bootleg newsprint no. 004

NO 004

Bootlegmarket.comlaUNcH ISSUe

FEATURED CONTRIBUTIONS:

SARAH ELLISON LEWISMEREDITH BALLENTINE

ALLY LINDSAYJD FORTE

SEAN LOPANO

(ISSUeD)

2 3Bootleg Newsprint a fine footwear fête.bootlegnewsprint.com

letter From tHe eDItorSARAH ELLISON LEWIS, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER

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This issue is a rebirth, as well as a retrospective. I started the brand almost three years ago, a funny shoe store in an Airstream trailer. I spent a year in it, listening to people talk about shoes they loved, shoes they missed, things they inherited.

I realized Bootleg Airstream was a huge success because people could finally have an open forum to talk about their shoe obsessions and stories, so that’s what the entire brand became about – this publication, and now its global peer-to-peer online shoe and news marketplace – BootlegMarket.com … we have arrived. Go there to buy, sell, rent, trade, and stalk SHOES. It should satisfy all your needs, merging that online resale dredge, off-the-runway stalking, the discussions with shoe friends, and most importantly, a community of resale and sample sale shops to which you have never before had access. I only ask for your patience, as it takes time to get everyone on the boat. Please do take part in whatever way that pleases you, and know you can sell anything you can’t use, and set your price. After all, some of my pieces are emotionally priced, not priced to

sell. Shoes never leave the site, simply changing in status as they move from closet to closet. Each has a serial number, so you can easily track something rare, your favorites, etc. Finally, we will begin including all the data that’s ever existed about each design, a project that will take years to amass. We want to know how things were made, when, how many, every detail, and pass that along to you. We think it’s fascinating, and the massive footwear industry proves millions of you do too. Please do come along, and thank you … the best part of my day is logging on in the morning, seeing what new faces and treasures have joined. Enough business…

I must pair this rebirth with the notion of fear. I know, historically it’s bludgeoned as a topic. I try and forgive myself for being a late bloomer in every way, but the point is we get there, not how fast, yes? There are many kinds of fear. Each of us feels it in different ways. Its purpose is to warn us of danger. But it has manifested into a sometimes debilitating presence. Outside of the fear of getting hit by a truck, or any other strange phobia, it’s mostly a pain in the ass, and often our worst friend, guiding us into things that

had nothing at all do with our hearts. I see fear as a luxury, because I mind a lot less if I go down in an airplane versus having the wrong motivation. When we do things for the wrong reasons, it is an absolute waste of our time. So when making choices, the answer is always, why, not what, we chose. I love that I have discovered this personal gauge. For me it was the road to happiness.

The problem with fear outside of its always-looming presence is that it is often pretty sly, sneaking in and masking itself as something else. Fear has been riding next to me like a demon in a good suit. I didn’t even invite him along, but there he sits, waiting for me to feed him. “Excuse me Fear, but you were not invited to this dinner. GTFO.”…or, “Hi, I hope you suffocate. Thanks.” I often make a visual cartoon out of Fear, to be able to give him the finger. That takes care of it most of the time.

And then I go and do something as crazy as launch a massive company, and every single day, get so tired that I can’t look at myself, and then he climbs into bed with me, and then into my head. It takes a lot of damn energy to kick him out. And often, distractions, like … substances, activities. You know, standard grown-up distractions.

What am I afraid of? It’s not failure, it’s that I am not as gold as I appear. Even though the bulk of my life and time are filled with joy, there he sits, uninvited, waiting to spill something on my dress, trip me on the sidewalk, make my ass grow, my pensive brow become permanent. He loves to do those things.

My friend Vince just described success as hitting the top of a mountain, and having to climb down the other side. That of course can scare the hell out of us; when the major climb of our lives is over, and then it’s about walking on level ground. I have no idea how to do this. So I don’t fear falling off, even though I have hit a ditch so many times, I actually look pretty good doing it. It’s this: that without struggling, I won’t appreciate the most beautiful, simple things in life. I believe this is God, the space between us, and art is how he speaks to us. It’s always different, because we are all so different. A coral reef and a zebra and me. Our worlds are so different, yet we were all part of creation. So I keep making, keep creating, as I was made to do so. And I keep creating challenges, because I am made to climb, not walk on steady ground. It’s in the changing terrain where I find beauty and meaning.

Bear with me here…

Love for me is being changed by our greatest teachers. It’s when someone holds us close enough to care enough to change and be changed. We grow this way, and this is our oxygen. True love is sharing with this person, for hopefully a very long time. But love is in many forms. Sometimes love can change and continue changing, whether that person is close by, or gone from the earth. That’s why death doesn’t even kill love. Because the reflection becomes our way of thinking, and once someone changes the way we think and see about things, forever, it becomes who we are. Regardless of circumstances.

I bring this up for a few reasons:1. True love brought me to this place, and

it will be with me on every journey;2. This journey was not possible

without the people around me, as we grow together;

3. I dedicate this issue to a dear friend who is no longer beside us, but left this world two days before I wrote this.

Shelly lost her battle to disease, and it took a decade to take her down. I am lucky enough to have been touched by this person who lived in the present … who lacked that self-awareness that’s so debilitating and consuming. She always seemed to have the spirit of the little girl inside her, and she didn’t seem to ever be visited by fear. This is love … meeting her, and being changed by her reflection on me. She is gone now, but what remains is the way she changed us.

This brand could die, money could be “wasted,” people we love can choose to not spend their days with us. Circumstances can change the day to day, but what remains is what has been changed.

I dedicate the issue to Shelly, a Texas star who loved to travel, spend time with her family and partner, who loved cooking, taking care of others, and was stunning inside and out. You will be missed. But you remain.

Thank you to all of you who were generous enough to change me. Investors, family, my beloved, God, strangers.

I hope you are able to see a bit of this magic in these pages. It’s a true labor of love.

Sarah

LEFT:Image by Bill Sallans

ALLY LINDSAYPhotographerbootlegmarket.com

It’s not often we see young talent conquering digital imagery with such a unique point of view. A Brooklyn resident with Michigan roots, Ally Lindsay brings a refined authenticity to her imagery.

With a bachelor of fine arts from Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, she cites her unique experience there as helping form her point of view. She considers herself a documentary fashion photographer.

lINDSaY“I try to look beyond the frame into the essence of the moment that gives a feeling about the fashion or person, rather than just capturing an outfit or an accessory,” said Lindsay. “I like to capture how a woman walks in her shoes, rather than just the shoes themselves.”

Her strengths are clear in her fashion week coverage, as she continually provides a moving insight into those priceless moments and details surrounding collection presentations. Though not unassuming, her presence is adamant, as she sets aside her self-

PG.54awareness to document details one couldn’t possibly notice at first glance, or even with simple portraits. She is veracious and vivacious, fitting in with all the characters surrounding her, yet all her own, as she has very unique objectives.

We believe her vision is wholly her own, and look forward to seeing her thrive in an industry constantly moving and evolving. As the masters concede out of film and into digital, and the new guard learns how to apply history to their own digital contexts, we watch with respectful eyes, as it’s our favorite thing to do.

JD FORTEPhotographerjdfortestudio.com

Photography has been JD Forte’s passion since age ten. An avid daydreamer, he has always found a way to translate his fantasies into a living image. People dream of money, glamour, fashion and fame, and JD believes a photograph can transport the viewer to this, culminating all these desires into a single moment. JD creates images that allow the audience to daydream and forget the troubles of reality, if only for a few moments.

ForteHow did you get into photography?I got in a lot of trouble as a kid, and my parents sent me to talk to an art teacher that was known for working with kids and helping them find their place. He gave me a camera at the age of ten and taught me how to develop film and print images in a darkroom that we put together in the bathroom of his cottage. He took me to see exhibits with work from some of the masters, like Ansel Adams, Sebastião Salgado, and Richard Avedon, and I was hooked.

PG. 124What is the biggest influence on your point of view?I’m just trying to get everything that I’ve ever dreamed about without fucking anyone over and still being a good guy. You can be cool and be the best at something. That’s what I’m going for.

Who is your biggest mentor in life or work?I am just very fortunate to have been raised by the most open minded and supportive people that I have ever met, my parents, my mentor Nick, and my older brother Zac.

MEREDITH BALLENTINEassistant to the Founder : market Directorbootlegmarket.com

Meredith is a rare talent, who I first met when she came into the Airstream for some R&R, rambling on about her malaise at the time. In about ten minutes I realized she was a pretty rare creature, refusing to leave her life in Austin to be challenged in her career. It’s a conundrum a lot of amazing people run into in Austin.

BalleNtINe(People look at me funny all the time: “OH, Austin … hmmmm, it’s not, you know, LA or NYC…” Duh

… thank heavens. People in Austin generally have beautiful priorities.)

Anywhoo, I grabbed her and hired her, and she has been an enormous delight, continuing to surprise me with her ability to conquer … so much so that I cannot properly give her a title. Second in command is her current place, and she is a

PG. 06reason this stuff all comes to life. She has a journalism degree (my favorite, someone who can copy edit!) from the University of Texas, but also boasts graphic design skills, and is proven to be a strong photo editor. She has created our precious ‘company collages’ … part of our branding is mood board-ing, like we do on set, in the Airstream, on our office walls…

- Sarah

FRONT & BACK:Image by JD ForteStyling by Sarah ellison lewismodel evelina mambetova,

Silent models NYHair by David colvin,

davidcolvinhair.com

makeup by kanako takasePhoto assistance by Brett SeamansDigital tech by lucy lottmetromotion Studio

FRONT COVER:chain kerchief collar by michael

Schmidt, michaelschmidtstudios.comBra by VPlknickers by topShopBoots by tania Spinelli

BACK COVER:Hat by Studio Sensi

SEAN LOPANODesign & Brand Directorlopano.com

Sean is a strategic brand and identity designer living and working in New York City.

Having spent much of his life between the wide, earthy spaces of Texas and the compact, luxurious grid of New York City, Sean creates visual communications that clearly

loPaNoand uniquely express this duality. The resulting work is a seemingly simple execution enhanced by subtle emotional and evocative layers. It is always bold, clean, and compelling—carrying with it a sense of dramatic minimalism, like a West Texas landscape.

For the last two years, Sean has helped create, direct, and manage the Bootleg brand. With a masters in branding from the School of

allVisual Arts, he has taken Bootleg from its beginnings as a logo on an Airstream trailer and a killer fashion newspaper to the future of online, peer-based fashion retail. Bootleg has become one of his treasured projects; indeed, it is one of his greatest loves.

Sean also loves chocolate, vintage boots, typefaces, cameras, the beach, oysters, and cowboys.


Individual and brand vendors can showcase their shoe collections via a Bootleg market closet. Soon, these virtual “closets” will become so much more - buy/sell launches this spring!

BUYSellreNttraDeoBSeSSStalkSHoeS!

list shoe details, and share each pair’s history. We all know behind every great shoe is an even better story.

Bootlegmarket.com launched in private

beta this winter. Join us - and be one

of the first to load your shoe closet - as we build toward our spring 2013 launch!

our love of shoes has led us to this place.

Shoes are timeless storytellers. Each new pair has the potential to write history, and every pair has a history worth sharing. Each closet is a treasure box of these stories, reflecting the personal journey of its owner. Today, we are proud to be launching Bootleg Market, the most amazing shoe cathedral in

the universe, curated from private closets, unique collections, and special designers around the world.In the past several weeks, we launched in private beta with a hand-selected community of exquisite shoe addicts just like you. Editors. Collectors. Tastemakers. Journalists. Stylists. Designers. The magnificently obsessed. Now, we are opening up the market to others

- giving you the power to add your closet to the mix.

Over the next month, we want you to join us. Share your collection. Tell your story. Look through the store window and imagine the possibilities. Obsess about the shoes you want to hold in your hands. Stalk other closets with stories and treasures that speak to you.

In March, we will open the doors of the store for eCommerce. You will be able to offer precious pairs – new or vintage – to others who will understand the blessing of owning them. You may purchase the shoes that will help define the next chapter of your journey. Sign up, list your loot, and together we will rewrite today’s narrative of the endless world of beautiful footwear.

Bootleg market


Over the past few years, Bootleg has grown from happy, humblebeginnings to what is now a three-part brand. For the love of shoesand beautiful things - Airstream, Newsprint, Market:bootlegmarket.com. We’re a different kind of startup, with Texas roots(and hearts) peacocking on NYC legs, offices in three cities andcounting.

The day after returning from Paris Fashion Week, we embarked on anAirstream Tour from Marfa to

Nashville and back. A videographer,production team, photographer, 34-foot RV, the Airstream...

We returned “shredded wheat,” as Sarah would say, but I wouldn’t tradea minute of it. The memories are priceless, the photos so good I haveto remind myself to breathe. Collaging more than two years of companyhistory into four pages is... challenging. Hundreds of beautifulimages mean endless paths to amazing, yet it deeply pained me eachtime I replaced one in favor of

another. Like picking a favorite shoe... impossible. Here’s a glimpse behind the scenes of baby Bootleg .All for the joy of shoes shoes shoes.

- Meredith

images by ally lindsay, Sarah ellison lewis, and meredith Ballentine.

MEREDITH BALLENTINE

NO 004.01


Me and Los Angeles have not been great friends in the past, but a lot of people I care about are finding their way there, so I follow. Work calls as well, which is a lovely surprise. To confess, I am not really happy around people who live on wheat grass and skin treatments. I much prefer a diner with old men, the kind who have never had a facial. I find interest in folks with a generally light and loving heart, not peers who spend their days consumed with their reflection. So curating my LA crew has been a project. I am happy to say I have found an accepting mishmash of friends, so I look forward to making memories there, including learning the endless neighborhoods, clever Silver Lake nooks, the diverse never-ending architecture, and most exciting,

learning art history from a different cultural factory than NYC.

We were in LA shooting amazing ladies and their shoe closets during its coldest days of the year; it’s funny to see locals bundled under palm trees. I had a very strict schedule, and despite my lack of sleep visited the Pasadena flea market at the Rose Bowl, held Sundays only, two days a month. I have spent my life following my mother around at these, treasure hunting. This is certainly in my top ten of shows, as the product is regional, and to scale. Ie, there’s room for massive mid-century furniture and used surfboards.

I was there late summer for a bit styling for MTV’s “Made” too, which took us to Universal Studios with

teen stars, as I coached a girl styling the band IM5. My favorite memory is filling my nieces autograph book with all the Disney Channel stars she adores. When I gave it to her, she was so excited that tears projected from her eyes. (Score one for Sisi.)

My affections for LA are visually summarized in Dennis Hopper’s photo archive. He’s originally from Kansas, and became an integral part of 60s Hollywood, Easy Rider, and the like. He shot images of his life starting at this time, but a retrospective was not published until recently. For me the most beautiful photography is journalistic, so his motivations to just shoot along the way forms my visual understanding of the entire culture, much like SoHo was to NYC in the 70s.

Finally, “La Cienega” is an anchor in my LA landmarks, as it means “the swamp.” It was established as a Mexican land grant, f looded by the river, and slowly dried up. If you haven’t heard Ryan Adams’ song “La Cienega Just Smiled,” please do. I leave to you to interpret for yourself, but can say it’s worth the listen. I take this road every time into and out of the city, potholes and all, avoiding the freeway, as I always go against the grain, to revisit these thoughts, feelings, details. Hard heads make soft butts, Daddy says.

SARAH ELLISON LEWIS:

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

L A-nat ive beaut iful Anne Ziegler’s convert ed coat closet. L ook for t he full feat ure at boot legmarket.com.


Clockwise from top lef t : L .A.-based Jerome Rousseau / Anne Ziegler’s Dries Van N oton heels and misc Sigerson Morrison flats / one of many of Michelle Vink’s Camilla Skovgaard sandals(see full feat ures at boot legmarket.com spring 2013)


Jerome Rousseau’s sneakers, a gif t, and he is st ill unsure who sent them.


This is what it looks like to enter t he Rose Bowl at 7:45 a.m.


www.scot tcoppersmithdesigns.com


Krist ina Dechter’s living room, Silver Lake.


Top: L D Tut t le’s work in progress. Bot tom: L D Tut t le. Right: Krist ina Dechter’s most worn boot ies.


L D Tut t le’s studio.


L D Tut t le moodboard


A piece by local art ist Ishi Glinsky


We’ve seen a few palet t e t rucks, but this one is … huge.


NO 004.03

FaSHIoNWeek(NeW York

& ParIS)BY: ALLY LINDSAY


Paris


Grand Life Hotels “This is N Y ” party, Paris (thanks S t even Rojas & family!) Camilla Skovgaard’s “Hotel Skovgaard: Room 77” film release party.


We couldn’t resist…she has on simple silver st ilet t os here…N ew York.


Will you be our friend? We love you. N ew York.


L ibert ine presentat ion, N ew York.


Juan Carlos Obando, his collect ion present at ion, and Linda Fargo. N ew York.


Paris


Paris

Donna Karan, N ew York.


Carine. Carine. The breat htaking Carine, Paris.


Hosiery by Gerbe, Premier Classe shoe show, Paris


N atalie Jooooooos! talesofendearment .com Paris


Elena Perminova, Michelle Harper, N atalie Joos, Miroslava Duma, Anya Ziourova, Anna Dello Russo, Giovana Bat taglia. N ew York.


The ever-clever Jenna Lyons

Boot leg Paris girls


Paris.


We st ill can’t believe t he quality of shoes at the craziest all-night part ies in Paris. We would never dest roy our best kicks at a club!


Paris

L iam Fahy shoe, Paris. A designer originally from Zimbabwe, based in London.


Anna Della Russo! Her year to shine like a pile of colored diamonds. E ditor at large for Vogue Japan, based in Milan.


John Galliano presentat ion, Paris.


Chloe At t it udes exhibit at Palais de Tokyo, Paris Juan Carlos Obando presentat ion, N ew York


Homo Consommatus presentat ion, N ew York


Sarah Ellison Lewis & new favorit e shoe designer, Jerome Rousseau, Paris

Chloe At t it udes exhibit at Palais de Tokyo, Paris


Paris


Olivier (Zahm), you’re sweet !


Jordan Dunn backstage at John Galliano, Paris


outside of Le Progress Café, L a Marais, Paris. It never disappoints.


Working feet .


More of the best party of our lives, at the most incredible modern art gallery, Palais de Tokyo.


Paris


JD is a remarkable talent; the long time first assistant for Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, major industry photographers known as Mert & Marcus. Mert is from Turkey, and Marcus hails from the UK. I realize it’s not kosher to discuss his role as ‘first’ for someone else when introducing him, but I think it’s wonderful to know, as his influences are remarkable. Whatever his work becomes when and if he shoots only for himself remains to be

seen, but I know we will all love it. I had never looked closely at their points of view collectively, and I am happy I had the chance to do so.

My favorite thing about JD is his spirit – he is kind and gregarious. It’s so refreshing to know artists who are actually happy people, as art often demands transparency, and bedside manners are often irrelevant in the fashion industry. Not for me, and not for Bootleg …

kindness and manners will always be important, and it’s awesome to be reminded those things are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

His work here for me is more beautiful than I recall from the day, and that is my measure of a great photographer.

jdfortestudio.com

Styling by Sarah ellison lewismodel evelina mambetova,

Silent models NYHair by David colvin,

davidcolvinhair.com makeup by kanako takasePhoto assistance by Brett SeamansDigital tech by lucy lottmetromotion Studio

JD FORTE

NO 004.04

NEW YORK,NEW YORK

Bodysuit by V PL


N ecklace by Michael SchmidtHosiery by Falke Boots by Tania Spinelli

N ecklace by TopshopHosiery by FalkeBoots by LD Tut t le


Dress by VollHosiery by Falke Heel by Pelle Moda, at Boot leg Airstream


Hat by S tudio Sensi Slicker Poncho by Terra N ew York Oxford with rose gold by Messeca, at Boot leg Airstream


L D Tut t le

L D Tut t le


Hosiery by FalkeL eopard pump by Laurence Dacade

bootleg newsprint no. 004

Documents

notion of fear

kinds of fear

peer online shoe

shoe obsessions

shoe friends

stalk shoes

bootleg airstream

funny shoe store