Individual Sole

Bike riding is part of our San Francisco culture.  Upper Playground brings two of their resident artist, Jeremy Fish and Sam Flores, to team up with messenger bag specialist Chrome on these new messenger bags.  Jeremy Fish’s “Fowl Mood” design elaborates on the owl wallpaper pattern while Sam Flores’ “Angel of Death” work features one of his signature characters riding a bicycle made of skeleton amongst the clouds.  Available in limited numbers through Upper Playground stores, online store and Chrome retail stores.

via Freshness

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Upper Playground, The Loyal Subjects and Sam Flores have teamed up to produce Kid Dragon a unique 3-piece vinyl figure.  The main colorway went up for pre-sale a month ago and sold out in just a few days.  Now, Upper Playground presents an exclusive purple tonal colorway.

Unlike most other vinyl figures, the Kid Dragon is made up of 3 pieces creating the illusion of the dragon floating through the clouds.  Manufactured by The Loyal Subjects, the 10” tall figure has vibrant gradient blends and comes housed in a double-sided window box with a scenic insert card.  Limited to 200 units, the Kid Dragon Upper Playground color way is slated to release in late September but is available for presale beginning Wednesday, July 22nd, on the Upper Playground web store.

Upper Playground is proud to present the newest in a series of vinyl figures slated for release in 2009 – Dragon Boy designed by Sam Flores.  Known for his signature characters and fusing them with Asian motifs, Flores’ Dragon Boy fuses his influences in this new groundbreaking figure.  “I’ve been traveling [to]…a lot of places in Asia; I pick up a lot of things, styles and aesthetics. I’m infatuated with the beauty and architecture…the lines and attention to detail of everything.” (Interview with Modart).

Unlike most other vinyl figures, the Dragon Boy is made up of 3 pieces creating the illusion of the dragon floating through the clouds.  The figure measures 10” tall and the head, midsection and tail feature extremely detailed gradient blends.   Dragon Boy will come housed in a double-sided window box with a scenic insert card.  Limited to 500 units, Dragon Boy is slated to release in early September but is available for presale beginning Monday, June 15, 2009, on the Upper Playground web store.

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Just in time for summer, you can keep your head in the shade with two new hats from Upper Playground.  The June New Era 59FIFTY Upper Playground hats feature the artwork of Sam Flores and FIFTY24SF.  Flores’ Lowrider Rainbow is embroidered in full detail on the dome of a light gray New Era.  The other is designed by the FIFTY24SF team and it’s called the Betting Card hat, that features one sure way to win or lose big. Either way, you’ll be equipped for the game.  Both hats are available at Upper Playground stores and on the Upper Playground Web Store.

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Sam Flores is known for his instantly recognizable characters and he continues to carve out his place in contemporary art.  In this week’s edition of Walrus TV, the Sam Flores’ interview from Dithers is available to the public for the first time for free.  Listen in as Sam recounts how he got his start when he first came to San Francisco - all while he paints in his studio.  Flores also discusses his typical day, inspiration and what his ideal painting conditions are.

In conjunction with his latest show, Ego, Addition and Other Bedtime Stories at Subliminal Projects, Sam Flores releases Dragon Tree - a print that depicts the classic struggle between light and dark.  According to Sam, this girl is trying to hide the last beautiful thing left in her world. But if you look closely at the art, you will see that something sinister has just found her.  The print is 12 colors, screenprinted, on 100lb cover stock and measures 18 inches tall x 18 inches wide. There is a limited run of 50, and all prints are signed and numbered.  The print is available for sale at the Upper Playground Web Store.

The Upper Playground March series of New Era caps includes three new styles – each featuring the art of 3 San Francisco based artists: Jeremy Fish, Sam Flores and Denis Kennedy.  Jeremy Fish’s Bee Team cap is for all the kids who know what it feels like to get picked last for kickball. Buy the cap and strike back against gym class bullies everywhere.  Sam Flores’ Beat Cycle cap features a wrap-around graphic from Sam Flores’ 12Grain Line. In the simplest of terms, it’s an ode to the way music lovers really feel about a good record – they want to take it with them wherever they go.  Finally, Upper Playground is releasing a favorite among the cast of its scratch and sniff   characters - Grape Drink – paying homage to the last of the liquor store favorites.

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