FULLER :: Phantom Of The Midwestern States :: The Official Blog

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR

2008-01-12T02:46:00.000-06:00

You know, I see a lot of folks posting their favorites videos on their blog. Got anymore room on that bandwagon? Slide over baby.

Refused "Rather Be Dead" - WHAT THE HELL is going on in this video? It's so random...or is it?

MXPX "Responsibility"
This band was huge for me in high school. So great.

Jimmy Eat World "Lucky Denver Mint"
Find me another band who actually outdoes themselves as time goes on, I dare you.

Park "Forming An End" DVD trailer
I know...not a music video, but they never did any offically. This band does it for me. Every time. I'm so glad I got to see their last show ever.

Blink 182 "Dammit"
You would basically hear this song at least once during any Battle Of The Bands competition in the late 90's.

Michael Jackson "Beat It"
I can distinctly remember going to my local video shop, frequently, and renting The Making Of Thriller on VHS. In fact, I got that same VHS as a birthday gift a few years ago. Let's just say there are more than a couple home videos of me as a youngster expressing my love for MJ through song and dance. Can we say "blackmail"???

XCHANGE CHI-TOWN

2008-01-12T02:42:00.000-06:00

Yo yooooo. Chicago website XChangeChicago did a piece on us. Much appreciated! You can check that out, and a bunch of other rad news here

OUR GOALS AND HOPES FOR 2008

2008-01-12T01:26:00.000-06:00

Two-thousand and seven saw the beginning of FULLER. While I would love to tell you that everything worked out exactly how we wanted it to, that would be a lie. And I don't frooont. We made mistakes, we buried our heads in our hands time and time again, we laughed, we got mad, we got excited and right now, we're more than ready for 2008 and beyond. I don't have a list of specific goals. That's ridiculous. I have aspirations. I have ideas. If they work out, that's great. If they bomb, so fucking what. Am I going to do these things regardless? Absolutely. Listening to others has never been my forte.

I'm going to continue to do what I'm doing and I hope you kids will stick with me. Best of luck to all of you in 2008 with whatever it is you want to do. Here's a completely irrelevant quote from Jack Handy:

"I bet a fun thing would be to go way back in time to where there was going to be an eclipse and tell the cave men, 'If I have come to destroy you, may the sun be blotted out from the sky.' Just then the eclipse would start, and they'd probably try to kill you or something, but then you could explain about the rotation of the moon and all, and everyone would get a good laugh."

INTERVIEW WITH KID SISTAAAH

2008-01-06T11:21:00.000-06:00

Welcome to 2008. I'll post my hopes and thoughts about this upcoming year soon, but until then, here's something else. No, no...she did not do an interview with us, but hopefully we will soon. We missed this when it came out, so here it is. Chicago radio station B96 interviewing the one and only. Enjoy.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2007-12-24T12:01:00.000-06:00

Whatever it is you're celebrating this time of year, enjoy it. Life ain't meant to come around twice.

THE LOOTS = ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITES.

2007-12-20T21:17:00.000-06:00

Every once and awhile, I'll stumble across a brand that isn't getting a ton of hype but shows a lot of promise and stability. Yesterday, I was searching through Karmaloop's Kazbah section and came across a brand called The Loots. While their style might share a few similarities with a certain other "The" brand, they've got the credentials to back up their brand. You can really see the effort and detail put into these pieces. Take a look at some of their pieces from their Fall '07 colletion as well as their upcoming collection. Really nice. I'm really looking forward see what else they come up with in the future.
(Photos courtesy of Karmaloop Kazbah)

COOL KIDSxRHAPSODY TV COLLABO

2007-12-12T22:07:00.000-06:00

These kids are going places in a hurry. Hate to say I told you so.

LEADERS 1354 SAYS "LIVE LARGER"

2007-12-10T18:00:00.000-06:00

Our friends down at LEADERS 1354 in Chi-Town just got in some fresh product from 10 DEEP. I like it, you'll like it. End of story!

BUY THIS OR DIE HARD

2007-12-07T09:25:00.000-06:00

Our friend Ezra over at All Souled Out just dropped a new shirt for the holidays. Read their statement below!

"A concept based off the super smash movie series Die Hard. You all know Bruce Willis' character, John McClane, aka Roy Rogers.

Anyhow…this t-shirt design was inspired by elements of the movie—there is a specific scene when McClane kills one of the terrorists – then writes a message on the dead guy's sweatshirt…"Now I Have A Machine Gun Ho-Ho-Ho".

We took it a step further. McClane was carrying a teddy bear off the plane from NY to LA. While Nakatomi towers gets blown to pieces Teddy sits in the front seat alongside the Limo driver rocking out to tunes.

We gave Teddy a pair of Vanilla Ice Blazers and let him kick back with a 40 oz while smoking the signature Bruce Willis cigarette. Merry Christmas everyone, now Teddy has the machine gun."

Here's the shirt. And here's where you can pick it up at: http://allsouledout.bigcartel.com

THANK GOODNESS IT WASN'T BLACK FRIDAY

2007-12-05T09:22:00.000-06:00

What would the world be without gigantic sized malls? Yesterday I headed over to the ultimate shopping center...the Mall Of America in Minneapolis to do a little holiday shopping (which resulted in me getting absolutely nothing) and also to check out a few nice shops. While they don't have any intimate boutiques, there are few stores that carry dope lines. There's also a little place called Camp Snoopy in the middle of the mall. If that's not reason enough, I don't know what is.

Yep...an entire world built out of Legos. Get into it.

Some Rick Klotz gear just hangin' out at Metro Park.

Sure, I'll have my Freshjive with a side order of Stussy.

WALE!

PIRATE!

This kid had the day off from work and got paid the whole time we were there. Paid...to play MarioKart. I love it.

The drive home...terrible. It took about three times longer than usual to get from point A to point B. I love the Midwest, but Jack Frost is such a DB sometimes.

OUR INTERVIEW WITH CITIZEN

2007-12-03T16:32:00.000-06:00

I feel like Blog McBlogger here, doing three in the same day...but whatever. So...about a week and a half ago I got the chance to interview Jeff over at CITIZEN, one of Michigan's finest skate/streetwear boutiques. Located on the infamous Woodward Avenue (also known as the first highway ever constructed), CITIZEN caters to both the world of urban/street apparel as well as skate gear. We talked about how he got his start, the current state of street fashion and of course...Bill Laimbeer. You can read the interview below. Enjoy.

KID SISTER DROPS "PRO NAILS" VIDEO

2007-12-03T14:32:00.000-06:00

Unless you're living under a rock...which I guess is entirely possible/weird, than you already know about Chi-Town's most flyest female club superstar, Kid Sister. What you might not know is she dropped her very first music video today for "Pro Nails" Featuring (never heard of him) Kanye West. You might also recognize a few familiar faces in the video. Be on the lookout for guest appearances by DJ A-Trak (AKA her boo) and J2K of Flosstradamus (AKA Kid Sister's...kid brother).

Watch the video here and become forever obsessed right here.

CTRL AUTUMN LINE - YES, IT'S DECEMBER...

2007-12-03T10:15:00.000-06:00

When Helsinki, Finland's very own CTRL dropped their Autumn line, apparently I thought that I had better things to do. Big mistake. I missed some amazing pieces. If you haven't seen their new garments, take a look. And if you don't think their reversible Flipside jacket is dope, you should probably reevaluate your situation.

TWIN SISTERS IN THE TWIN CITIES

2007-12-01T01:04:00.000-06:00

The fly girls from New York, Northern State rocked the crowd first tonight at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis. After a full set of real hip-hop, complete with tracks produced by AdRock (Beastie Boys) and another "Rock"...that being Pete Rock, those lovable Canadians, Tegan And Sara took the stage. They played the oldies. They played the newbies. It was cool. What more can I say?

...and thanks to our good friends at "the internet" there just happens to be some videos floating around of the these lovely girl's performance.

LEADERS 1354 - OUR INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF CHICAGO'S PREMIERE BOUTIQUES

2007-11-18T19:28:00.001-06:00

I made a trip down to Chicago this past Friday and chatted with Vic, one of the owners of LEADERS 1354, one of Chi-Town's premiere boutiques. Check out our converse below.

Also, while I was in Illinois - I headed over to Champaign to see one of my favorite bands play at the University Of Illinois. If you know, you know. Let's just say that I have zero complaints.

2007-11-18T19:28:00.000-06:00

HUNDREDS HOLIDAY LINE & OTHER THINGS

2007-11-14T12:15:00.000-06:00

From time to time, I'll simply post some images of new things that I like. Today, we finally got a peak at the new Hundreds holiday collection. I like. I like a lot. Here are a few of my personal favs.

Even though aNYthing introduced a hat very, very similar hat a few seasons ago.

All and all, pretty solid. There's also a nice caribbean blue, lumberjack plaid hoodie on their splash page. But it isn't listed in the store.

No complaints here.

DONEZIES.

DEDICATION

2007-11-13T14:35:00.000-06:00

Our good friend Shannon "Don't Call Me Mel" Brooks added a new tattoo piece over the weekend. This one might be our favorite one he has...

Can you blame us?

DONDA WEST (1949-2007)

2007-11-12T10:52:00.000-06:00

I was saddened upon hearing the news that Donda West, mother of Kanye West, passed away this past Saturday. It was more than evident that Kanye had deep admiration and love for his mother. My thoughts and condolences go out to him and his family.

I LOVE THE MIDWEST. BUT I'M BIASED IN THIS DEPARTMENT.

2007-11-11T16:09:00.000-06:00

Dear Minnesota,

Sorry about that 34 to zero win/act of complete domination today.
Love,

Green Bay

INTERVIEW WITH PJ FROM FLOW

2007-11-09T12:19:00.000-06:00

If you live in or around the Milwaukee area, then you probably already know about FLOW Clothing. They call N. Prospect Avenue home and with the inventory they have, along with their dedication to customer service, these guys are going to be around for a long time. From Crooks & Castles to 10 DEEP, from Married To The Mob to Famous Stars & Straps. These guys are representing all aspects of street wear and bringing something very necessary to Wisconsin.

Today I spoke with PJ, the owner and founder of FLOW, about how he got his start, some brands they're repping and the current state of street wear today. Check out the interview below!

FULLER: Could you give us a little background on yourself and how you got into street wear? Also, about how FLOW Clothing got its start?

PJ: Well, I am 39 years old, you know? We've been in business for a little over two years. I've been interested in doing it for about four. The reason how I really got into it was through Matt (Cook Clothing). You know he works for LRG too and he used to live in L.A. He'd be like you know "Come on out man, there's this clothing show going on, and this and that, and whatever" - and I would go out and hang out with him at these clothing shows and see all these clothes that nobody had in Milwaukee. And I'd come back here, and I'd go to whatever stores were hot and I'd never see anything I liked. You know, I'd go out and see three dudes wearing the same shit. So I just started thinking about it. I just kept going to these clothing shows and Matt knows everyone in the industry and he just started introducing me to people. And I'd go out to dinner with him and just say like, "Man, Milwaukee needs a nice street wear boutique!" We'd go around to Chicago and check out LEADERS and Self Concious and say, "Milwaukee needs one of these!"

I'd just pick up these catalogs, go out to dinner with my homies and just pass the catalogs around, saying "What do you think of this and that" and have people vote, find out what's hot, and that's it, you know? That's kind of how we got our start.

FULLER: What type of brands can people expect to see when they come to FLOW?

PJ: Well, we're loyal to LRG, because they're the people who kind of gave us the support and our start. Artful Dodger. Really dope, really high-end shit. I don't know if you've heard, but Jay-Z just bought it? Famous. Awesome, awesome people. The coolest people in the industry for sure. Travis Barker is a cool mother fucker. I met him through this shit, we're friends. He's very cool. He goes above and beyond to help me, and they've been steering business from their website to ours. I mean, just a very down to earth guy. Very cool. All about friendships and partnerships and doing the right thing, you know?

And we're the only authorized dealer of Greedy Genius in Wisconsin. That's a company we hope to see big things from them. I like them. Orisue, we're doing things with them. Last year they did really well in here. Dissizit, Leroy Jenkins, Undrcrwn...I'm just looking around here...Prohibit, Japanese companies. 10 Deep, Crooks & Castles. We're really going to be expanding with our Crooks and Castles next year. We're really hoping to do big things with them, I love their stuff. You know, they're still like, relatively new. They're still learning, they're cool guys too.

FULLER: You guys really have your bases covered then, right?

PJ: Yeah, I mean a lot of people are slow to catch on over here. I mean, but we can say we have a dope store in Milwaukee. A lot of people are slow to catch onto it, but the people that do are like, "Wow!" you know?

FULLER: Street wear is really starting to gain some popularity in the mainstream. What's your take on that and the direction that it kind of seems to be heading?

PJ: I'm all for it man. I mean, whatever adds longevity to my business, you know? I'm all about it. I was starting to wonder when it was going to peak, or if it did peak or whatever, but they're saying there's still 10-15 years left in it.

FULLER: Do you have anything else you want to add? Any other comments or shout-outs you want to make?

PJ: I would love to say "thank you" to everybody that supports us. Without the people, I could never do this. And a special shout-out to the Famous crew because they have taught me a lot about business and they do business the way it should be done. Like, real hands on. Never get too big for your britches.

2007-11-08T15:23:00.001-06:00

BRRRR...LESQUE

2007-11-08T14:10:00.000-06:00

The guys at Burlesque Of North America have been creating some of the most amazing printwork around for a while now. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota the company is comprised of seven individual graphic designers, ranging in artistic skill and style. Here are a few of my personal favorites.

Come on...CHEbacca Guevara? How can you not love it. These guys are good.

LUMBERJACKS = HYPEBEASTS

2007-11-07T11:35:00.000-06:00

Thank the lord that the lumberjack flannel days aren't over. 10 DEEP recently dropped these new fitted on us. I wonder if lumberjacks know how street they are? And it all started with the OG Paul Bunyan and that big ass blue ox.

SOURCE: HYPEBEAST

ONE ANTHEM :: T-SHIRT CONTEST

2007-11-06T21:44:00.000-06:00

One last thing before I leave the office for the night. This is what I submitted to One Anthem today for their t-shirt design contest. So when it comes time to vote, you'll know what to do.

YOU'RE AS COLD AS ICE

2007-11-06T21:13:00.001-06:00

BIG SIGH. We've reached a point here in the Midwest where I can no longer walk around the house in shorts and a t-shirt. Time for the XL shirts and sweatpants. I guess things could be worse though. Speak of the devil!

NUMERO UN

2007-11-01T12:50:00.000-05:00

This is my first blog. I'd just like to introduce myself and what I aim to accomplish with this. My name is Fuller Moehagen and I have an apparel brand called FULLER. We call the Midwest our home.

For a long time I've been interested in the aesthetics of street wear. It's fair to say that the street wear culture and style is more mainstream right now than ever before. With that said, I still don't see a solid brand representing the Midwest. That's what I aim to do. I want to let everyone know how much talent and charisma we have here.

The artists that seem to "make it" from the Midwest are often controversial. For instance, in contemporary mainstream music, there have been few acts that have caused more drama and controversy in the last couple of years than Kanye West, who calls Chicago home. As an individual, few have remained as genuine and inspiring as Prince, who was born and raised in Minneapolis. An artist, who some would consider as the greatest entertainer of all time, the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson...is from Indiana. What is it about the Midwest that creates these unique individuals? Artists who can't always be categorized?

Not only have these artists, among many others, been influential in the music world - but they have set numerous trends in the world of fashion. Which brings me to my main goal.

I aim to focus on both Midwest fashion/design and music; through written and video interviews, photos, stories, etc.

With my own company, I'm trying to represent the Midwest, but it all starts here with people. Along with these interviews, I'll be showcasing the work of other Midwest street wear apparel brands, as well as my own.

So thank you to all the visitors to this page. Past, present and future. I hope you find what you're looking for.

Love,

FULLER