Revolver

See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum and one night, one night they decide they don’t like living in an asylum any more. They decide they’re going to escape! So, like, they get up onto the roof, and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the rooftops of the town, stretching away in the moonlight, stretching away to freedom. Now, the first guy, he jumps right across with no problem. But his friend, his friend daren’t make the leap. Y’see, he’s afraid of falling. So the, the first guy has an idea, he says, “Hey! I have my flashlight with me! I’ll shine it across the gap between the buildings. You can walk along the beam and join me!” B-but the second guy just shakes his head. He suh-says, he says, “Wh-what do you think I am? Crazy? You’d turn it off when I was half way across!”

In high school, I was very much a nerd; in fact, I still am today. Back then I was a little more defensive about it, a little less sure of myself, but today I’ve pretty much come to terms with that fact. It’s not a bad thing being a nerd (you get out of a lot of physical labor due to bad eyesight and allergies), but people tend to believe that being a nerd and being “cool”, whatever that means, are mutually exclusive things. When I saw the article “ARTREPRENUER: An artistic solution to the daily grind” in the Village News a couple of months ago, an article about two amazingly creative individuals that refrained from beating me up in high school and went on to start a streetwear company for the socially conscious, I thought, “Now that’s something I could get behind; I’ve got to have one of their shirts.” Local business, local people, and local pride are things I’ve always believed in, especially coming from a place like Chester.

After a little searching for the perfect shirt, I went with the Grape Revolver for a couple of reasons, one being the gag gun that reminded me of one of my favorite comic book villains, The Joker (I told you I was a nerd). For those that don’t know, the above quote is from one of Batman’s most important graphic novels, The Killing Joke, in which The Joker tries to prove that everyone is just one bad day away from being like him. I believe Grape Cloth tries to turn that idea around and show people the opposite – everyone is just one good day away from being a hero. There are no shells in this gun, no GSR on anyone’s hands; just a Grape flag flying from a Grape handle. Everyone’s probably a little upset when they wake up knowing they have to face a long work day, but when you go out in the world think about the impressions you leave on people. Pop off some rounds of positivity, change someone’s day, and as Mr. J would say, “Put a smile on that face.”

Get the Revolver Tee HERE

Words by Justin Frashure

Follow Justin on Twitter: @JLFrashure; or head over to The Hollow Corners and watch his first novel take form before your eyes.

A Word With Black Liquid

Enemy/noun

1. one that is antagonistic to another; especially: one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent
2. something harmful or deadly
3. a military adversary. b: a hostile unit or force

If I knew what I did to you, I still wouldn't know what to do for you. That's right, I'm talking to you. Mr. Hater. Who would have thought that there would be as many of you as there have apparently been occasions. I don't have feelings, I use the force. My intuition tells me what your eyes told me, and I am sorry we cannot see eye to eye. There are those out there that may think this blog post is about them, and sadly, the question is still the answer. To those who can see beyond what they be on, I say see you on the other side, as you will most certainly find, by unity or separation, that WE #RVA

WOFTD

Biking Across America

Iain Duffus, co-owner of Grape, has known Andrew Dickson for over 25 years. Andrew's giving nature has been a constant inspiration on those around him and can easily be given credit for pushing people to help others. 

Mr. Dickson made a brief detour with Grape to visit and take a breather while in route to Scotland Ferry, the ending point of his nationwide bicycle trip to raise awareness for dementia.

Andrew flew into Seattle, WA with a couple bags and a box containing a bike. Now he heads south of Richmond to complete his journey.

Click HERE to visit Andrew's trip blog, Biking Across America.

We linked Andrew with our friend Dan Anderson, of RVAMag and RadioRubberRoom, so they could speak about charity, dementia and his cross-country adventure.

CLICK HERE FOR RVAMAG.COM's INTERVIEW 

Official Start - Cape Flattery, WA

Lewis Falls, Yellowstone National Park

Virginia State Line

 Lounging in Chesterfield, VA

Packing up to head to the end point, Scotland Ferry, VA 

Bordeaux (Vol.7)

It would seem that machismo perseveres as one of the major tenets of hip hop. Braggadocious lyrics pervade the genre as much as the act of rhyming itself. But what happens when the bragging goes too far? What happens when people hold your words up to the light to determine if they're counterfeit?

With male dominance in hip hop it should come as no surprise that the male ego seethes and thrives here. Bigger wallets, bigger cars, and bigger homes flood the verses of the multitude and yet leave no scourings of bigger men. Our overindulgence is survived by an overwrought environment where we test one another - a rebirth of The Inquisition in rap if you will. May God bless us.

Now I'm all for going down my occasional laundry list of Baller Shit to perpetuate my lyrical adeptness, or just my prowess at life, but there comes a time where we must draw a line. Many times a push too far takes things to that next level, for example: Chris Brown fetches his goons or, God forbid, the Biggie/Pac syndrome occurs. Machismo has somehow created a hypersensitivity in the culture, a group of people looking for problems which, if rational thinking was employed, wouldn't even exist. But in an effort to not be upstaged, rappers have incited the battle of proving who's real and who's not before first requiring realness of themselves.

False self-esteem and premature hubris have allowed rappers with nightmares of being exposed as fakes to tarnish the culture. The machismo present has exacerbated the notion that artists need to maintain and protect a certain image in order to be accepted. As with any other aspect of life, however, the most important approach to this environment is simple honesty.

This goes back to the relatability argument I posed a few weeks prior. There's always someone that can relate to your story, whatever it may be. If they cannot relate to the exact details, then maybe they can relate to the themes. It is unsafe and superfluous to have a whole genre of macho men with no message other than their being cool wordsmiths or the hardest thug known to man. We must ask for more from ourselves and our art, or else we'll we will fall prey to the pride before our own metaphorical fall.

Be honest. Be fruitful. Be wise.

-Chance Fisher

River City Cypher Series presents THE ONE, TWO

Addis Ethiopian Restaurant

9 N. 17th St., Richmond, VA

Grape visited this beat showcase that brought together four amazing producers for two reasons -  the love and progression of Hip Hop.

Addis Ethiopian Restaurant, across from The Farmer's Market in Shockoe Bottom, housed a great group of people for an evening of dope beats and good drinks.

Kev Brown, Kleph Dollaz, Antagonist Dragonspit and The Unknown provided hours of amazing music, backed by duos  DJ 2-Tone Jones & DJ RBI, and DJ Sayeed & DJ Mordecai. 

Grap Luva hosted the event while Chairman's Reserve provided complimentary rum to the attendees.

Producers and DJ's from the 757, DC and RVA all came together, with samples that were provided to them prior to the event, to let their peers hear how they decided to chop and freak their way into rhythmic excellency.

Hot food, hotter beats and true fans of Hip Hop in one building.

THE ONE,TWO was a River City Cypher Series event.

Audra The Rapper MTV Sucka Free Freestyle RAW / UNCUT from simon kim on Vimeo.

A Word With Black Liquid

work/noun/verb/adj

1. labor; toil.
2. to be in operation, as a machine.
3. of, for, or concerning work

What do you work for? Is it working? Does it work for you, or do you work for it? How do you know? I'm asking you because you know what, I don't ask myself anymore. I work to work. I really don't care about anything except the path, what greater goal is there?

If I was rich and didn't tell you and kept working as hard as I do, how would that make you feel? Would you Mike Lowery me? Would you question my dedication, my resolve, simply because I possess that which you consider an end to this means? I say to you this: cost is not value, this machine runs on time, this monster feeds on effort. I'm already wealthy, but if I ever get rich, I'm sure it will be my time and attention that you will value most. On that, we shall agree......

WOFTD

Grape Origins

Wooden blocks, held together by screws, with two metal 

hinges attached...

This was our first print press.

We envisioned creating a new future for ourselves with the overuse of that simple contraption...

Not only to clothe ourselves in what we desired but to do so for as long as possible.

7 blocks drilled together, creating the beginning stages of our first small business.
It's use was luckily short-lived and we upgraded immediately following our first print job.

The local economy is what allowed our progression, and we thank you.

Phil The Thrill x Grape Cloth Interview

These last couple months, Grape has been to many events and shows, all in the hopes of spreading the brand and supporting our supporters. It gave us great pride to realize our efforts were being recognized by those around us doing the same thing. When Revolution Media Group contacted us for an interview with Virginia emcee Phil The Thrill, we jumped at the opportunity to pick the brain of Newport News' brightest shining star. Watch for Phil to be apart of your morning commute as his no-gimmick, truth-telling rhymes become embraced by radio stations nationwide. His refreshing dose of reality paired with smooth style will raise your expectations and change the game.


First of all, we see you and your team everywhere: Audra The Rapper's video release party in Norfolk,VA a couple months ago, most recently at Epic Fest in RVA... It's great to see you support Virginia music. Do you like residing in the Commonwealth State?


No doubt, I feel like how can you not support the place that you live? I have grown to love the commonwealth state. I never had a true "home" because my parents were both active duty air force so I lived everywhere from Cali, Japan, Georgia, to Mississippi, so since I moved to VA in 2003 I have grown to truly accept it as my home.






Word, thank your parents for us! The culture's biggest print media is giving our state a beautiful opportunity to shine. Michael Millions, Nickelus F, Audra... And that's just Richmond! How did seeing your XXL Magazine feature for first time make you feel?


Man I really just felt motivated. This has been a long stressful year of finding myself to put myself in the position that is necessary to be heard so when I saw it for the first time it made me realize that this is a huge accomplishment but really its just the end of one goal and the start of another one.


We believe that series of small achievements are necessary for long lasting success. What are some of your immediate goals?


Some of my immediate goals are just to conitinue the upward direction that I am going in. With music I have heard that being an overnight success is very rare so I just want to continue to see my music reach the masses slowly but surely. In particular I do hope to open of for some legit music acts to get my name out there more and be able to go to states outside of Virginia to network.






Can you explain the writing process you go through to achieve that smooth style you possess?


My writing process is really just based off of my mood at the time. I usually write early in the morning or late at night to either recollect my thoughts from the day or to wake up with fresh ideas. I like to be as relateable as possible. My style just comes from the way I would try to word things in my everyday life, whether I am being silly, catchy or just speaking on a real topic, I try to ensure that it is true to myself as an artist no matter what.


Yessir! Some of the greatest writers have used daily events as their main inspiration - We believe that's why your music seems so authentic. What, if any, is the importance of reality in today's Hip Hop scene?


Reality is very important in music period. Very few fans these days want to hear music that portrays a lifestyle that they cannot relate to. Being able to put the common person in your shoes and express it in a way that others cannot is key in order to really connect with people through your music.






When Revolution Media Group reached out to Grape for this interview we immediately jumped on board. Yalls media push seems very calculated How have sites like Tumblr.com & DatPiff.com helped you spread your music? Is it necessary to promote using these avenues nowadays?


Tumblr has been my main source as far as connecting to different demographics because it is so broad. I have learned that from posting anything from pictures of myself to pictures of my common interest, such as skateboarding, can trigger something with people that can draw them to you. So these people are getting to know me on a personal level with everything that I post and by following them I learn about them as well. It is very important to be able to connect with people in more ways than just music and I feel that tumblr has definitely enabled me to do that. So people definitely need to check out my site www.FlyThoughts.com and can learn everything you want about me.


We have a lot of younger followers searching for inspirational words and insight. What's something you've learned through maturity that you took for granted as a teenager?


Patience and the power of a good work ethic. My whole life I got by with everything off of talent alone but I do believe that once I put a work ethic to it, magic happened. The earlier somebody can learn this, I feel like the faster they will achieve their goals but patience is a must because it may not happen when they want it to happen.


Patience is hard to practice, especially when facing adversity. Failure should be a motivator rather than a deterrent though, right?


Failure is definitely a motivator. This time last year I had to face getting my cd tossed out of radio stations and never getting replies from local dj's to realize that I can either quit or try to overcome all of that. That alone was the fuel to my fire to work even harder at everything that I do....


Contact Phil here:
philthethrillmusic@gmail.com
Twitter.com/philthethrill21
Facebook.com/philthethrill21
FlyThoughts.com




Here is Revolution Media Group's blog submission for Phil's newest song The Dopeness:


Phil The Thrill - The Dopeness


Phil The Thrill explains the lead track from upcoming EP, (s)AMPLE TIME:


"The dopeness is a way of thinking. It isn't anything that can be explained specifically because it fits according to the individual. Dopeness is not anything that can be categorized. It is simply what's seen as "cool" to that person in ways that they apply it to their lifestyle. Basically stating that, "Dopeness" is of the mind." - Phil The Thrill


Download - MediaFire: http://www.mediafire.com/?2zy5oxg168f375i
Stream - Soundcloud: http://snd.sc/pfLMD

The Pizza Shop Photoshoot

SOUTHERN STREETWEAR'S SAVIOR

Charleston, South Carolina is home to a unique entrepreneur by the name of KJ Kearney, a man dedicated to creating opportunities for Southern Streetwear to grow beyond the borders of The South.
KJ curates a wonderful blog by the name of H1GHER LEARNING  through which he creates his well written and visually appealing take on Southern Streetwear culture and it's progression.
Not only does he allow brands to showcase their goods, but he also gives them a chance to gain confidence by showing how strong this Southern Streetwear movement is becoming.

Organizing and hosting The Big Mix, our first streetwear expo adventure and The South's first Southern-only brand showcase, KJ has visions of not only building a strong foundation of brand awareness but also of expanding across the globe, bringing new ideas to a world wide Streetwear culture that has to often been over saturated with the same few voices.

Please go and visit www.h1gher.com, and check in regularly as he constantly updates with what upcoming, and legendary, Southern Streetwear brands are bringing to the table.
Eat up, my friends!!!

Conrizzle Feat. Nickelus F - Swangin'

V-Necks, new Float colorways and designs

inspired by street artists IN STOCK NOW.

Run in West Coast Kix, browse their extensive snapback selection & then tell them you're looking for Grape.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS. One.

Cancers Against Cancer

To celebrate Vaughan Moss' 25th bday, we are participating in Anthem and the Children's Miracle Network's Lemonaid to help raise money for pediatric cancer. 


Come see us at West Coast Kix in Carytown on Saturday, July 16, from 12-5. Buy a cup of lemonade (for a minimum donation of $1) and receive a discount on your purchase from West Coast Kix. RNS aka Manotti Da Vinci will be DJing and our friends at Dreamer's Clothing will have some cool stuff to give away.


If you can't make it to the store on the 16, you can make a donation online at http://bit.ly/mhcoUT Please pass this on to your friends and family


Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109109032514805


Cancers Against Cancer Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/CancersAgainstCancer



Go visit West Coast Kix and help Cancers Against Cancer with donations!


Hosted by WCK, Dreamers Clothing and RVA emcee Chance Fischer, there are good people meeting today for a good cause from 12-5pm today!!!

A Word With Black Liquid

Remember

re·mem·ber/–verb
1. to recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory; think of again
2. to retain in the memory; keep in mind; remain aware of
3. to have (something) come into the mind again

I was reading a book today on ancient aliens and the affect they would have had on societies of times long forgotten; misinterpretation, extrapolation, fantastical re-tellings of events that had to be literally written in stone so they would not be forgotten. It must have been some some pretty important stuff to go through all that just to pass the message, primitive man must have been very patient. This line of thought led me to a question I rarely encounter. Why don't we remember when we are born? I know its in there somewhere, I can feel it, but its as if the experience is locked away because it lacks any sort of articulation or explanation. I've died several times, I remember each one. Each time "that" was "that" and all I had left to inherit was "this."

Its no secret, I rhyme. As a child I was creative, but I wanted to be a video game journalist, a story teller. I remember when I realized that meant I'd be spending my entire life telling someone else's story, and that dream died in hopes of an underlying reality. Then there was my attempt at normalcy, hey maybe I'll get a job, a girl, a car, be cool. Nope, I'm too weird for that. I met Slugg and let him do all that while I watched as the "fifth wheel."

I remember the first rhymes, the first time people looked at me as if I was no longer me. It wasn't validation, though it was "something." I've followed my many lives all the way through, seeking the emptiness of death for the sake of a life full of inspiration.

Yesterday I found out Triple, the very place where I was reborn, where I first unleashed the style of performing that I am known for, has gone under. I remember standing there terrified, letting go, and then coming back to a moment of silence, followed by a rush of applause. That night I finally said my last goodbye to all the insecurities, fears, short comings, failures, weaknesses, strengths, power, everything that I had weighed on the scale, not to forget, but to remember.

Perhaps I was born Black Liquid, not to BE Black Liquid. When Black Liquid dies I can only hope that I will remember the piece of myself that I'm missing, as I assure you by then I will have given you everything I possess.

Oh, and that night at Triple? WE TAPED IT. Thank you Official Freeze, Swerve, White Pie, Ty, Willie, Slugg, Turkey, Sticky, and every other freckle on this face that we share, see you on the other side.........

Black Liquid & Freeze Live @ Triple 6/12/09 Pt 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsEHcCWdng0&

WOFTD

Grape Cloth x Smoothmatic Productions

Pencil To Paper 





Smoothmatic Productions
www.vimeo.com/channels/smptv
www.smoothmatic.com
Twitter @Smooth_Matic
804 605 0724


Interview coming soon...

Bordeaux (Vol. 6)

For the sake of being honest one must become vulnerable. We must show the world that we're able to be bruised - that words may actually hurt us more than sticks and stones. That's unsettling and borderline depressing, but it's also the surefire way to relatability.

Take a song like "Marvin's Room" for example: the accidental summer smash by emotion-clad rapper, Drake, that's turning the world of Twitter After Dark into a therapy session. Is it the most amazing song lyrically? No. But the fact that it depicts a wounded superstar is its surreptitious genius.

Vulnerability humanizes the exact things we deify. It's probably the reason mortals were fascinated by the myths of the ancient Greek gods. They sinned as much as the tumbleweed of humanity, yet they never lost their power. People need to know there's a chance for redemption.

None of us want to feel alienated or ostracized. Sure, Drake is a young millionaire superstar (superhero to some), but the simple notion that even he can bleed is enough for the rest of humanity to be comfortable with themselves. It allows them that aforementioned shot at redemption.

Relatability may be the single most important factor of any form of music. It's why artists do Behind The Music. It let's you know that the words coming through the speakers aren't from some robotic Minister of Propaganda for the industry. Most of all, it adds sincerity to the experience. In a world where some people can't trust their mothers, the government, and barely themselves; the search for truth seems only worthy of those with an insatiable hunger.

Make music that's unique to you. Tell YOUR story. The more of you that you put into your music, the more information you give for people to feel who you are. In short, people will get to know you better. My homie Jason told me that if the music doesn't embarrass you to an extent, then it's not good enough. If you can face vulnerability, you'll have the power to face any fear.

Meet T-Division, RVA punk.
You will see much more of them very soon.
They rock with Grape and we rock with them. Interview coming soon!
S/O to Adrian King, also known as The Holik, for filming and vibing with these guys on behalf of Grape.


http://www.twitter.com/tdivision
http://www.Facebook.com/tdivision


http://www.twitter.com/theholik
http://www.theholikart.blogspot.com


Enjoy.

Sleaze - Too Much b/w Better Days

We met Sleaze at a Hip Hop show at a venue called The Camel about 6 months ago. Grape stumbled upon his name countless times while emmersing ourselves into the Richmond, VA rap scene, and quickly grew interested because Sleaze  has provided production for most of our loyal supporters. After late-night research, we ran across his website, Ketchup Plz, and downloaded (for FREE) as much music as we could. This led to one of his instrumentals becoming the backdrop for our first iPhone 4-edited promo video, which, unfortunately, is no longer with us - R.I.P. 

Standing outside of The Camel networking, we heard the name, "Sleaze," uttered a couple times and started asking "who/what/where/when...?"

Introductions took place, we put our phone to his ear and played the promo clip in which we used his beat.

His head started a strong nod and a friendship was born.

Listen to The Honorable Sleaze's newest audio package, "Too Much  b/w Better Days" and let him know what you think on his twitter page. We are sure it will be nothing but words of encouragement and awe.

Download "Too Much" b/w "Better Days" HERE

Audra The Rapper - No Such Thing Does Exist EP

(Right-click above link and "Save File As")

Kleph Dollaz x Control Freaks x Grape Cloth

It's amazing when like-minded individuals can unite through unforced, organic means...
We had the pleasure of getting a sneak preview of The Melting Pot, a music buffet catered by Richmond's own super-producer Kleph Dollaz (@KlephDollaz). Sponsored by Control Freaks (@ControlFreaks) and Grape, this arrangement of underground emcees over Kleph's own orchestrated takes on raw Hip Hop is going to be a problem. While hearing track after track, an expression of happiness came upon our faces that didn't dissipate until we woke up to birds chirping the next morning. More to come soon...

Man Down: FREE DANCE PARTY!!!

140 Virginia St. Richmond, VA

Sponsored by Grape, Rumors, Kulture, Dead By Dawn & RVAMag.

Some of the hottest reggae mixed and spun by A.D.E.N and Fistpump for your listening pleasure.

Go support our good friend, and official Grape Girl, Sarah Collins as she throws down for the city of Richmond at the apple of Shockoe Bottom's eye, The Current.

Energetic 21+ Only - this one's for us grown folk!

Grape will be in the building supporting the event with a camera, so go and support local entertainment and get yourself posted on our blog !!!

A Word With Black Liquid

e·nough/adj/pron/adv

1. To a satisfactory amount or degree; sufficiently
2. Very; fully; quite
3. Tolerably; rather

Ok, so let's see......I woke up at 1PM after going to sleep last night around the usual 5AM. From there I hopped onto my computer to check my Facebook, clean out my Hotmail and Gmail boxes, fix my Twitter (I hit my follow limit yet again), set up some CDs to burn (written by hand, no less than 10 copies), create a Facebook event for a show I have with Emmy Award Nominated MC T.O.N.E-z 7/10 and invite my 2,000+ "friends", personally hassle 30 different people/blogs/websites via E-Mail and Twitter, check my downloads on Seagal (we're at over 4,000 combined!), try and figure out how people are supposed to vote for me to be on the next Coast 2 Coast Mixtape (still no clue there), find out how I'm going to get to PA next Friday to do a show, and............here I am 7 hours later. I've had a sip of ginger ale and haven't eaten all day (or smoked!), I still need to workout, I'm supposed to be meeting people at The Camel around 11, and for some reason I still feel like I have not done enough. Good thing I still had this blog entry to write.......right?

WOFTD

$5 Music Video : "Coo Coo" Audra The Rapper from simon kim on Vimeo.

Bordeaux (Vol. 5)

I'm going to China in a month.

While that has absolutely nothing to do with you as the reader it has everything to do with this post. When Biggie said, "Whoever thought that Hip Hop could take it this far?" I used to just sit and nod my head, unaffected by the depth of those words. Now I'm having my own "juicy" moment and enjoying every bit of it.

Drive is something that cannot be taught. It is not bequeathed to some rightful heir. It is something that comes from within. It arises as a response mechanism to unwarranted and puzzling circumstances. To put it bluntly, drive is the active form of character.

A year ago, I sat in a dorm room thinking about how much of my life was in the Shitter and how much the first half of my first mixtape would reflect that. I still viewed rap as a hobby and I recorded that first tape primarily as an experiment. I loved it, but I didn't see how I was going to convince myself, or anyone else, that music was the thing I should do.

This brings me back to that statement regarding China at the start of this post. After having opened for artists like Chiddy Bang, Mac Miller, Big KRIT, Nickelus F, Freddie Gibbs, and more; I now have the opportunity to go to China for free to perform in front of thousands of students from across the globe. Furthermore, I'll be accompanied by Grammy-nominated duo Kinetics & One Love who penned the chorus for B.o.B's Airplanes. To think, I almost threw all of this away for the corporate world.

After I dropped that first tape, HERE, I dropped an EP two months later named The Lucky Libra. We came up with the idea for the EP roughly three weeks before it was released and managed to get all the recording done in about twenty-four hours. I pushed myself to work under pressure and made my own arbitrary deadline to see if I had the drive, and the will, to continue. In my mind, if I couldn't meet my own deadlines, I'd never meet anyone else's. With only about a week left before the release we closed a deal with Upper Playground to have them sponsor the tape and to do a release each day until we dropped it.

It almost didn't happen.

That seven track EP showed me that I could make it through adversity. A friend once told me that "adversity doesn't build character, it simply reveals it". I believe those words are true. Having the will to succeed is greater than the obtaining of success itself. It is that willpower that allows success to be a not unusual concept to an individual.

Push! Push! Push! Make sure you're willing to deal with the worse case scenario of your chase or your chase will be in vain. After all, it is knowing how to prevail in the face of defeat that counts, not the actual outcome of the battle.

-Chance Fischer

MDNT Society = 1/4 of The Collective

www.MDNTSociety.com

THIS IS WHAT STARTED IT ALL...

OCTOBER 2010.

A note from Grape's founder...

"Check my hands and, more than likely, you'll see them decorated with colorful smudges. My shorts, my shirt, sometimes my face, all subtly dotted with dried ink from past print sessions.  Showers and washing machines can sometimes erase them. Pumice stones and citrus cleaners often face challenges they are obviously not prepared to meet.

Aching wrists from smartphone overdoses and squeegee pulls accompany my baggy eyes and cheerful smile. Such are the "perks" that arise from running a streetwear brand that specializes in thoughtful, hand-printed products.

Lack of sleep and a recent abundance of social interaction has led me to believe I am one of RVA's extroverts. Becoming energized in chaotic situations has helped Grape's growth immensely these last few months, and I'm proud to classify myself as such.

From product research to customer relations and confrontations, this journey we have began has brought with it tons of introspection, humility and angst. Deadlines, responsibility, organization (on behalf of our team, not me) and production are not even half of what it takes to make this dream come to fruition.

And I will do all that it takes to become successful. The bigger we grow the more we can help. The faster we grow the quicker we can help. And to make a living by promoting change is what we should all aspire to do.

We are truly blessed to have so many people assisting to make our delicate wheels turn... without y'all this ride would be stationary."

Iain Duffus, Co-Owner & Founder of Grape

Epic Fest - The Camel - Richmond, VA

Scroll down or click HERE to watch video footage