Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
How rad is it to have a friend who started her own shoe company? How rad is it that she would release a kick-ass Dinosaur Jr. shoe that comes with a 7″ picture disc of J Mascis covering Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You”? Hot damn! I had to ask Una Kim for more details about this shoe and how it came to be.
MW: I have no doubt people are going to listen to the record, which is a real dream. Do you expect to see guys out in the streets wearing the shoes or are they more like collectibles?
UK: I hope so, though purple is a bold color. I appreciate collectors–some of my closest friends are mega collectors–but I’ve always liked seeing Keeps on the streets. To each his or her own. I know I will wear mine. I hope collectors will buy one to wear and one to save, like they’d do with magazines or records. Keep one sealed! Since all net proceeds benefit the humanitarian work of Amma, J’s guru, it all goes to a good cause.
MW: How did you approach J about the project? Did he require much convincing?
UK: My awesome friend Tiffany Anders connected me with J. She brought him over to a BBQ at my house and it all went pretty easily from there. I am really grateful to Tiffany because this project, in particular, has a lot of meaning for me. Getting the chance to collaborate with Dinosaur Jr. is a like a dream come true, and when I listened to the test pressing of the 7″ I almost cried. These kinds of projects really make me feel stoked and appreciative.
MW: What was the collaborative process like? Did you run options by him? Did he throw ideas your way?
UK: J knew exactly what he wanted. His favorite color is purple so that was pretty clear from the start. And he liked this Guitar Strap Ramos that we had made in a previous season, so he got ideas from that design which ended up as an embroidery along the back of the shoe that was inspired by his own guitar strap. The shoe is very, very much a reflection of J.