INTRODUCTION BY EDITOR IN CHIEF | KEVIN LITTLE, @kevinmlittle
WORDS BY BLADE CLUB ORIGINALS CO-OWNER A.J STEIN
The good guys over at Blade Club Originals have just dropped a preview of their new 2020 line and it is definitely their most ambitious and diverse collection thus far. Their new line features signature tees and hoodies designed by their team, collaborations with Stay Rolling and UK Blade Junkies, essential hardgoods like wheels, bearings and wax as well as unique lifestyle pieces like towels, wallets and their multi-faceted Blade Club backpacks. We haven’t seen this amount of work put into a blading company’s accessories since the iconic Senate Brand was in it’s heyday. Blade Club Originals co-owner A.J Stine gave us a brief run down of their new line; what improvements they have made in 2019 and also an exciting team announcement as well. Here is what A.J had to say.
2019 was a fantastic year for Blade Club Originals. We were able to add 2 new team memberS to our AM team; Jaro Frijn, our little Dutch park rider, and Kalléo Hipolito, the overly-energetic South American. We saw our flagship product, the Blade Club Camera bag, sell out worldwide shortly before Feburary 2019. We were then able to improve upon it and get our V.2 backpack shipped out before the end of 2019, now available in Oak City Skateshop, Loco Skates, and Clic-N-Roll.
We introduced our Blade Club Limited line, made up solely of shirts designed for our team; Tomek Przybylik got one, along with Jaro Frijn and Eve Jovino, our tiny stylish Spaniard. Together with our Limited designs, we created some new products that we’re wildly excited about. The first addition was The Blade Club Joey; a small pouch to keep your shit in; as well as our string strap sports bags and final completion on our whole line of chino and dri-fit 5-panel hats.
On the business end, we were able to introduce our goods into 5 new shops last year; This is Soul in Amsterdam, SENA RAMP in Tokyo, Carriers Shop in Texas, Clic-N-Roll in France, and Loud Minority in Switzerand. With the income we made from our retail sales, we had the opportunity to host or sponsor a few events. We had a mini ramp contest at MIP before FISE Montpellier, we did a winter session at Graylake skatepark in the Chicagoland area, and coming up soon we will have our pre-Clash session with Sven Boekhorst’s SB Events in Den Bosch, Netherlands. While we enjoyed hosting events, we were also invited to set up trade booths at Stephane Torre’s Raclette Jam and the UK’s Fruit Boot Shootout.
With 2019 out of the way, things are only looking up for Blade Club Originals, especially with the recent announcement of adding Joe Atkinson to our Pro team. We don’t need to say anything about Joe, you already know it all, and that’s why we’re hoping his addition will improve our name recognition and hopefully drive more sales into 2020 and beyond. Joe deserves all the support he can get, and that’s what we aim to give.
I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into what BC did last year, and we look forward to improving out company and getting more people out skating this year.
Thanks,
A.J. Stine
Xiao Xu Tian
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