How did you get started?
Brian Sacawa: I started He Spoke Style about four years ago. I have always been interested in menswear and style ever since my father made me watch old James Bond movies when I was a kid. I’ve always been a very detail-oriented person and menswear is about attention to detail and being precise, with lots of room to be expressive and do your own thing. I sensed there was a void for menswear online—for a site that combined information and inspiration into something more attainable for the mature, professional guy who was interested in fashion. From the very beginning, we wanted to be a site that offers honest, relatable, and approachable content for the regular guy.

What makes your blog different from others?
BS: I think it’s the personality and the connection people feel to me, because I’m just a regular guy, whereas bigger publications deal with an editor. I’ve also done other web-based projects in the past, so I knew how it works, but getting into the rhythm of seasons and how things work in fashion was different. At first I would just write what I was interested in but, as we’ve grown, I’ve understood the importance of what people are looking for each month.

How did you come up with the name HeSpokeStyle?
BS: Originally it was titled Baltimore Style Guide, because like a lot of my other projects, I’ve started small in the community and branched out. But I had a good friend that hated the name and said I shouldn’t tie myself to the city since style is universal. So I came up with He Spoke Style, it’s a play on bespoke, which is the ultimate of custom-suit making. It wasn’t the original idea, but that’s the one that stuck.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of your business?
BS: You’re able to communicate something about yourself, who you are, what group you belong to, or want to belong to, simply by what you wear. We reach over half a million people every month now between our social media accounts and our site. It’s great to know that what we’re doing is actually useful to people.

What are some of the collaborations you have coming up?
BS: Right now were doing a couple big projects with IWC, which is a luxury watch manufacturer. We have a three part content series with them coming up based on a brand new limited edition timepiece that they have. We’re also partnering with brands like Otterbox, and Dom Perignon, and we’re currently a contributing editor to The Rake Magazine, which is the premiere men’s style magazine.

What do you see coming next for He Spoke Style?
BS: I want to increase our YouTube presence. I think there’s a big opportunity for us there, so we’re actually working on a couple different content series right now that are all video related.

Who is your style icon?
BS: My friend Giampaolo Alliata from Milan. He sticks to a blazer, pants, a shirt, and a tie. He’s this put together man, but there’s no flash. It’s all about subtlety.

What is your go to look?
BS: Simple and basic. For instance, a blue suit with a white shirt and a grey tie.

No outfit is complete without?
BS: The perfect fragrance.

What was the most embarrassing fashion trend you have ever participated in?
BS: Skidz. Do you remember those? It was the late eighties or early nineties when MC Hammer pants were in. They were these sort of very wide pajama pants that were plaid or had some kind of weird pattern on them, and then they had that traffic sign with the car skidding on them.

What is your favorite trend right now?
BS: I guess my favorite trend is actually men caring about how they dress and putting some effort into it.

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The night will focus on the blog’s most recent cover story, “Creatively Cool”—a series shot by photographer (and Baltimore magazine contributor) Jonathan Hanson, giving us a peek into the lives of 11 locals, who are all well-known and emerging in their respective creative fields. 

“It’s a Q&A piece, but it’s definitely a more visual piece,” Obineme tells us. “It’s the concept of selecting some awesome and unique individuals who live in Charm City, and embracing their style. Style can define a lot of things—not necessarily fashion, but they were able to bring in their own clothing, accessories, etc., and we styled them with what they had.”

RSVP to strangerswithstyle@gmail.com, put on your best cocktail attire, and check it out for yourself. And don’t be late—the first 30 attendees will go home with a goody bag provided by SWS. You’ll also be able to shop some emerging vendors and enter for the chance to win some special giveaways provided by many of our local faves like Brightside Boutique & Art Studio, Babe, Christopher Schafer Clothier, Scrub Nail Boutique, Oyin Handmade, K Staton, Sixteen Tons, Double Dutch Boutique, and more, all while enjoying Dooby’s complimentary treats and Happy Hour specials.

This event is free and open to the public.

And be sure to check out SWS’ Facebook page to see what’s in store—from new contributing bloggers, to SWS.tv, which will provide video content for the site, to a new e-commerce space featuring unique local vendors.

Images courtesy of Strangers With Style Facebook page. 

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You can purchase the tees ($18.95) at the Pressbox store.

For over a decade, Hannah has worked on many projects including her nostalgic yet exuberant design,Blue Milk Special. This web comic (which was voted number 9 on TopWebComics) features parodies of the classic movie, Star Wars, done by her and other artists. More of her designs include comic illustration work for Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock, Casper and the Spectrals, and Marvel Comics.

If you want to catch up on the latest work by Hannah, join her at the House of Pop Culture in Waldorf, MD on May 4th, the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 7-8th, and the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic-Con on Saturday May 11th. Check out the websites for more information.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the talented designer herself, and here’s what she had to say:

What inspired you to design this piece? I know the love of the O’s played a big role.

It was a love of both teams that did it, really. I wanted to do a piece like this right after the Ravens won the Super Bowl. I was so proud of the guys and how much heart they showed throughout the playoffs. I’ve been an Orioles fan since I was little (through the highs and the lows), and after the tremendous season they had last year, I wanted to do something to show the Ravens passing the torch in a way, and extending that momentum to the O’s. These last few months have just been an awesome time to be a Baltimore sports fan!

How did you think of the concept of the fist bump?

The ‘fist bump’ between the birds was actually the very first part of the image that I imagined in my head, but I went back and forth over how to present it. Originally I was going to have the teams’ mascots sitting together and fist bumping, but in the end I thought going with actual birds casually perched on a tree branch would be cooler and a little subtler.

I really just did the piece for fun to show my love and support for my teams. I was incredibly surprised when it took off the way it did online.

I’ve heard that some people were trying to sell counterfeit shirts using your design. How are you handling that?

Unfortunately, when something like this goes viral you’re always going to have people out there trying to take advantage. A couple weeks ago I was told that someone had stolen my drawing of the birds, removed the tree branch and my signature, and put them on a t-shirt with the ‘Your Turn’ slogan. My drawing is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, so my lawyer and I are in the process of sending Cease and Desist letters to the people selling them and trying to profit from my work. Right now it looks like these shirts are primarily being sold at farmers’ markets around Baltimore. We’re trying to get it taken care of. I appreciate everyone who has written or let me know when and where they have seen these shirts being sold. It helps.

Do you have other designs on the horizon for other teams?

Not at this time, but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it!

If you love art like I do and bleed orange and black for the O’s, then this is definitely and “win-win” situation. Let’s help the Ravens pass the torch to the Orioles so Baltimore can bring home another Championship ring, while also supporting a local artist. (All smiles.)

Source

You can purchase the tees ($18.95) at the Pressbox store.

For over a decade, Hannah has worked on many projects including her nostalgic yet exuberant design,Blue Milk Special. This web comic (which was voted number 9 on TopWebComics) features parodies of the classic movie, Star Wars, done by her and other artists. More of her designs include comic illustration work for Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock, Casper and the Spectrals, and Marvel Comics.

If you want to catch up on the latest work by Hannah, join her at the House of Pop Culture in Waldorf, MD on May 4th, the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 7-8th, and the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic-Con on Saturday May 11th. Check out the websites for more information.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the talented designer herself, and here’s what she had to say:

What inspired you to design this piece? I know the love of the O’s played a big role.

It was a love of both teams that did it, really. I wanted to do a piece like this right after the Ravens won the Super Bowl. I was so proud of the guys and how much heart they showed throughout the playoffs. I’ve been an Orioles fan since I was little (through the highs and the lows), and after the tremendous season they had last year, I wanted to do something to show the Ravens passing the torch in a way, and extending that momentum to the O’s. These last few months have just been an awesome time to be a Baltimore sports fan!

How did you think of the concept of the fist bump?

The ‘fist bump’ between the birds was actually the very first part of the image that I imagined in my head, but I went back and forth over how to present it. Originally I was going to have the teams’ mascots sitting together and fist bumping, but in the end I thought going with actual birds casually perched on a tree branch would be cooler and a little subtler.

I really just did the piece for fun to show my love and support for my teams. I was incredibly surprised when it took off the way it did online.

I’ve heard that some people were trying to sell counterfeit shirts using your design. How are you handling that?

Unfortunately, when something like this goes viral you’re always going to have people out there trying to take advantage. A couple weeks ago I was told that someone had stolen my drawing of the birds, removed the tree branch and my signature, and put them on a t-shirt with the ‘Your Turn’ slogan. My drawing is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, so my lawyer and I are in the process of sending Cease and Desist letters to the people selling them and trying to profit from my work. Right now it looks like these shirts are primarily being sold at farmers’ markets around Baltimore. We’re trying to get it taken care of. I appreciate everyone who has written or let me know when and where they have seen these shirts being sold. It helps.

Do you have other designs on the horizon for other teams?

Not at this time, but I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it!

If you love art like I do and bleed orange and black for the O’s, then this is definitely and “win-win” situation. Let’s help the Ravens pass the torch to the Orioles so Baltimore can bring home another Championship ring, while also supporting a local artist. (All smiles.)

Source