“We had no money or friends in high places to help us out, but we decided that we were just gonna hustle the shit out of [OWND] and see what happens,” said Matt, travelling somewhere between heaven and hell in the Midwest. The idea was to design gear that not only they would wear, but also for friends and like-minded individuals who “operate in reality,” as Matt noted. “We wanted to be proud of the product we create and for everyone who is interested in our brand to watch it grow and be involved, rather than just see cash signs floating over their heads.”

“We go all out on OWND,” Matt continued. “We are designing, producing and printing [our gear] all sweatshop-free in the U.S., we use the best-fitting blanks in the world (Fact – ed.), and only super high-end, water-based sustainable inks for the best feel possible – nobody wants their shirt to fit like a belly-shirt and feel like a bulletproff vest made by a seven year-old kid. Our main goal here is to create the best fitting, highest qualitym, REAL apparel… for REAL people.”

Worth noting is that everything OWND does is limited-edition; no more than 200 prints of each tee is produced, keeping it so that customers are not just purchasing a mere tee-shirt, rather a limited piece of artwork that has travelled across the country with personal touches added by many different folks.

“The Razor logo came up as a result of working class lifestyle influences,” Matt said. “I have been drawing them since I was young, so when it came time to put pen to paper for our icon, this was one of the first thing I drew. I think it’s also a symbol of masculinity, independence and appreciation for taking pride in and standing behind your work.”

“The [Unemployed is the New Black] shirt came about as a result of us getting let go during the recession,” Matt continued. We wanted to try and make the stigma of being unemployed less painful for real people to deal with… our take is definitely tongue-in-cheek, and meant for those who can relate to the current fucked-up state of the economy.”

In what is possibly one of the most epic promotions we have ever heard of, OWND ran a promotion a few months back where, upon receiving letters and e-mails that detailed individual lay-off stories, OWND would ship out a free Unemployed tee. The huge response and candid e-mails that followed only added fuel to OWND’s drive to succeed, leading to some amazing shit on deck for Spring/Summer ‘09.

“Lots of understated styles, custom hoodies and some accessories,” hinted Matt. “We will be starting our artist series as well, with some great, ultra-limited stuff with an amazing, popular artist from Philly,” not to mention some retail in regards to one-off OWND artwork that has been created in-house. Definitely keep an eye out for these cats, and be sure check out the home page at getownd.com to stay up on contests, promotions, blogs and Tweets – and click the banner below to get a closer look at the gear up on the Kazbah page for Holiday ‘09.

Showcasing original artwork from young artists all over the globe and pushing their works to the worldwide masses, Methods has featured artists from Germany, France, Portugal, Brazil, Spain, the UK, Puerto Rico, and all over the US throughout the past five years, with it’s new line featuring all new designs from Bodie Chewning, TOO FLY, Deseo, Gabriel Gutierrez, Ben Angotti, Vandal and Amier Inkz, just to najme a few.

Not just a clothing line, Methods also prides itself on being a movement.  In the same way that they support visual artists, they are also rooted in the music world and support recording artists spanning all genres.  In the past several years, they have worked with major hip hop artists Jeru the Damaja, Smif N Wessun, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Body Count, Heltah Skeltah, The Beatnuts and Afrika Bambaataa amongst many others, including world renowned DJ’s Rusko, 6 BLOCC, 12^th Planet, N-TYPE, Stenchman, Noah D, DZ, Borgore, Reid Speed, JS-1, Evil DEE, Craze and DJ Hype. Don’t try and pigeon hole thse cats, though! You will also catch hardcore bands, reggae artists, athletes, and movie stars rocking the gear, making Methods is one of the few brands that can make that crossover into many different subcultures – very rare in today’s streetwear market. Featuring a staff filled with DJ’s, producers or both, Methods throws numerous events each year in NYC and having been responsible for some of the most memorable, authentic Hip Hop shows in the city over the last 5 years, Methods is also one of the primary dubstep and drum ‘n bass promotional forces in Gotham.

DJ Craze

Checkwun

DJ Rusko

The Scream On Tee

If you haven’t downloaded this by now, you’re fuckin’ up.

“I never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

One of the baddest lines spoken in one of the baddest films ever made. Christopher Walken’s titular turn as crime boss Frank White, a.k.a. King of New York, has reached cult iconic status since 1990 with the help of The Notorious B.I.G. and soundtrack contributor Schooly D (the “Godfather of Gangsta Rap”) amongst hundreds of others sampling clips of the Abel Ferrara classic. 8103 takes it’s turn in a piece of graphic design wizardry, inspired by the infamous Park Plaza Hotel scene after Jimmy Jump and Test Tube  plug bitchass King Tito (“… for the bullet holes, puto!”). Featuring the wonderfully maniacal face of Walken with an implied window-reflection of Midtown below, like the movie, we sense instant classic with this joint.

“I’ve been sitting on this design for a while, just figuring out the right way to approach it,” explained Mark Braddock, owner and lead designer for 8103. “I’ve always wanted to do a Walken tee. His style and persona always leaves you guessing. That’s the vibe I’m creating for 8103, you never know what’s going to drop next and when it does, you gotta have it.”

“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.”

8103 pays tribute to another cinematic masterpiece from 1990, Goodfellas, sequencing the pistol-whuppin’ scene after Henry Hill’s girl is assaulted by her jock nerd neighbor. In contrast to The King of New York Tee above, we’re loving the grainy, rugged look of the print that almost looks as though it was jacked from security camera screenshots. This D.T.M.G. Tee hits as hard as a revolver to the snout and saves you from blood on your hands (literally and figuratively).

“Another one I’ve always wanted to execute properly when [Ray] Liotta was in his prime,” Braddock said. “We’ve all seen Goodfellas shirts… but not anything like this. This shirt has a couple of subliminal messages being put out through the design. Aside from Liotta being a badass, this one goes out to all the dudes out there that’s ever wanted to beat the shit out someone for touching their girl.”

“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”

Featuring Clint Eastwood’s turn as Blondie in all-time classic Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo (a.k.a. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly), The Outlaw Tee pops like dude’s hand-cannons in this stark black-and-white sketched print. Whereas “every gun makes it’s own tune,” this 8103 piece has The Blogs singing songs of praise not only for paying tribute to another one of our all-time favorite flicks, but for finally giving the outlaw his moment in the limelight.

Click the banner below to check out the rest of 8103’s killer fall drop, including one tee Braddock “[doesn't] think people were ready for, ha ha.”

It could be a hot debate over who bodied more suckers in his heyday – Julius Caesar or Jason Vorhees? Caesar had rivers flowing red with the blood of his enemies throughout his reign as Roman Emperor, but we can only assume that he had his legions carry out the dirty work. Jason, however, was one dude that loved to get in work on a personal level. Whether simultaneously running a fuckin’ spear through a couple of humping, horny teenagers or simply utilizing the trusty machete-to-the-face manuver, that was one dude who simply loved his job. It looks as though District 81 agrees with The Caesar Tee.

From the inksters at To Die For is The Creaper Tee showing that no matter what the medium, the reaper is to be feared, no matter what lame prog-rock bands tell you. Hyper-detailed, bold and bursting with more color than that dude’s head in Scanners, this is one frighteningly fresh tee you’ll wanna rock long after Halloween passes.

“There was young Nat Swaine, once the bravest boat-header out of all Nantucket and the Vineyard; he joined the meeting, and never came to good. He got so frightened about his plaguy soul, that he shrinked and sheered away from the whales, for fear of after-claps, in case he got stove and went to Davy Jones.”

While it’s not quite on the horror movie jones, drowning scares the living shit out of us. I mean, call us what you will, but even looking at The Sailor’s Grave Tee by our peoples at Schmack causes panic attacks and forces us to swear allegiance to dry land forever.

Exactly how we remember ‘em from Saturday mornings as young’ns (we were pretty fucked-up lil’ kids). The Cartoon Network Tee by Subconscious Threads features all of your old animated favorites from back in the day, but we can’t spoil the surprise by telling you who is who – but if you can tell Subcon correctly, there’s a free shirt in it for you.

Dios Mio. Muerte con el e.5.charlie es muy… um, evil. The Mother Mary Tee – we love it.

And what Halloween party is complete without your own – yep – a fuckin’ ZOMBIE KOOZIE. Dom and the e.5 crew kill it again… literally. And again… and again… but it keeps coming back…

Check out these gems and more gore over at the Kazbah page… and stay out of the dark…