i decided to do things a bit differently this time, so i decided to take the vellum we always used for our other business cards and cut them square instead of the traditional business card size.  they will still fit into a wallet, but will stand out a bit.  and vellum just feels like a million dollars when you touch it.  and instead of having them printed, i had some rubber stamps custom made and hand stamped them instead of the usual method of having them printed.  if you decide to look up best business card designs, you will see that some of the coolest new designs are being hand stamped.  it gives an edgy, artistic, rustic, distressed, unique, “i wanna take this with me and keep it in my wallet” kind of vibe.

i found a company that i felt comfortable with that didn’t tolerate any mistakes (straight from their website, see their “about us” page) simon’s stamps and asked if i could order these in true rubber – unmounted.  it was not a problem, so i sent over my art work and had them at my front door in no time flat.

i also order some stamp pads and ink, and the colors i chose were from color box and the pigment choices were fresh green and sky gray.  i found after stamping that the gray was lighter than i had intended, so i mixed a little black ink in to darken a bit.

the big problem with doing a two color stamp is alignment.  it doesn’t have to be perfect.  in fact, that’s kind of the beauty of a hand stamped anything, the slight imperfections.  but trying to stamp multiple times would end up with a lot of waste.  so i looked up “rubber stamp alignment tool” and this thing called the stamp-a-ma-jig kept popping up.  this thing was cool, but would not work for this situation.  so i brain stormed it awhile, till i came up with what you see below.  i got some 1/4 inch red wood and cut it to the dimensions i desired, installed a hinge and a handle, i chose some that are used for drawers that i picked up on sale at lowes.  i found that i also needed something under the stamping area to raise the area a bit so that when the stamp was pressed it was completely flat, so i installed in some plastic that i re-purposed from an old 3 ring binder.  i had installed an “l” shaped guide, but i found that my stamp was slightly over-sized and would hit the guide and not leave a good clean impression, so i removed it.

after i stamped a few, i began to have trouble remembering exactly why i did them this way.  they look cool, but now i’ve got to stamp 500 of them!  why did i do it this way?!  i have no idea now.  maybe i’ll just stamp a few to give to some special clients to pass out, or maybe i’ll hire my niece to knock it out for me.  i don’t know.  i didn’t even do it one color, i had to do two, and then of course, i couldn’t do just one side, i had to make it front AND back!

so there you have it.  and now that i have the stamps, i can stamp anything i want to.  paper bags, etc.  maybe i should have stayed with one color, but i just couldn’t resist.  it just wouldn’t have looked as cool.  i may change my mind after awhile and break down and just order them already finished, but for now, it is what it is.  thanks for listening in.  i guess when you want things done a certain way, custom is the only way to do it.  i guess it’s just the creative streak in me.

oh, well.  they are done and they look cool.  what do you think?  anybody wanna help me stamp a bunch of cards?!

mr. fxr’s (mister fixer’s) iphone repair service.

thanks to everybody that has given us the opportunity to help get your iphones working again.  with our brick and mortar store closing, we are forging ahead with our mobile mobile iphone repair service (mobile² or mobile squared) cool name, but we are just calling it mr. fxr as that is what i do.

so instead of the normal 4 to 5 thousand dollars a month overhead we carrying at our brick and mortar location, we are cutting our expenses and if you live in the hattiesburg area, we will soon be able to come to you.

check out our new facebook site for more information and to be in the know.  and if you see somebody with a cracked iphone, you will be able to give you friend a good referral to somebody that you trust.

click here for our facebook page and be sure to click “like” and if i could ask you to take it a step further (lance), show us some love by putting this on your wall as a shout out, or use our share button to tell somebody about us.

so whether you spell it mr. fxr, mister fixer, mr. fixer… you now know how to reach me!

thanks all!

yes, we are closing our brick and mortar store.

going out of business, finished, done, fine’, quits.  the fat lady is singing right now.

this is a very limited advance notice to our customer list! as a fan of mankind apparel, and having liked us on our fanpage or given us your email, you get first pick on our remaining inventory.

MASSIVE SALE!
come NOW!

legally, we are NOT be able to order ANYTHING!
so if we have something that you have been wanting, what we have on the shelves is what we have to sell you. so either come and get it, or forget it.

father’s day is june 19th!
this is also a great opportunity to pick up something for this father’s day coming up – shaving supplies, colognes, shirts, knives, etc.

come pick something up for a great deal and at the same time, you will be helping us to pay off some bills.  you have supported us by shopping with us before, and now you have an opportunity to pick up something new that you been waiting on (at a great deal), or to load up on your favorite mankind items to make sure you are stocked up. take home some of your favorite mankind signature items – who knows, historically, what they may be worth someday.

we expect to see you before we close, and we also need you to share this notice with somebody else. facebook, email, retweet, etc.

we have had a blast getting to know all of our customers and for you digging our stuff. we tried really hard. we hope that we will be missed. show us your appreciation by taking some stuff home with you!  go on now!  get in your car!  we’ll see you in a bit!

thanks!

more detailed information…

as most of you know, we have had many issues with water intrusion at this location since we opened here and we have reached an agreement with our landlord to terminate our lease. this is a major crossroads with our business and we have come to a decision to shut the doors on this hattiesburg location. some of this decision is due to the economy and some has to do with other opportunities that we would like to pursue.

we are still going to continue repairing mobile phones (mostly iphones), but we don’t need a store front to do that. if you or a friend needs your phone repaired, just call me and i can meet you at starbucks, at your office, your home.  i’m still going to be mr. fxr. and if you need me, i can help. i will be forwarding our new card to you in the future.  to be kept in the loop, “like” our new facebook page for our iphone repair!  click here!

we are also interested in selling the mankind apparel brand to a qualified, interested party. we have been in business since 2004, and we know what it takes to start and run a retail business and we will be offering our brand for a great price. only serious buyers need inquire. this could be anyone from serious investors, the housewife who is ready to get out of the house, a young entrepreneur looking to own his or her own business, to somebody that is ready to fire their boss and hang up their own shingle (that’s what i did). start with this one store, and then open some other ones as you go, maybe offer a franchise or two as you become more established.

this offer will be a turn key operation including all mankind apparel secrets. from the signature items, buying connections, fixtures, signs, etc. to the website, facebook page, twitter, private email list will all be included. this opportunity also includes the rights to offer the business as a franchise opportunity to other future investors. we will be retaining the rights to our mobile phone repair and eyewear.

if you have any questions, please send us an email and we will get back to you asap.

regards,
greg and tracy (and oliver)

yep, i’ve had 3 different people stopping by the shop looking for garters for men.

never been asked about this since we opened for business over 6 years ago, and i’ve had 3 inquiries in the past week.

i finally had to ask the last one, a friend of the store – dominique, what was going on that everybody seems to be asking about these funky contraptions that i had never heard of.  he told me, that on occasions he dresses up really well and liked his shirt to stay tucked in and this was a way to do it.

from what he described it to be, i told him that sounded like garters women wear to keep up their unmentionables as i looked at him with one eye cocked.

he had spent 6 years in the military and he informed me that those in the military use them during inspections to really detail their look and it just stuck with him, only he had forgot what they call them and was looking for them and couldn’t find them anywhere.  so he had stopped by to ask me if i could get him some.

i pressed him further – wondering what the sudden spike in interest.  was it in some magazine somewhere?  show up in a video?  i wondered aloud if somebody influential publicly had highlighted them somewhere. he assured me that he was just following up on something he had been thinking about for awhile.  i still wonder if all these guys haven’t been influenced subliminally somehow and eventually the truth will come out!

as i thought about it further, i began wondering if this was to keep your shirt tucked in, or keep your socks up, OR BOTH?!  so i began my search to acquire some man garters for the store (although we promise never to call them man garters again after this blog).

so yeah, in essence they are garters, but since we are men, we are not going to use that term.  we are going to call them by their man name – shirt holders, or if i were military, we would call them shirt stays.

regardless of what we are going to call them, we now have them in stock and are able to procure them on a regular basis for this small group that is really annoyed with their shirt slipping out of their pants.  come to think of it, it is really annoying standing up after sitting down with a tucked in shirt to look like you just gained ten pounds around the waist, cause your shirt is now all puffed out.

personally i like un-tucked, but to each his own.  sometimes a perfect looking tuck is just what the doctor called for.

you may say “diamond point?” “what’s that?”
well, it’s similar to your traditional bow tie, but ohhh! so subtlety different.
instead of a flat edge, it has one pointed diamond shaped tip showing on each side.

diamond point bow ties make a strong fashion statement and are now ready to take the center stage. i picked up on this after watching the power players arriving at the recent grammy awards. bow ties are often worn as an elegant and dashing accessory to a suit or tuxedo for those special occasions. the true value of this diamond pointed tip is a truly unique way to offer a new twist on the formal traditional 2” bow tie. a creative way to exhibit the wild side of your character as well as still maintaining that traditional element of class. and these ties are harder to find, so you will find that you will be able to better stand out in the crowd, which is always preferable. a one-of-a-kind fashion piece. these limited editions are sort of the bow tie of the bow tie!

these ties are not pre-tied. you must self tie them. you may say “self-tie?!” we say always! who would do it any other way?! and why not? it’s as easy as tying your shoelace. and with the final result, you want it to look a bit asymmetrical, as you don’t want anybody to think you are wearing one of those “fakers”! and if you truly cannot tie a shoelace, we have a way around that too.

oh yeah… did I mention that we also have the 3.5 inch black butterfly bow tie too?!

stop by to check them out!

when we first moved to hattiesburg, mississippi from our original location in laurel, i was somewhat hesitant.  not because we did not want to make a big splash and increase awareness of our move, but for some reason, i was worried about the other locations in town known for selling mens wear – clothing.  businesses that have already had years to establish their reputation.  to a “young business” owner, that can be a bit intimidating.  kind of like when you were younger and your parents moved to a new city, which meant a new school, so suddenly, you are the new kid on the block and you’ve got to carve yourself a place or get run over.  well the kids on my new block were a variety of  businesses such as john white ltd,  steven mcb’s (now just mcb’s), milk spiller, s&k menswear, eve marie’s, randy price, etc.  a lot of great places, with some very interesting products – all of which are geared somewhat to offering products for guys.

so…  with the move, we were also looking for a house near the business so we wouldn’t have to drive so far.  we found a nice neighborhood with a house for rent and called the number on the sign.  after the initial questions, i wanted to let the owner of the house know that we were reputable by giving him a brief rundown about us, you know – non-smokers, not college kids, but older, business owners and that we were moving our business to hattiesburg.

him – “business owners?!” “what kind of business?”

me – men’s store.

him – “what kind of men’s store?!”

i began to think that the conversation had turned south very quickly.  turns out i was talking to john white of john white ltd!  ha!  so much for “sneaking” into town under the radar.  (btw – i don’t know what i was thinking.  how can i sneak in under the radar of these established business owners who probably rather i didn’t move my business to hattiesburg, yet still make a big splash with the rest of the community! – crazy me!)  anyway we quickly determined that the stuff that i sell and what john sells are really two different animals geared towards a slightly different target demographic.  he’s really a nice guy and i do send some people over there on occasion.

which brings me to another couple of really nice business owners who actually took time to stop by our new store (on different occasions) and greet us.  april bullock – owner of eve marie’s stopped by first, and later steven of steven mcb’s!  after talking with both i really liked them immediately and felt a kinship with them as we all face the same kinds of struggles with owning a small business.  i was really impressed that they had taken some time to welcome us to hattiesburg.

some people tend to have walked easily into the things that they own, because mommy or daddy gave it to them and never really had to work that hard for what they got.  i want you to know that it was not that way for me.  i have to kick and scratch for everything that comes my way.  it seems that for every two steps i take forward, i take one step back.  others seemingly have it together and make it look effortless without exposing all the blood sweat and tears involved with scratching your way to the top.  with some, you never really quite see behind the curtain. it seems outwardly that “one day they were a nobody and the next they were a star”  without really seeing all the auditions, unpaid performances, etc.   april bullock seems to fit that description very well and has earned her reputation the hard way. her inner circle of friends will vouch for her work ethic as they have told me so personally.  i’ve since talked with her several times about different issues that i could use some advice on, or to get her feedback on other things, and i have also stopped by her store and paid her some return visits (as well as some customers).   i’m very glad that she came by to meet us.

well, it has been over two years now since we (re)opened here in hattiesburg.  s&k menswear is no longer here, steven mcb’s is now just mcb’s, april of eve marie’s is now just focusing on women’s products (thank God).  there have also been a couple of places pop up, then within several months – disappear.  the niche of options for cool places for dudes to shop has grown smaller due to the economy in hattiesburg (not counting urban, or hunting places).  but there are still plenty of locally owned, small businesses that the people of hattiesburg can support.

so i want to thank you for over two successful years here in hattiesburg and we welcome you to spend your hard earned money with mankind apparel, or for that matter, any locally owned, small business.  btw – tracy is pregnant and your purchases will help with the baby fund!

so… come by and see us (or make some more clicks on our website while you are here), and as mark of milk spiller used to say, “we love you more than the mall!”

way too much fun! looks great plus it’s fun to manipulate into all it’s different configurations.

the 2mighty bracelet is the combined strength of two bandoleer bracelets in one creating a bold and distinctive look that also gives you endless possibilities for creative uses.

styled after the iconic bullet belts in military wear the 2mighty bracelet swerves and forms naturally to any size wrist and can also be worn as a necklace.

the 2mighty bracelet will not come off near metal objects because the pieces of the bracelet are more attracted to each other than any other objects.

the magnetic force will last a lifetime unless heated over 250 degrees fahrenheit.

warning:
magnets can attach together inside the body and could cause injury or be fatal. seek immediate medical attention if you or a child swallows one or more magnets.

stop by and pick one up, or click now! makes a great fun gift!

with more than 23 years experience in the optical field from fitting and dispensing to production to representing some of the leading brands in the fashion world, your prescription will be filled by a highly qualified optician with the expertise earned by years of experience.

board certified by the american board of opticianry as early as 1989, the shopkeep greg brings skills to the bench as one of the leader’s in mississippi’s optical arena.  greg has also been a certified speaker for the american board of opticianry offering approved continuing education materials to opticians in several southern states.  the experience offered in production includes all aspects of eyewear production from frame repair to crafting written prescriptions from your doctor into precision lens from raw lens materials on a custom one-off basis.  greg has also been the official spokesman in several southern states representing eyewear brands such as joseph abboud, donna karan, guess and calvin klein.  greg has worked for two of the three leading houses in the world that distribute these brands.

think of an optician as a pharmacist to fill your eyewear prescription.  we fill the prescriptions provided for you written by your local eye doctor.  you then bring that written prescription to us and check out what eyewear and sunwear we have to offer and we will fill that prescription with the exacting detail that optics demand in some eyewear or sunwear that will get you noticed.

having an independent optician fill your eyewear prescription is good business in many ways.  the eye doctor and the pharmacist/optician are similar fields of endeavor but legally separated.  there are legal protections set in place to protect the consumer from a “shady” doctor profiting  from writing unnecessary prescriptions in the optical field as well as other medical fields.  take away the incentive to profit from the unnecessary prescription and you will come away from the experience with a better outcome.

our lens are crafted by one of the best optical laboratory labs in the country, located in st. louis.  greg has personally used this laboratory since ’93 and even worked there at one point and is on a first name basis with many of the staff.  with some of the best optical technicians and some very expensive equipment not available at your local “one hour” places, they provide very detailed accurate work in a timely fashion.

several antique, vintage, one of a kind frames are also available at mankind apparel. these styles are many decades old, but have never been worn and some still even retain the original packaging from years before.  these styles can be modified for a more current, up to date look, yet still retain the vintage feel.

sometimes accidents occur to our eyewear and some frames are made of materials that can be resoldered together.  many of these repairs can be accomplished with our in house equipment with a fairly quick turnaround time.  this service goes hand in hand with other repairs we offer on site with watches and iphones.

we invite you to join our fanpage on facebook where will post photographs of successful fittings of our satisfied customers.

we do offer some products to browse on our website, but optical styles change too frequently to publish online, and we are a brick and mortar location mainly,  so please stop by today at the shop and try on some frames with greg and discuss your available lens options.

self portrait courtesy of ronnie monsour (awesome picture, thanks mr. ronnie) taken of him during his early years as a journeyman optician at work with a local mississippi optical lab.

zöld víz is simply a light, fresh, crisp fragrance with the initial clean uplifting scent of lime, basil and mint.  a cool, refreshing initial opening that relaxes slowly into cedar wood as it dries down.  some have even commented on smelling a brief flash of sassafras.

zöld víz is hungarian for green water.  if you notice, everything you smell is green.  lime, spearmint and basil are all green and even the cedar wood is an evergreen tree!

“what are those funny marks on those letters?!”

our brand uses a glyph over the the letter o – two dots ( ¨ ). this is known as an umlaut. an umlaut is german for “changed sound”.  it refers to a historical sound shift in that language.  it is an individual mark (glyph) on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written.  sometimes the umlauten is also used as a form of foreign branding intended to give the logo a teutonic (german) quality.  evoking the boldness and strength commonly attributed to the vikings.

the umlaut is also used to distinguish or set apart and like the fragrance that this is, zöld víz is a very distinguished scent.

put some in your cart now!

zöld víz egyszerűen egy könnyű, friss, ropogós illata az eredeti tiszta felemelő illata lime, bazsalikom, menta.  hűvös, üdítő kezdeti nyílás ellazítja lassan cédrusfa ahogy szárad le.  egyesek még kommentálta illatú rövid villanása sassafras.

zöld víz magyar a zöld vizet.  ha azt veszi észre, mindent, amit szaga zöld. mész, fodormenta és bazsalikom mind a zöld, és még a cédrusfa egy örökzöld fa!

egy kis a kosárban most!

precise automatic self-winding skeleton watch

golden japanese mechanical quartz movement – mesmerizing details
silver solid stainless steel case, black face, black dial with skeleton view
see through screw exhibition back
stainless steel strap
quality mineral glass
1 atm water resistant

spring powered by manual winding and also automatically during wear by the internal pendulum

220 x 42 x 13mm / 8.7 x 1.6 x .5 in