January 2010 Archives - KNYEW Clothing Boutique

Thursday, January 28 2010

KNYEW x THE GOODIE BAG

KNYEW’s own Kenn Davenport aka Kenny Knyewtron (fellow partner & Quizno’s supporter) was featured in a great interview on The Goodie Bag site. As the face and backbone of KNYEW, I’m proud to see our boy repping us all so lovely (by “us all” I also mean Las Vegas!). Much thanks to “The Goodie Bag” for the love and support. Stay tuned for more from the KNYEW Crew!!! We’re goin on 2 years and we ain’t done yet…Crooked signing out.

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do.

My name is Kenn Davenport A.K.A. Kenny Knyewtron. I am the managing partner and one of the three founders of Knyew. I handle all the day to day operations including buying, retail organization, logistics, and customer service.

What is life like up in Las Vegas, as far as music, nightlife, fashion, and popular culture?

Las Vegas is a city like no other in a lot of ways. We are a hospitality / service oriented city, so nothing really closes here. Life here is what you make it. There are two sides to Las Vegas. If you want to drink yourself into the ground, lose your life earnings gambling, or party in epic style you can do that. On the other hand, Las Vegas does have a growing sense of community. Vegas is almost like any other city…We just have a lot of hotels, casinos, and nightclubs. Nightlife, Pop culture, and a lot of fashion run hand in hand here…It can be rather corny at times. There are a few of us here trying to buck the trend and offer Las Vegas more.

Tell us a little about KNYEW and the people involved.

Knyew (pronounced new) was founded by DJ Crooked (Richard Sung), DJ Neva (Evan Boyd), and myself. Knyew stands for Keeping New York Every Where. Crooked and Neva have been DJing here in Vegas for over five years, both gents are native New Yorkers. What kind of brands does KNYEW carry? We carry brands that are very recognizable within the street wear and street culture community. Brands such as The Hundreds, Crooks and Castles, Diamond Supply, Huf, 10 Deep, Acapulco Gold, Black Scale…To see the complete listing of what brands we carry peep knyew.blogspot.com.

What are some of your favourite brands out right now?

The Hundreds, I have a lot of respect for what they are doing with the brand and for what they are doing for our industry. I really like what Mega and the boys are doing with Black Scale. Acapulco Gold is also one of my favorites as well.

What new upcoming events or releases are you currently working on?

I would tell you but then I’d have to kill you. Just joking. As I mentioned we are trying to bring more to Las Vegas. We plan on continuing our bi-monthly party here in Vegas called “Backspin” where we play nothing but old school hip-hop, r&b, reggae and classics. DJ legends like Riz from Crooklyn Clan and local favorites like Five and OB-One have made this event a platform for good music in Las Vegas. Everyone looks forward to our “Backspin” parties and we’re proud to bring this type of gathering for our peoples. We also plan on developing some cut and sew pieces this year like button-down shirts, crew neck sweaters and light jackets. Our most recent t-shirt designs like the “MLB” and “Token” have been getting a very positive response so it only seemed natural to further the KNYEW brand by expanding into some outerwear. I have a few collaboration projects in the works too but I can’t tell you about those. Really.

What would you say are the most difficult aspects or being in your line of work?

I only get to slim it down to a few things??? For me the most difficult aspect is…nothing big really. We opened Knyew and built it from the ground up. We have no corporation backing us or a silent partner with deep pockets. We do this for our own reasons with our own beliefs behind it. Everyday presents a new challenge for me, nothing stays the same from day to day. Making adjustments is a big part of what we have to do in our industry. I’m sure there are “purists” out there that want things to stay the same. If that was the case we wouldn’t be where we are today.

The fashion and music worlds are often tied together…What music artists out right now are grabbing your attention?

No one really, I feel that a lot of music artist get their gear for free. So do all of them wear it because they love it or because it is free? That isn’t attention worthy to me.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us Kenn. Do you have any last words or shout-outs?

Last words are for death row inmates and we’re far from dead. Much love and respect to my Knyew family DJ Crooked, DJ Neva, and Jazzy. Props to Mega at Black Scale, David at The Hundreds, the whole Triumvir crew, Acapulco Gold, Benny Gold, 10 Deep, Sole Society, and all of our loyal supporters! Thank you all! Thank you as well The Goodie Bag.

Categories: News and Events & Press
By Crooked

KNYEW STICKERS!!!

As some of you may or may not know, KNYEW’s been open for 2 years now. Since our first day at the shop, we’ve had an abundant amount of requests for KNYEW stickers. Not a day goes by without a customer asking us “when are you guys gonna come out with some stickers or lighters”. In all fairness, I definitely put the blame on myself but it’s 2010…and KNYEW will be stickerless for no longer!!! I’ve been working on a bunch of new stickers including some of our past and upcoming designs here at KNYEW. These stickers are dropping sometime near the end of the January and there’ll be Bic lighters, key chains, tote bags and more dropping in the next few months as well. I’m already working on beach balls & hand towels for the summer so stay tuned. Be on the look out for our 2 Year Anniversary tees as well…Crooked signing out!!!

Categories: Knyew & News and Events
By Crooked

The KNYEW Crew 2009 Wrap-Up

KENN’S 2009 WRAP-UP:

FAVORITE TEE 2009:
Our KNYEW x Free Gold Watch collabo tee “Ace Rothstein”. It was and still is an amazing tee. The funny thing is the design work wasn’t anything we envisioned or planned for. It was a pleasant surprise.

FAVORITE GEAR 2009:
The Black Scale x Android Homme collabo sneaker. I have plenty of sneakers so there isn’t a whole lot out there that gets me excited but this collaboration piece floored me. I had to have them as soon as I saw them.

FAVORITE PURCHASE 2009:
Blackberry Curve 8900…changed my life in 2009 but I may need an upgrade for 2010!!!

FAVORITE MOMENT 2009:
My 2009 New Year’s Eve Celebration in San Diego with DJ Crooked at Stingaree. I remember kicking some Asian kid out of the DJ booth cause he kept harassing Crooked to get on the turntables. I’m still trying to piece the night together…

FAVORITE KNYEW MOMENT 2009:
Our “April Fool’s Day Prank”…I still laugh about it all the time.

NEVA’S 2009 WRAP-UP:

FAVORITE TEE 2009:
The KNYEW “MLB” Tee. I love how Crooked & our designer Sean incorporated the Yankee’s team logo with the whole design. I wear it proudly as a native New Yorker and business owner in Las Vegas.

FAVORITE GEAR 2009:
The HUF Plaid Button-down Shirts. The cut of the shirt and the fabric they used was absolutely perfect and I loved all 3 colorways. I’m glad that HUF is finally on board with the KNYEW fam.

FAVORITE PURCHASE 2009:
The Nike Dunks Hi Surpreme “East” by DJ Clark Kent. You can’t go wrong with anything in “Gucci” green & red.

FAVORITE MOMENT 2009:
The Yankees winning the 2009 World Series. I grew up in the bronx and passed the old stadium almost everyday when I was growing up. It meant alot to see them win the championship after moving into the new stadium.

FAVORITE KNYEW MOMENT 2009:
Its a toss up…one of my favorite moments was our “Backspin” party with DJ Riz. It was during the Magic Trade Show and we had alot of our friends in town to help me celebrate my birthday. DJ Riz played an unbelievable set of oldschool hip-hop, soul and classics…pretty great night.

My other favorite moment was DJ’ing for Big Daddy Kane at Revolution. It was a great night and he also autographed my original 12″ vinyl of “Aint No Half Stepping”. The record is actually displayed at the shop next to Crooked’s toys…lol.

CROOKED’S 2009 Wrap-Up:

FAVORITE TEE 2009:
The KNYEW x SKAM ARTIST collabo tee. I spent countless hours with our designer Sean to finish this t-shirt and make it work. The detail and symbolism for each icon that represented every DJ was an incredible challenge but we made it work in the end. I gotta thank Free Gold Watch for their amazing print work and tireless dedication.

FAVORITE GEAR 2009:
TRIUMVIR Flannel Button-Downs for Fall/Winter 2009. I love the color patterns they chose, the subtle logo placement and the tailor work and fitting was seamless. I have all 4 colorways in my closet and I wish I could’ve bought doubles in some of them.

FAVORITE PURCHASE 2009:
THE HUNDREDS Camera Backpack Fall 2009. I can finally fit my Camera and DJ’ing equipment in one bag. It makes traveling incredibly easier and allows me to document my excursions while I’m out of town.

FAVORITE MOMENT 2009:
Getting my DJ backpack stolen and returned back to me. I don’t know if this counts cause my bag was stolen on New Years Eve Dec. 31st 2009 and returned on Jan. 1st 2010 but it definitely made the year end on a better note. I have to attribute a lot of the credit to my twitter account which had a significant role in informing everyone of my lost backpack. I ended up getting everything back including my $3000 Macbook Pro, carrying over 16,000 songs and years of vital tax information.

FAVORITE KNYEW MOMENT 2009:
Our Black Friday Sale on November 27th. I can’t explain the feeling I had when I walked into the shop at 10:30am and saw people camped out in front since 5am that morning. Our neighbors at Quizno’s said they saw even more people pulling in at 8am but they unfortunately left cause the line was too long. I’m truly grateful that KNYEW has such enthusiastic, loyal and supportive customers. It drives me and the fellas here to always do better and keep things fresh…thanks Las Vegas.

On a personal note, all of us at KNYEW have to acknowledge the unfortunate loss in 2009 of 2 very great talents DJ AM and DJ RocRaida…you will always be remembered and respected. Crooked & crew signing out.