Just when I thought they were slowing down, Foot Locker comes with a new collaboration line. Combining Adidas classic silhouettes with legendary graffiti artist, Cope2’s fresh art. I especially love how the artwork goes even UNDER the sneakers.
I will have to go check them out in person.

Adidas and Footlocker did collaborate with Cope2 before on the End to End line (which is still available at Foot Locker)

More pics and the press release after the jump

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When I was 13 I was a totally obsessed with Majed Magazine, an Arabic kids comics magazine. I went as far as getting the Mandoob Majed card, I was hardcore.

I bought an issue few months ago and I felt all nostalgic and shit, I gave the magazine to my little brother who enjoyed it as well. He started buying it every week.

So he showed me the recent issue and to my surprise …

I don’t know what to blame it on.

So I found this animated flash banner somewhere on the web. As you can see, the “sections” get stacked on top of each other. The last one is either an adjective to whatever preceded it or just another section, depends on how you read it.

Never under-estimate the power of tashkeel, or a blogger with lots of time in hand.

My friends at Foot Locker Kuwait have always kept me in touch with their recent arrivals but few days ago we met for a dinner where they showed me a collection that not only introduced new design elements from the brands they sell but also is introducing a new strategy to restore some of the classic values that Foot Locker was built on.

They realize they cater to people who appreciate sneakers and adore them but also want to be unique and have a pair that reflect their individuality. So they actually started bringing extremely limited edition sneakers. We are talking about pairs you could only find 16 of in the middle east. I know Footlocker has stores in Kuwait (Marina, Avenues), Qatar and the UAE, I’m quite sure they have plans to open a few more stores.

Imagine this, you can actually get a pair of sneakers and rest assured no one will be wearing a similar pair or say “Oh my brother got a pair just like those”. Individualistic and unique people would appreciate this approach, I know I did. I saw the price tags on those and it’s seriously nothing a genuine sneaker lover wouldn’t afford.

I was given this pair of Puma Sneakers that really caught my attention. I love green and nothing can be greener than green itself; cash ladies and gentlemen or DJ Cash Money (legendary hip-hop DJ and DMC champion) to be specific.

It’s scary, the colors almost go with colors of the blog.

Read the full press release (after the jump) to have a better idea

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The other day, I was on my way to pick a friend up and I saw this. Didn’t get a chance to go in but I guess they sell what KDD makes, milk, ice-cream and all that.

Seems like KDD was really hurt by the Co-Ops decision to pull their products after they raised their prices. Opening their own shops would be the logical step but I just can’t see it happening, unless they have their own shops in each area in Kuwait.

Sounds like a good idea, right? One newspaper and bunch of student leaders couldn’t write more than four lines regarding the new segregation in education laws? Seriously?

It seems like, two of those guys have no problem with any enforced segregation, they’ve got their own thing.

Aww, how adorable.

Also, you gotta check this dufus who apparently was dragged from Friday Market for this full page feature.

I heard about people receiving things a year or two late. It’s common knowledge, we don’t have a reliable postal service here in Kuwait.

My question is; How reliable is it if I wanted to send something abroad? Did it work for anyone? how long should I wait?

I just came to know that one of my favorite restaurants, Sargam, is closing down. It seems like they are demolishing the whole building.

It’s sad, really sad.

After a relatively long-running teaser, I’m disappointed with the revealer; Burgan Bank’s new identity. I even thought it was a teaser for a new hospital in town (that picture of a pregnant woman was kind of misleading).

Burgan Bank’s logo has been pretty much the same since their establishment back in the seventies. With only little modernization retouches here and there every few years depending on the mood of the marketing team.

This is the most disgusting redesign I have seen in a while.

I can see the arabic “ba” letter (with the orange dot) but where is the “b”. I have a crazy theory, hear me out; I think there is a “b” but it’s kinda hidden.

The icon is a blue 3d ribbon spinning around and the continuation of it that makes the rest of the b is to be realized by the viewer. The only clue they have there is the sharp cut in the dark blue part. Also the gradual change in color is another clue; dark blue, light blue then white (which is stupid because the background color is white as well and not so stupid because, well, it isn’t really there).

Sometimes there’s a very thin line between stupid and genius. I’m not sure exactly what I think of the logo, I’m still somehow disappointed.

Wiki: Gestalt Theory

I’m collecting the remaining stock of t-shirts from Mukan and Bassinet. I mostly got it all here with me.

Here’s the plan, while the new designs and the new brand for (grace yourself) the new t-shirts line is all ready to go to print. I’ve decided, I won’t go ahead and launch it till I’m done with remaining stock of the old t-shirts.

Basically, this is your last chance to get your hands on the t-shirts before they are gone. I can tell you some of the designs won’t even get a re-print with the new line.

I know Mukan and Bassinet don’t have the best of locations. I know a lot of innocent souls were lost on their journey to find those shops. Considering the fact my freelancing isn’t taking all of my time, I’ve decided to offer a home-delivery kind of service for my beloved customers. Yes, I will personally deliver your order to your doorstep.

This is how I hope it will work; You send me an email of your order, provided you have included your phone number and your address. I will call you to confirm the order and agree on a specific time to make the delivery. Simple as that.

The t-shirts were being sold at Mukan for 8 KD, and at Bassinet for 7.5 KD. I’m gonna sell the t-shirts for 7 KD. The total price of the minimum orders has to be more than 20 KD.

Tata Botata Mugs will be for 2 KD.

Availble T-Shirts:

Um Kalthoum T-shirt (beige, black/ blue/ red on white)
Legalize Booze (red)
FBK (white and blue)
Rock and Roll (red only)
Tata Botata Logo
I love Jahra
Very limited number of that psychedelic design

(Keep in mind, I only have SMALL and MEDIUM sizes)
(BLACK T-SHIRTS OF ANY DESIGN ARE SOLD OUT)

write to me at; bighair [at] tatabotata [dot] com

So I lost my ATM card, and I don’t even have the card number to login and transfer the money to another account or something. What would any sane person do on a weekend, given that all banks are closed on weekends.

You go to the airport where you will find the branch of “The best bank in the Middle-East” open all the time and they will help you in each and every way possible.

So I head to the NBK booth at Kuwait International Airport, Say the following “I just lost my ATM card and I need either cash or the number of my card to login online and transfer the money to another account”.

Immediately, they asked for my Civil ID and they proceeded to do some phone calls. I sat down slightly relieved that they are working on it. Few minutes passed by and then they hit me with it, “we can’t give you any cash here”. So I asked “OK, that’s fine … just fetch the card’s number from your database or something so I can login and sort out my shit. You guys need to sit down for this. Do you know what the über-smart clerk did?

“You can’t use the card’s number anymore, sir. We just CANCELED it” so I was like “WHAT? Did I ask you to cancel it?”. “No sir, but if somebody finds it and travel outside they can use it like a credit card”.

Well, remind me if I’m mistaken Mr. Camel but isn’t it my own fucking money? Don’t you need an authorization from my ass to fucking cancel my card? Now I’m even more fucked thanks to the stupidity of your clerks.

So much for “The best bank in the Middle-East”.

Oh yeah and Mubarak 3alaikum El Shahar and all that.

• Yes, I’m back here (as in kuwait) since the 16th of May.
• I just started a new job (again).
• I have plans for the blog (still).
• The new line of T-Shirts will eventually come some time in the next 5 years.
• The trip was awesome, thanks for asking. I will try to write something about it (for memory sake at least).
• I still don’t have a connection at home (E-Go Zago)
• I will be back to teaching short courses on graphic design in SAE, The course covers the three main applications (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign). The course has a lot of hands-on exercises. The course will start this Saturday at 6:30. I believe you can still join the class even an hour before the beginning of the first lecture (as long as you have the fees I guess). Call them today (4826886) and ask for Ali or Pier. Yes that was a shameless plug sponsored by The Tata Botata Extravaganza.
• Bootyless Booty Call Buddy, Call me.

It’s 2 AM here in Denver, Colorado. After a week in DC we went to Huntsville, Alabama for few days and here we are packing our bags to leave the mile high city and head towards New York. I will post more details and pictures as soon as I’m back.

but for the time being I would appreciate suggestions on what to do in New York. I realize how crazy the question is. I mean “what to DO in New York” … Maybe I should ask what’s not to do. Ah … Sorry if I’m not making sense, did I mention it’s 2 AM and I didn’t pack yet?

Tata Botata, The Extravaganzaaaa

Moscowww … Ah … Washingtooooon.

More about that later

I was asked to speak at Art’s & Design Department at Kuwait University’s College For Women in Al- Adeleyia a while ago and I agreed to do so.

Today was the day, I kept procrastinating on what I should talk about that I only managed to write anything in the few hours before the lecture, hell, I even managed to do a quick slideshow.

I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the material overall but I still think it will be useful to them. I even asked the girl who’s coordinating the whole thing about the worst case scenario and what could happen if I just couldn’t make it. She freaked out and she told me that it might affect their grade and they’re honor students.

It became a mission to me to do this presentation no matter what, I can’t hurt the girl’s grade … I really can’t live with that especially after I gave them my word.

So I step in the classroom say hi and start plugging my iPod to the main computer to get the presentation. I was quite nervous the first ten minutes but I snapped out of it and I managed to impress myself. I really felt I was in control and I was giving the girls something they can really use in their professional life.

I talked about the job market and their real-life options after they graduate. I offered tips on the process of job hunting and landing yourself a job in an advertising agency.

Funny thing is, Just minutes after I arrived at the office I found this comment on my blog. I just couldn’t help but read it out loud for my colleagues and crack out laughing. I wonder what the other girls thought of the lecture.

It’s so dusty outside you can hardly breathe. The cell phone networks is messed up, I get calls with people’s voice distorded the sound like a robot.

Wish I can record that.

End to End is what happens when Adidas and Footlocker get seven of the best names in street art, lock them in a room for three days to design a street-art-inspired line of sneakers, t-shirts and accessories.

While they’re not available in Kuwait right now, I heard they will be available in Footlocker in a month or two. Totally worth waiting for.

Here’s a picture of my favorite pair in there.

Totally random!

For a while I thought this logo was a sun going down and it’s reflected on the water surface of the sea or something with waves.

Bottom line, I think It’s a head with two friggin’ faces or something. How beautiful.

I didn’t even know they had borders until I got interviewed there and we started talking about moleskines and where to get them.

The Funny thing is the way they censor things, they would show the whole tit but then with a small marker they would blacken the nipple.

I got this amazing Nike Airmax pair as a gift from a friend of mine who knows about my wood fetish. I would’ve appreciated a bit more colors (beige maybe) but the the sneaker as it is, is still awesome. It might not be clear in this picture but the sneaker actually has a part (bottom) with the texture of dark brown wood.

According to him they’re one pair of only 26 in the middleast and they were released as a limited edition globally too. I had to pick them from the Avenues’ Footlocker as it’s the only store that stocks them here.

Thanks buddy

I love wood. I love the color, the texture and sometimes the smell of everything made of wood. That’s why I picked this wooden toilet seat the moment I found it at Avenues’ IKEA.

It was quite a struggle to install it, I had to cut the old screws up with a saw. I had to put my hands in yucky places and touch things that been in the dark for years and … uh don’t remind me.
It’s funny how dependent we are on the net these days. The tiniest problem I face I go running to Google. I found few articles but this guy had pretty much the same one but the way he writes was quite weird for a how-to article.

Now my guests can rest their tushies on a proper seat.

Half an hour of happy stuff (the kind you listen to, not smoke).

Some of the songs are blunt as fuck, some are just so sweet you just wanna hear them cuddling with your loved ones (or your pillow). Some are pop and been heard to death some I bet you never even came across … I don’t know, I just hope you like them and let me know what you think of the mix overall.

Listen: The V-Day Mixtape
(Right Click and “Save link as …”)

My mom loves found objects and I think I inherited that from her. Few days ago while having lunch with the family I saw this weird looking thing she found while walking around.

It looks like the grave of some barbarian fighter or something. It could also be the cheesiest ornaments to decorate your house with.

You just gotta Love this man.

I just got back from The Avenues mall. I’ve always thought the location was shit, since it’s close to an industrial area and my thoughts couldn’t be more right when I struggled to find a way to get into the mall since I came from the 5th Ring Road from Jahra side. Anyways, after a long unnecessary trip I managed to find the entrance and I parked my car downstairs in their absolutely spacious parking lot.

I knew Carefoure is supposed to open there and everybody is waiting for the gap too but all I cared about was two brands I absolutely love and adore, Footlocker and H&M’s men’s store.

Footlocker absolutely didn’t disappoint, the showroom is way larger than Marina’s and it had an amazing collection. I was like a kid in candy store. They have an opening promotion too where if you buy anything you get a gym bag filled with some goodies (my favorite of which, a shiny red metallic water bottle). Talking about red awesome things, you totally got to check out that red sneaker designed by Porsche Design for Adidas. I just hope somebody wiped my drool off the floor near that shelf.

Now it was another kind of story for H&M, I was looking forward seeing the showroom design and check out their prices really more than seeing their collection as I have already did that when I was at their store in Mall of The Emirates in Dubai. Apparently H&M was so pressed with time they didn’t even bother have a standard for hiring people for the store. More than once I get approached by a salesman who’s unshaved, sweaty and really just plain disgusting as if they just came out of some garage in Shuwaikh’s industrial area. They didn’t even behave like the usual H&M’s friendly staff you find in other stores. Some guy was like “Hay abou el shabaab, keefak?”, “badak shee?” … all I could think about was “badi shee mino shino you disgusting fuck”. I just simply didn’t appreciate the shopping experience I had in a place that I really really love.

Ok, a big big update is due here …

After a year at my job in a regional, semi-international agency here in Kuwait I decided It’s time for me to move on. I quit my job on the first of February and I scheduled a break for a month to get my life together and have some fun. I already have secured a job by then and felt everything was under control.

Already 20 days into the break, I travel to Dubai for 10 days, catch up with the friends I made from the last trip and make new ones.

I cut the trip two days short and I come back to kuwait to find the job I secured gone and even plan B was falling apart.

I chilled for almost another month. Being broke to the bone, I still managed to have fun. I spent the whole time jamming with friends, going out and shooting amazing places like I used to. I was really happy, except I wasn’t making any money.

Just a day after I went out and I approached few agencies, I get a call from this Kuwaiti design studio. I always admired their passion for what they do. We talked … and I signed.

It’s my fifth day here and I’m really liking it. For the first time ever I play my kind of music on the speakers and everybody seems to like it. So long headphones!

I’m excited about this change and along with this I think I will try to make an effort to come back to blogging. I’m working on a redesign but you don’t have to wait to read my new posts.

I think a party is due, to celebrate the comeback and also to celebrate my first year of independence (since I moved out). Stay tuned.

One two, one two.

Is this thing still on?

I’m in dubai since last tuesday. The plan is to stay for ten days but I running out of money and power, and I just miss my cozy little place and my friends.

 I took so many pictures and I have so many things I want to talk about.

Oh yeah and I got interviewed by Siobhan Leyden’s fashion talk show on Duabi Eye 103.8 FM Station. Will post an audio clip later. peace for now.

So far, fucking good!

I’m still conducting more tests and stuff.

If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I will try to respond.