words // Brandon Richard
Back in 2010, we discovered the work of Brush Footwear's Ben Smith, who was teaming with the Max Talbot Foundation on the Haiti Relief Project at the time. Brush is an art company filled with original concepts based on the concept of fusing traditional art with fashion. Since his Fall 2010 launch, Smith has continued his charitable efforts with the Talbot Foundation and worked on custom projects for Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Dave Mirra, Brandon Boyd and Mattress Factory Art Museum to name a few.
Recently, Ben approached me with the idea of working on a hand painted Sole Collector Snapback, which I was more than happy to take him up on. Given the choice of picking a snapback for any team, I rolled with the Colorado Rockies. One, because that's my team (don't check the standings, it's not pretty) and two, because I thought the purple-bordered Sole Collector logo would look great on the underside of the bill.
When the hat was shipped to Ben, he sent over a few mock-ups with different paint variations. In the end, I chose a black base, purple border and white "S" so that it would stand out when being worn. Ben concurred and started the process.
Earlier this week, the snapback arrived at my house and I couldn't have been happier. First, it was packaged inside a great looking custom Brush Footwear box, and presentation is always key. Then, I instantly took notice of the outstanding quality of the paint job. You can get a feel for how well Ben's projects turn out by looking at photos online, but seeing the work up close and personal is a different experience. Hand-painted, no stencils, real talent.
Now, I can toss my old, dingy Rockies cap, tell people about Brush and represent the Sole Collector crew at the same time. Thank You goes out to Ben Smith and Brush Footwear. Make sure you give him a follow on Twitter @BrushFootwear and checkout brushfootwear.com for project updates and inquiries.
