Dutch Masters recently honored the winner of its Craft Syndicate initiative with a celebration and unveiling at Extra Butter in New York. Jeff Staple teamed up with Craft Syndicate to find a designer to mentor, collaborate with, and inspire. With the help of industry judges such Fonzworth Bentley, Sean Malcolm, “Hawaii” Mike Salaman, and Jocelynn Jacobs, Staple chose designer Alexander-John.
During the event at Extra Butter, Staple and Alexander-John unveiled their collaboration which is called, “Metamorphism.” The two came up with “Metamorphism” through their work with marbling. Marbling is a mixture of two different substances that combine to make a beautiful substance. With Staple and Alexander-John coming from different backgrounds and combining talents, they have created exceptional pieces of work.
The breakdown for the word “Metamorphism” is Meta: abstraction of concept, Morph: Change smoothly from one image to another, and Ism: Ideology or belief.
“There are not a lot of corporations in this world who would allow us the ability to do what we did,” Staple said during the event. “I want to thank [Dutch Masters] for entrusting us with your brand. We searched the country looking for creative people. Because of social media, we were able to do this with a hashtag. Over 1,000 people submitted. We narrowed it down and AJ was at the top of the pile. We decided to think about the concept of marbling. It’s two elements that blend perfectly. We began to research the scientific process of marbling. High pressure and stress makes this a beautiful thing.”
Alexander-John also shared his thoughts on the experience.
“This has been a surreal moment,” he said. “I’m thankful for Craft Syndicate for creating the concept for wanting to bring out the best in someone who wants to make it.”
The 10-piece, limited edition capsule collection is available only at the Extra Butter Lower East Side pop-up shop through Thursday, Nov. 17, and features hand painted Adidas NMDs, t-shirts, hoodies and more.
