Staple Design
Encyclopedia
Staple Design is a visual communications agency based in New York City
and founded in 1997. It has three main divisions: a clothing collection, a creative agency and a retail store. Staple is a full lifestyle menswear collection and is distributed globally. Staple mixes street-minded sensibilities with mature sophisticated nods to high-end fashion. Staple Design Studio is a creative consulting firm that has worked with many brands including Nike
, Microsoft
, Sony
, Lotus
, Timberland
, New Balance
, LVMH
and others. Staple Design also owns and operates Reed Space in the Lower East Side
of New York City
. Reed Space is often regarded as one of the world’s best and most innovative boutiques. It also features an art gallery, which has hosted some of our generation’s most celebrated artists.
, Photoshop and Illustrator
, Jeff quickly learned and eventually became a class instructor at the firm in less than 6 months. He then realized his growing passion for graphic design, dropped out of NYU, where he was studying journalism at the time, and enrolled himself at the Parsons School of Design in Fall 1995 to study Communications Design.
Following his calling, Jeff took on an internship with the pioneer streetwear clothing company, PNB Nation, and worked as a graphic designer at c.i.t.e. design. With school, an internship, a part-time job and a strong desire to communicate through design, he managed to materialize his budding idea to establish Staple by silk-screening t-shirts in his spare time. On March 7, 1997, Jeff walked into the Triple Five Soul boutique in SoHo wearing a hand-printed Staple t-shirt. The manager took notice and placed the first ever order of 12 T-shirts from the line. With Staple’s door officially open for business, Jeff successfully turned his one man T-shirt business into a mens collection as well as a full-service design firm; opening Staple Design that year and his own retail store/art gallery, Reed Space, in 2002.
Since then, Staple has gained itself a considerable following as an underground streetwear
company. Perhaps their most famous product were the NYC Pigeon Dunks, a pair of sneakers that they produced in collaboration with Nike
. There were only around 200 pairs released and they were exclusively released in NYC. Riots erupted at many of the stores where the shoes were sold, and Staple Pigeons currently sell for over 2000 US dollars.
Staying very firmly grounded to the values in which the Staple brand was created–sticking to the basic necessities needed in life, Staple Design has also created design work for Burton Snowboards, Converse, The Gap
, HBO, Housing Works
, Levi’s, LVMH
, New Balance
, New Museum of Contemporary Art
, Nike
, NYC&Co., Puma
, Timberland
, Uniqlo
and more. Staple Design describes itself as "a positive social contagion"...
Staple Design has worked in conjunction with many big name companies in creating unique products which showcase the qualities of both parties involved. In 1999, Staple Design began its ongoing relationship with Nike. Staple worked on the then novel concept of limited-edition shoes and was able to parlay that into off and on graphic design work for Nike. Often time his work appears without even a mention of the Staple name, which only goes to show how well regarded Staple has become as a design firm. They designed the Navigation pack in 2005 and the Nordic pack in 2006; both were considered classic general releases and had no Staple branding attached to them. However, the most renowned product-to-date, did come with the STPL moniker attached to it, in the form of a skateboarding shoe called The Nike Dunk SB Low Pigeon. On February 22nd, 2005, the sneaker was released exclusively in New York and had a run of 202 pairs, 30 of which were released at Staple's retail store, Reed Space. That morning, a large crowd gathered outside of the store. When the NYPD were called in to control the crowd, a riot ensued. The news made the front page of The New York Post.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and founded in 1997. It has three main divisions: a clothing collection, a creative agency and a retail store. Staple is a full lifestyle menswear collection and is distributed globally. Staple mixes street-minded sensibilities with mature sophisticated nods to high-end fashion. Staple Design Studio is a creative consulting firm that has worked with many brands including Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Lotus
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
, Timberland
The Timberland Company
The Timberland Company is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. Its three key locations are in Stratham, New Hampshire; Danville, Kentucky; and Ontario, California....
, New Balance
New Balance
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. , best known as simply New Balance, is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. It was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company...
, LVMH
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A., better known as LVMH, is a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris, Île-de-France, France. The company was formed after the 1987 merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy, a company formed after the 1971 merger...
and others. Staple Design also owns and operates Reed Space in the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Reed Space is often regarded as one of the world’s best and most innovative boutiques. It also features an art gallery, which has hosted some of our generation’s most celebrated artists.
History
Staple Design was founded by Jeff Ng, also known as jeffstaple. While in college, Jeff worked as an entry-level data clerk at a design firm. With no prior exposure to the design software programs that were being used such as QuarkXPressQuarkXPress
QuarkXPress is a computer application for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG environment. It runs on Mac OS X and Windows. It was first released by Quark, Inc...
, Photoshop and Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Illustrator is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to its competitors, CorelDraw, Xara Designer Pro and Macromedia FreeHand....
, Jeff quickly learned and eventually became a class instructor at the firm in less than 6 months. He then realized his growing passion for graphic design, dropped out of NYU, where he was studying journalism at the time, and enrolled himself at the Parsons School of Design in Fall 1995 to study Communications Design.
Following his calling, Jeff took on an internship with the pioneer streetwear clothing company, PNB Nation, and worked as a graphic designer at c.i.t.e. design. With school, an internship, a part-time job and a strong desire to communicate through design, he managed to materialize his budding idea to establish Staple by silk-screening t-shirts in his spare time. On March 7, 1997, Jeff walked into the Triple Five Soul boutique in SoHo wearing a hand-printed Staple t-shirt. The manager took notice and placed the first ever order of 12 T-shirts from the line. With Staple’s door officially open for business, Jeff successfully turned his one man T-shirt business into a mens collection as well as a full-service design firm; opening Staple Design that year and his own retail store/art gallery, Reed Space, in 2002.
Since then, Staple has gained itself a considerable following as an underground streetwear
Streetwear
Street wear is a distinctive style of fashion not to be confused with hip hop fashion. Its roots are in skateboarding and the "skatewear" of the 1980s. It was later adopted as an urban fashion in Japan before growing to an international business...
company. Perhaps their most famous product were the NYC Pigeon Dunks, a pair of sneakers that they produced in collaboration with Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
. There were only around 200 pairs released and they were exclusively released in NYC. Riots erupted at many of the stores where the shoes were sold, and Staple Pigeons currently sell for over 2000 US dollars.
Staying very firmly grounded to the values in which the Staple brand was created–sticking to the basic necessities needed in life, Staple Design has also created design work for Burton Snowboards, Converse, The Gap
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
, HBO, Housing Works
Housing Works
Housing Works is a New York City based non-profit fighting the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness. The charity is well-known for its operations, which have recently included outreach to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake....
, Levi’s, LVMH
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A., better known as LVMH, is a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris, Île-de-France, France. The company was formed after the 1987 merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy, a company formed after the 1971 merger...
, New Balance
New Balance
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. , best known as simply New Balance, is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. It was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company...
, New Museum of Contemporary Art
New Museum of Contemporary Art
The New Museum, founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker, is the only museum in New York City exclusively devoted to presenting contemporary art from around the world...
, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, NYC&Co., Puma
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...
, Timberland
The Timberland Company
The Timberland Company is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. Its three key locations are in Stratham, New Hampshire; Danville, Kentucky; and Ontario, California....
, Uniqlo
UNIQLO
is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer.The company was originally a division of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.. On November 1, 2005, it was restructured as a separate wholly owned subsidiary called Uniqlo Co., Ltd. , which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock...
and more. Staple Design describes itself as "a positive social contagion"...
Products
Staple Design produces a globally distributed lifestyle menswear collection. The collection is split into two main lines: Staple, which is mostly graphic and print focused with tees and tops, and STPL, their cut & sew collection.Staple Design has worked in conjunction with many big name companies in creating unique products which showcase the qualities of both parties involved. In 1999, Staple Design began its ongoing relationship with Nike. Staple worked on the then novel concept of limited-edition shoes and was able to parlay that into off and on graphic design work for Nike. Often time his work appears without even a mention of the Staple name, which only goes to show how well regarded Staple has become as a design firm. They designed the Navigation pack in 2005 and the Nordic pack in 2006; both were considered classic general releases and had no Staple branding attached to them. However, the most renowned product-to-date, did come with the STPL moniker attached to it, in the form of a skateboarding shoe called The Nike Dunk SB Low Pigeon. On February 22nd, 2005, the sneaker was released exclusively in New York and had a run of 202 pairs, 30 of which were released at Staple's retail store, Reed Space. That morning, a large crowd gathered outside of the store. When the NYPD were called in to control the crowd, a riot ensued. The news made the front page of The New York Post.