It's all in the collar...

I’m mad rude. I know I know, I hear it everyday when people inquire about why I haven't blogged! I’ve embraced the rudeness and intertwined it into my designs...in turn my style has become a little disrespectful and rude...sorry, I can't help it *shrugs shoulder*. I mean my style is just...just "different" some categorize it as disrespectful with a hint of rudeness but in the most respectful way, lol. It's so not intentional! But you know the rude? The rude when someone never speaks? The worst right? Well, I live by my brand... "Be heard, Bespoke" and with that I rarely speak but I will be heard with bespoke. Why speak when my style does the talking? LOL! *I'm not really rude, I just make clothes* 

No, on a more serious note. It has been a long while and I owe yall some fire pieces. I’ve definitely been sewing but I’ve been keeping them secret because I wanted to add them to the collection so I couldn’t show too much. On top of that, work is kickin my ***, but it’s only inspiration for me to go harder on the sewing machine...just creating my passion.

I won’t talk your head off but here is the coat that I was raving about in the video in "Face Fall Off" that literally had faces fallin off when I wore it. Gon get you some. I’m taking orders and the line starts after "dope" right behind “as h*ll”. Get it, Dope...as h*ll, lol. I’m a little corny from time to time...sue me.

...Be heard, Bespoke

And you already know that collar does more tricks than a magician...

Face Fall Off

So this is just a quick video I made, no editting (Sorry, I didn't have my stylist or barber on set... they were on vacation, lol). But this is just a day and life of Jag Saint Joi and the 'Joi' I experience when I go to the fabric store. I was extremely excited at what I found, that I had to record myself because none of my friends would answer their phones... losers, lol. But, I'm happy they didn't answer because I would not have made this video! So thanks to all my awesome non-phone answering friends, lol. You are loved!

But I had to set up this story because this coat is probably one of my favorite coats. I know I say that about all my pieces, but all my pieces are dope tho (pats self on back, Thanks God, you're the greatest!). What can I say *shrugs shoulders*

I'm not a videographer but I can hold down a sewing machine and any kind of fabric and edit, cut, paste, repeat and make up a dope clothing piece in NO time... with a little time left over to do ANOTHER homemade video. Who wants to bet on that? I got $5 on it!!

Be heard, Bespoken... Jag Saint Joi (@jagsaintjoi)

Feel free to comment...I welcome it!

Not your typical blog, but where's my shirt!!!

This would be a dope shirt if I still had it in my possession.

Story: I was sending this to my lil bro @ChiTwnPrnce for a Christmas gift to take with him overseas to London, Paris and Rome for the holiday's to do some sales for me. You know, trying to kick off the brand internationally (along with Jag Saint Joi accessories). Unfortunately, that was not the case, because somebody at USPS (United States Postal Service) or in his building has my Chambray w/leather trim custom Jag Saint Joi shirt on their back and clearly it should NOT be on their back.

I'm mad but not really (anymore), there’s always a positive to every negative situation. Although baby bro didn’t get his shirt, somebody opened the package, looked inside, sized up the shirt, thought it was dope and kept it for themselves. So, I am doing something right!!! Eureka! You know you made it when the post office is high jacking packages and jeopardizing their jobs to be Jag Saint Joi fresh (insert sarcasm)... So, I can’t say I'm mad, just confused (WHERE'S MY SHIRT??). But if I would’ve seen the shirt, I would rock it hard body too, so again, I can't be that mad. Whomever has stole it has dope style and a day and half fresher.

My only regret...I didn’t tag it...lesson learned here...GET DOPER and Tag 'Errthang! Word to the culprit, the brand is Jag Saint Joi FYI, so watch me work because when I see you, I will work you while the crowd watches me (beat the brakes off you, literally, lol (no joke)).

Be heard. Bespoken...Jag Saint Joi (@jagsaintjoi)

You got your sleeves, now what?

So, I have to be completely honest...when I was making this coat and it was at the “vest” stage I was convinced to stop and leave it as the vest and just add more detail. It was so dope, it was that one of those times when you’re stuck with two good options.

One is a dope mistake and the other is meant to purposely be dope. It was definitely a battle to make the choice, listen; it took me a two whole days to make the choice (that's a long time to put creative juices on hold). After I discovered that my style didn’t call for a vest, nor was I about to go and purchase a plethora of hoodies just to make a vest make sense I decided to stick to the plan. In this case my decision ended up being the best decision, only because I made the decision best for me! I went with my gut; my creative juices had blended up a concoction that resulted in a phenomenal winter piece that is once again, one of a kind, unique, functional and a Jag Saint Joi favorite. I say that to say a few things:

(1)Make a decision! Nine(9) times out of ten (10), if you’re confident in your ability, what you see as a failure will be one of your greatest successes...trust me!

(2) Watch me work

(3) This coat is one my favorites because guess what? My mistakes created the details and the details are Jag Saint Joi. I don’t pride myself on making the mistake but I do pride myself on making mistakes. Kinda like falling down 9 times and getting up 10. But this time around, my fall was protected by a leather trimmed, quilted down denim coat with navy suede elbow patches...LOL (sorry I had to laugh, it sounded fresh typing it)

You don’t have to listen to me, but I will be heard...


Details:
-Leather trimmed pockets
-Leather adjustable wrist tabs
-Denim piping on inner lining
-Suede elbow patches
-Bamboo toggle buttons (collar stays)
-Adjustable waist
-Functional Collar that operates in 3 different uses


...Any questions?? I mean really, really dude!!

-Be heard, Bespoken

Sleeves please...

Yessss! Jag Saint Joi is STILL in full effect! You didn't think I was done did you? Naw, you gotta know better then that. Because I don’t blog as frequent doesn’t mean I'm not putting in work. I’ve been going in! Knocking out meetings, sealing deals, creating, debating and cultivating a part of me that I didn't even know existed. For some strange reason this go round, things are different, in a great way tho.

Inspiration has never been so potent, so transparent. But it is! And I'm not mad at it. This collection is me, the part of me that everyone loves. Yea, it's possible, not everyone loves everything about me but it's one thing that you will respect and love about me...I promise you. It's like the money back guarantee, who doesn't have confidence in that policy? But guess what? Meet Jag Saint Joi, Jag Saint Joi meet quality the level of confidence that can only be express through fabric.

This collection is necessary! It’s the complex simplicity in life. The feeling that can't be expressed; only witnessed, so watch me work!

...But in the meantime, I have been creating pieces to keep the daily motivation cycling and healthy. Since the weather is taking no prisoners I needed a coat to weather this bitterly cold storm. So why not make a quilted denim, leather trim down coat. Sounds DOPE right? Because it is, Ha, check it!

That's not it...its more where that came from...Get Fresh Campaign just got fresher!

Jag Saint Joi - I'm Happy!

Bundle up in a denim Jag Saint Joi bubble...coat that is - collar popped, hands in leather trimmed pockets *hey, I’m detailed, literally*, I walk the streets of New York with my samples. All of a sudden I felt something hit me. It wasn’t that something actually hit me, but an uncontrollable amount of passion surfaced that could only be described in three words...Jag Saint Joi! A smile covered my face in pure 'Joi'! How do I bottle this moment, these words, and this emotion? Liberated yet flabbergasted, I couldn’t grasp the basic principals of how to even formulate the letters of the alphabet to create a word.

I felt so good in my own skin that I was jealous of myself. Laughing at the fact that this collection is a lesson in fashion 1(0)1 is bananas. Why 1(0)1, because...

...Actually, let’s table that discussion for a more mature conversation. I want to make certain you’re ready. So let me prep you, but in the meantime, I am about to teach and transform the whole game believer by believer, don't worry, I have time. Trust me! I’m so in love with this fashion game and the participants, it’s inspirational and plus I'll be here for a while, a long while.

See, you can either conform or be formed, you pick your poison but Jag Saint Joi will form and re-create imagines through fabrics. It will be unfair if didn’t share this experience with you, but a word to the wise, if you’re going to do fashion...lol,"DO" fashion, be heard, bespoken!

Inspired Inspiration...

They never told me when I was growing up that inspiration is conceived through anything and transpired from everything. Maybe I didn’t pay attention in life 101? I guess I could never understand that I was part of the “any and everything” that inspiration came from. Never knew that I could challenge myself...convince myself to be so inspired by the “me” within...no one told me ---- no one ever told me? Maybe it was meant for me to find out through the garments I create? Maybe that’s why each piece I design is a story in itself. Yea, you heard me right; each piece that I create is a story within itself. Jag Saint Joi is a story, an evolution and if you stick around, you will be able to evolve with the vision of a visionary and be inspired by your own inspiration.

This video is a quick video that was inspired by my own inspiration, I hope you enjoy, it’s a continuation of I Get it now!

I get it now...

I wish I could document everything that is happening right now, because this is crazy and this needs to be captured! I want to go back and relive this very moment when I need motivation.

*Thinking to myself* Well document it! Write down everything, anything that comes to your mind, every image, every story and every idea...it’s only healthy! As I open my Mac, thoughts spew and the inspiration is now documented...

Where did I lose myself in this bliss? Have I gotten so far beyond myself that I forget to blog more? Say it ain’t so, nah, def not in my character to forget where the inspiration started?!?! So what is it? I don't know, but...

...Have you ever been so caught up in a moment that your thoughts lead you into arena where words could not conjugate an explanation to describe the feeling? A state where the most important things are neglected because the love for the "new" something becomes the most important thing? CRAZY!! So now you’re juggling a lot of important things. Ummm, yea, about that...I gotta do better!

I guess it’s time to reveal some things that I have been working on over the last few months, huh? I have been busy, lol. I know, I know...I say that at the beginning of every blog right? Lol, so what...it’s the true, now what? *Tilts head and puts the mean grill on*. No really, no lie, I have been putting together this collection and it’s been very interesting. Things are coming along very well! I’ve tackled the hardest pieces (in my opinion) of this collection. Now I'm working on finishing up the rest, working on the logistics of it all. I got a plan and it needs to be executed in the healthiest way!

Spending almost every night in the city at the manufacturers, in fabric stores, trimming stores, going to different events, networking and staying up many nights sketching and thinking just to get the right design. I am excited to show what I have been working on. Let’s just say Jag Saint Joi’s vision is probably clearer than a blind man's imagination...(you might want to think about that, pretty deep, lol).

-Be heard, Bespoken...Jag Saint Joi

Controlled chaotic thoughts...

Hoody covers my head just enough that it falls at top of my eyelids as the light from the Mac illuminates my face. Oh and me, a little cold from the breeze of a cracked window. The wind blows the lit candle and triggers a movement in my shadow reflecting off the wall. Idle for about 5 minutes, Jag Saint Joi bounces off my screen saver, music plays in the background...snaps out of a daze and emotion rushes to my eyes but somehow the output of this emotion ended at my fingertips...

As I write this blog, thoughts are going about, ummm, a mile a minute, literally. Excuse these random thoughts, but the flow of my craft has now settled at my fingertips. This feeling is an emotion that seems to emulate a piece of fabric in-between my hand and my sewing machine: second nature! The thoughts that are transpiring have created a sensation internally that can only be felt by those who have been on this journey with me.

But through this journey, I realized I’m creating this vision and giving insight that no other designer has given. This is something phenomenal; respect my vision! This journey just got real, so real I began to understand the steps that I had already taken were already ordered. The people involved that I’m “meeting along the way” were already there like toll collectors awaiting my arrival: Prophecy! Divine intervention: an innate creativity afforded to me by someone bigger than you and I can imagine...

...but imagine this...getting an email from a very dear friend who believes in you more than you believe yourself. A friend that believes in your story and in your brand, more than you do. I sent a “project” to her for feedback for Jag Saint Joi, her relentless response:

“THIS IS ILL!!! Seriously, F’in ILL!! This is what I see for Jag Saint Joi. This is gritty, in the trenches with the brand. This makes you accessible to the public. We’re part of the movement. Living the Jag Saint Joi lifestyle. I AM DONE!!! This sh*t is SICK!”

...Talk about unprecedented hype and motivation (Thanks Kim)

I’m building up to a crucial story and it’s a reason for this blog...I got something for you but since I’ve release a beast that’s deeper than the crease in a tuxedo pant with leather side strips off a tweed fabric made by Jag Saint Joi, I’ll hold off on THAT story. I will expose the likes of my recent encounter in my next blog. I just served you a platter of Jag Saint Joi in the most vulnerable and innocent state that my angel just might be jealous because this post was so pure at heart.

-Be Heard, Bespoken...Jag Saint Joi

Creative creator...

"Is this really happening", I exclaimed while opening the door to leave the shop. She crossed my path, looked me in the eye, and as a complete stranger, she smiled and said, “Yes, it's happening.” With no idea as to what I was referring too, but she felt my energy and was compelled to supply the confirmation and tell me, "Yes, it's actually happening."

...and at the moment confirmation exemplified it's meaning so validly that it became an emotion. I was left with a smile on my face. It was one of the best and most genuine feelings that I have felt in a while.

The feeling rooted from a 3 hr meeting I had to discuss the merchandising plan for Jag Saint Joi. "Yo, this is a movement and Jag Saint Joi needs to move in the movement, we have the resources. You got it, so give it! The greatest gifts in life aren't the gifts you receive but the gifts you give. Sew seeds bro, literally." *When I heard this come out of his mouth, at this point I was lost for words*

Through the meeting and random conversations at one point he asked, "What's your inspiration?"

Ummm, my inspiration comes from everywhere. I think it's safe to say most of it comes from people, their personalities and way of life.

Well you mentioned your dad and the way he dresses. *In total confusion* I responded, "I think he dresses weird, because he is so structured but yet so unconventional...he is always dressed up but with no where to go, everyday!

He replied, "So you’re telling me he dresses identical to "your guy", the same guy whose lifestyle you want the Jag Saint Joi guy to represent, *but of course with somewhere to go*?" *Caught red handed*

Was my inspiration in front of me for the last 20+ yrs and I never embraced it? Did this guy just decipher the code I had been diligently seeking for years?

*Tilts head and looks up* I think the man that created the man that created me, just created a creative monster that will create creative creations just because the creator created me and allowed me to create this creative creation called Jag Saint Joi. So unconventional... read it again, and again...and again and I promise you'll process it. If not please inquire within *drops mic and walks away*. Watch me fly with no wings.