magazine
The undisputed champion of collectibles. Jason Bass conquered the collectable footwear game and now has his sight set on even more.
JB Classics have exploded in popularity recently. What do you think the main reason is?
It's still weird to hear that, I'm not yet convinced of the popularity at all. Yes - interest has been building gradually and strategically over the last three years with a lot of work and black ops missions. I think across the board the corporate giants who've exploited markets that they don't belong in are getting checked and those who've collaborated with those brands are getting checked on a credibility level and lost in the shuffle. Money Monkeys! People got to eat though! As for the kicks, I'm just going forward, I keep pushing myself rather than jamming this and that down the throats of consumers. I try to keep my back to wall though because as things grow bigger and bigger more heads are out for blood.
What's next for the brand?
The newest of news is we are doing the first every footwear company to footwear company collaboration with Damon Way & DC Shoes - DC-JB Special Ops. We also have a nice blood union relationship into London with SuperDeluxe/ Brand Progression which links us up into Germany and France as far as the European market. We are now developing JB's into toys such as the BULLY which has interchangeable JB's, that will be dropping around the holidays. As for the core footwear, I'm pushing into casual and protective divisions as well as keeping the graphic themes rollin' right into '05 with new experimental material matches and an exclusive Esquire Laser edition with a few new packaging details up my sleeve!
Talk a bit about the KDU...where does JB Classics fit in? Do you work with the other brands? Even ones that produce very different products?
The KDU is the KEYSTONE DESIGN UNION founded by David Gensler and myself, with our newest partner and legal representative Charles L. Riddle. The KDU is a secret society - like a club house that needs secret knocks on the wall to get in. Once in, the umbrella system/network and union works as a press platform and project management system which has many divisions covering cartoons, consulting, marketing, toy development, legal, fashion, masterplanning, advertising campaigns, global intellectual property protection, industrial design, magazines, etc.
At this point, the JB Classics model is that of a design driven brand with zero money invested. So as we accept or decline clients or create new brands we have a first hand model and a successful independant brand within the umbrella! We are also planning on launching separate footwear divisions under the KDU label which JB Development will handle and oversee.
Secret brotherhood style?
This is funny! It's all about keywords - Hawk Mountain / Blue Marsh / Jacksonwald Skatepark / Love Park / Deer Lake Drive Inn / Pine Grove / Black Woods / 81N to 61N to 443W to 183N / 78 /I-95 / READING OUTLETS / an shit! The Road to Nowhere. Everyone within the management of the KDU has to know and have stories about these keys locations.
So what's with the new figure and the whole new division?
The character design was done by me; I've been influenced and documenting thousands of characters which are an important part of my daily grind. Every morning for the past 4-5 years I have been brainstorming & pumping coffee and nicotine in me while sketching thousands characters that come to mind. It wasn't until the whole footwear angle kick off that I decided to bring these characters to life. The First one is entitled the BULLY!! It's been in the making for about a year. I've partnered with my homeboy from London to bring them to life. They wanted to launch a small home grown toy company and that's my style! It was done right there! The BULLY will be the first toy that SUPERDELUXE produces; it makes sense to link it to the KDU since it's our network system, etc. So there you have it; the JB Classics has a direct toy division and partnership with SUPERDELUXE, Expect more real soon it's still pretty on the under!
The KDU is obviously design driven...but the business side seems equally important?
To this day Dave handles most of the business planning within the KDU, but lets just say we are busy building bridges and lighting fires... grabbing ink and harvesting crops. In addition to that, all members within the KDU have full understanding that we are building the Procter and Gamble of the street/design culture. I personally have been involved with watching hustles since the early age of 9. I grew up watching my uncle Andy hustle all day. As well as watching how the basic trust network works within a dysfunctional family upbringing. After that I sort of got into the Asian respect system, which you can't learn in school, so from that point I've learned how to trust and form my opinions on what is good business and bad. I feel that the partnership within the KDU is a combination of book-smarts meets street-smarts meets strategies meets legal-formulas meets the evolution of global trust. This is why we say TRUST THE KDU! |
