August/September 2008

Cover Story

Up Close with Designer Jeff Staple

By Anita Chatterjee

Manhattan police, surrounded by onlookers, fought hard to break up a massive riot. And what was the cause of the pandemonium. A political battle? A social upheaval? No. Just a group of determined shoppers, battling to purchase the new Nike "Pigeon Dunk" designed by Jeff Staple.

Designer, artist, and entrepreneur, Jeff Staple's work has garnered international respect. Staple Design, Jeff's visual communications agency has created products and logos for companies with markets reaching across the globe, all the while striving to create a visual style that allows his clients to communicate with the masses. Jeff Staple is a multi-hyphenate who communicates through all the different mediums he manipulates.

So, intrigued by his growing success and innovations in the fashion industry, I headed over to Staple's retail store, "Reed Space," in NYC, to meet the mastermind. With a homey urban vibe that makes one feel like they can chill for hours, Reed Space is filled with unique urban apparel, influenced by Jeff's personal style. In addition, Jeff operates a twin store in the heart of Tokyo also named after his mentor, Michael Reed, the former high school teacher responsible for sparking Jeff's passion for art and design. Despite all of his success, Jeff remains humble and friendly.

Dressed in casual urban attire, Jeff greeted me and suggested we head over to his office, located just a few blocks away. As we walked down to the Lower East Side, several people stopped us to say hello and shake Jeff's hand and it became clear that success has not taken Jeff away from his true goal; of communicating with the people. Once in the office, Jeff gave me the grand tour- of eclectic staff member desks and spaces filled with Staple products and designs. Still, the ping pong table affirmed the idea that although a lot of hard work was certainly done in the office, fun and relaxation in the creation process were not to be forgotten. We then sat down, so I could get the scoop on the man and the empire on the move.

TRIBES: How did you envision Staple design in the beginning? How did you engineer the start of it?

Jeff: You make it sound like it was planned and it wasn't planned at all. 'Staple' was created by accident.

Jeff was a journalism student at NYU when he decided to change career goals and focus on design at the Parsons School. Jeff's Asian parents were none too happy.

Jeff: "My parents were like 'You must be @#! kidding me!? You want to transfer out of NYU and go to art school?' And I was like…'Well, yes.'

So Jeff transferred to Parsons, where he took design courses, including a screening class that he acknowledges as the start of something big for him. The screening class allowed students to silk screen on posters and paper but Jeff wanted to reach a larger audience. He felt that ideas on T-shirts, messages on the chest, would reach out to a larger community of people. And so, though his teacher forbade it, Jeff began making T-Shirts at Parsons.

Jeff: "There was no initiative to build a company. It was really just that I wanted to get out ideas."

And so, Jeff and his buddy snuck in after hours, through an open classroom window, to print dozens of T-shirts that Jeff wore around town. In 1997, Jeff wandered into Triple 5 Soul, an NYC clothing boutique, wearing one of his original creations and was stopped by the store owner who was drawn to the T-shirt, wanting to know where it had come from.

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Also visit www.stapledesign.com