January-The beginning of 2010 and it was pretty good. The first winter collection was released the previous month and it was still building momentum. I posted the first shirt and sneaker that match that month, because you have to dress to impress when you go out. I went to the Haiti Benefit Showcase that was held at Black Flag Shoppe, because that earthquake in Haiti totally ruined the lives there. It was a very good outcome and I made sure I donated to help out those who needed it. The performances were cool with highlights by Rasheed Chappell, Mishal Moore, and Daniel Joseph. Also, Branded Baron was featured on a couple more websites such as InMyShortSleeve.com, IAmTheTrend TV, and Anthony and I were interviewed for SoJones.com. Other goodies was the Astrohop stickers(should they make a comeback?), the Corp Cartel song, "Do You Want Me?" available for download, and the Katie DiCicco/Jay Wise New Year's song collaboration(which her fans from other countries constantly check).
February- This month had a variety of stuff happening. There was the post of the Behind the Scenes of the Corp Cartel music video, which features Branded Baron and myself. There was the unfortunate t-shirt appearance that female comic Anjelah Johnson wore on her Comedy Central standup show. There was another Haiti Benefit with UFC Champion Frankie Edgar and UFC fighter Ricardo Almeida at the old martial arts dojo I trained at. Anthony and I decided to have contest by predicting the UFC outcome and we did reward with a discount code for predicting correctly as well. I enjoy having interaction with the public and this was a good way to start that. More music was released like Daniel Joseph's mixtape "Gone Fishin'". I think my favorite highlight of that month had to be the Raw Flava Bboy competition, because that was entertaining.
March- March was a big month. The Hurtlocker won Best Picture of the year and beat Avatar, so there was a discount. I really thought that was a good film. A very big feat was releasing Branded Baron's FIRST MMA inspired t-shirt. It was great, because I wore that shirt when I went to my first UFC event to see George St. Pierre regain the title in Newark for UFC 111. Also, we decided to sponsor the band Croatian band TOST and West Coast rapper Okwerdz. New shirt and kicks were posted, so you could match, as well as the Jay Wise song, "Supra, Jordans, Dunks" and "Feel like Flying". There's no way you could forget the crazy March Madness sale with one of the funniest images posted. I announced the first event we'll be selling that Spring, but the best post for me was telling everyone Branded Baron is stocked at a new store. Being stocked at Urban Legends Shop was a good look for us definitely.
April- Right off the back, there was a contest to win Branded Baron Apparel over at Sojones.com. You can read the recap of the Brooklyn Indie Market and I appreciated the help from Tiffany and Danette. I also met Ray of Lowdtown, who's a cool guy and helped answer questions I had. I loved the fact that I was able to design for the t-shirts and warm up jerseys for the youth travel basketball squad when I was younger. That made me feel like Branded Baron was like Nike. Iquan of the Artoholiks gave Branded Baron some love on his blog. Iquan and Jen of the Artoholiks definitely show love to all the art lovers and I appreciate the support they show. I don't know why there was no recap of the Not Yo Mama's Craft Fair, but I showed Jersey City what we had to offer. Fresh Quito Magazine showed love to Branded Baron at their Manhattan fashion show/party. Branded Baron designer Danette was featured in Weird NJ magazine and you when you look at it now, you can see where the Jersey Devil design originated from. If you never got these buttons, maybe you can request for us to make some more, so you can add them to your collection. April was definitely an enjoyable month for Branded Baron. :)
May- May was a busy month, because Danette and I had to have the Summer Line ready, so it could go into production. I gave some sneak peek's of what is to come with the Red Baron peek and the Space Can t-shirt, that also has some footage. There were more photos from the Fresh Quito Magazine show, which was always good to see. I received an e-mail with a picture of a Branded Baron sticker on a vending machine by a fellow fan. Of course there was music from Okwerdz and by the Corp Cartel, which happens to be a very big hit for them.
June- Oh the month when Summer begins, thinking about it brings back memories. The Summer line was released and I printed up some logo t-shirts to give as an exclusive surprise to those who made a purchase online. I was able to get Branded Baron in its 3rd store, Fresh Kickz, which was very exciting. I was interviewed along with Tony Bregga, Jay Wise, and the rest of Corp Cartel for internet show Rockland World Radio. Another online radio show I made an appearance as a guest was over at Real Deal Radio. Thank you to Crusafix for the hook up. I was able to have another indie rapper by the name of L.I.F.E. Long to rock my shirt. I appeared in Jersey City again to sell at the Creative Grove Artist Market. I would appear another two times that month, once with the help of my younger brother, and another summer day enjoying the atmosphere with a black eye. The black eye only occurred due to my training in jiu jitsu and had nothing to do with me beating down a thief who tried to steal shirts. I started to showcase "The Branded", all the people that wear or soon will wear Branded Baron on the blog. Two shirts and one pair of sneakers make a great match and if you don't believe click here. Danette tells everyone that they're awesome, while we discuss the designs she created. Luckily I was able to have future videos look better, but you live and learn. A couple sites show the double B's some love, which is always a positive sign. Josh of MMAValor.com sent me a picture of him wearing a Branded Baron tee while meeting with UFC fighter Shane Carwin.
July- Receiving a photo of a DJ at a popular New York nightclub rocking a Branded Baron tee feels good and I'm glad DJs' and other music dig what Branded Baron has to offer. That DJ in particular was Gian Martorella and he had a pretty good summer mix as well as some others. The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival was tons of fun. I met a bunch of great connections, from Maxine of the White Train to DJ Brown Boi and DJ Lady Essence of Soul Exchange radio show. Keith and Tiff definitely held down the fort when I went to go explore and see the rest of the festival. That day was fun and thanks to them to making it go along smooth. Since I did meet DJ Brown Boi and DJ Lady Essence, I was invited to head to the studio as a guest. I try to hook people up and I thought Jay Wise would fit perfectly,so I brought him along. Those were fun times. Jay Wise even shouted Branded Baron in this short track of his. July was a hot month(did you see what I did there? Hot. Get it?) and it was great seeing people rocking Branded Baron tees and tank tops.
August- I know I posted a video before with Alex discussing how he wants to make his Branded Baron tee glow brighter in the dark and the reason for that being said was we went to a Manhattan nightclub and he was wearing that t-shirt and it glowed. Awesome? I think so. You may know I'm a fan of the Beat Geeks and August was the month we connected. You can see their earlier videos where they're rocking it or even in this black and white flick. Here's a bit of an insight of the Red Baron t-shirt, which a lot of people say look like me, but I just don't agree with at all. I shared the interview I had done with Encore Status at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival and the behind the scenes of Jay Wise's and my adventure to Real Deal Radio. I even posted a video where you see Okwerdz on his tour where he sports the double B tee. (Ugh, I know how corny that sounded.) I also did a bit of traveling as well such as visiting Montreal and heading to Boston. You bet your ass, since I'm a Yankee fan I wore my Yankees cap in front of Fenway Park What was huge for me, was promoting the Anniversary video and celebrating Branded Baron's first year on August 27th. Yea, I celebrated my birthday that same day, but I was more concerned with Branded Baron than me turning a quarter century old. Thank you for everyone who has been riding along with me.
September- I did end up in Massachusetts again to have fun at the Open Road Music & Arts Festival, which was fun times. I saw Lori of Cavata Clothing again and met some cool people. If you were interested in my trip to Boston I posted the first and second recaps in September. That's where I originally tell you about Cavata Clothing and Regan Smith Clarke. Shout out to REGAN! He's been very helpful. I enjoy building with people with common interests like Lori and Regan, because even though we're "competitors", we know the struggles to reach the top and it doesn't mean we can't help each other get to the top and be friends. Here's a good example of what I'm trying to make, say I'm the Yankees and they're the Mets, but you just want New York to be on top. Hmmm maybe that wasn't a great explanation. Moving along...Dex of the Beat Geeks rocks our Listen to Your Heart tee very nicely especially in the Beat Geeks performance. Want to know what goes very well with a guy wearing Branded Baron t-shirts? Two pretty women. My boy wanted Branded Baron to help out with his charity event for the Wounded Warriors Charity and I helped out. It's a great cause and I recommend anyone to help the soldiers out. The event was successful and Joe and the female bartender wore Branded Baron. Yeay, for Branded Baron, but really the success came to the people who helped out. I am thankful for Joe helping me out and it was good to chit chat, since it has been a couple years since we hung out. There was a cool interview done by Christina of Wings of Art, plus I show you what to do with apples. lol I had some fun times in Queens with my homie Chi and Anderson of Bluu Dreams Clothing at the World Maker Faire. We were suppose to be feeling the effects of Fall, but that day was a blazer.
October- October was a Tang Bang Twang kind of month. Oh, you don't understand the phrase, well the radio podcast Raw Radio Online gets the Branded Baron cosign and invited me to be a guest on one of their episodes. Larry, Dirty D**do Deeds, Ragusa, Kirsch, and Alien Head were all cool people and I'm sure you'll either find them funny, offensive, or hilariously offensive. Sometimes it's ok not to be stunningly fresh all the time....sometimes. My friend Ashley came with me to help out at the Arts & Main event, which was funny but cold. I felt winter creeping in and I was not enjoying it. I was able to get my Geek on for a bit at the New York City Comic Con, which is always a fun time. I'm trying to figure out why Ne-Yo had a booth there? Remember the Mentos Diet Coke guys? Well I saw them, not at Comic Con, but at the World Maker Faire. It was fun. I'm trying to figure out why I post things a month later. Broke the Emcee has been a supporter of Branded Baron on twitter and he made his way onto the blog in October. If you ever ask, "Where Da Party At?" I will refer you to the Beat Geeks song that's free to download. So the guys don't get jealous for me talking about their bandmate in September's recap, here is Luke and Iceman, I mean Bobby Drake of the Beat Geeks. Also, bandmembers of the band TOST were caught playing with Branded Baron tees on. HIGH FIVE GUYS! Fine, we won't. Oh, I can't forget Sneaker Con. That event was mad fun and I released the "Don't be a hypebeast" tee there. Chi helped me out with the shirt and at the event. I saw familiar faces like Jen and met new ones like Brian of Doctor Hazmat, Gerardo of Creative Ethics, and more. Good times and hot shirts + hot kicks = WIN. I don't know why the video cut the top of my head off the screen, but the message was for Breast Cancer month, Pegasus shirts (both gray and black) purchased, a proceeds from that sale will go to the Susan G. Komen Fight the Cure Foundation. That statement still stands, because Breast Cancer is no joke. Hurray for YAYBIES! You can't stop the music with Branded Baron, because you I recapped the experience of the recording session with Jay Wise, Daniel Joseph, and more! October was indeed filled with a lot of Tang Bang Twang of goodies.
November- The Winter Collection was sneaking up, but before it popped out I went over to West New York to Urban Legends Shop. I went with Blis, Shane, and Rob to the skate park and we had a little impromptu shoot. I gave out a bunch of stickers to the local skaters and just chilled over there. It's good to be with people who support you. Before releasing the Winter Collection to the public I gave everyone a sneak peek of the behind the scenes of the photo shoot with one of a very entertaining video. People enjoyed it and it had people anticipating for a bit, because soon I released the current apparel that are out now. I have to thank Jess and Jay Wise for modeling and Shane Marques for the photography. It was a fun shoot and I appreciate the support and very thankful for the help. BBoy Dmize received the Born An Original, Don't Die A Copy tees and will be wearing one during each breakdance competition he competes in. To see someone bboying in one of your shirts is crazy! I want to see a bunch of bboys head spinning while wearing Branded Baron tees, that would be phenomenally awesome. Oh, did you think I forgot to tell you about the music you could download from this month? If you did, you thought wrong. Jay Wise, The Beat Geeks, Broke the Emcee, and the Disco Fries(no, not the delicious gravy cheese fries you can get a diners) all had music available and worth listening to.
December- The last month of 2010. What is there to say about December, besides cold? WWS, It's Crak! and Timeless Styles both have interviews, IAMTheTrend features Branded Baron and Teespotter reviews us. The model Jess hooked me up with a friend of hers, Nick, who may help me with a new design. WHAT?! Relax, I'll let you know when we release a new shirt. Nick came through to help me out at the Bust Magazine Pop-Up shop, while Tiff helped me at the Phildaelphia Designer's Market. I receive an image that becomes the fifth installment of the "Need a Match?" posts. You learn that Gremlins and Die Hard are Christmas movies that should receive more attention around the holidays. The Shake Weight isn't just a sexual training device and that is proven by the Beat Geeks. The Disco Fries release the "60 Minutes until your balls drop" mixtape, which is definitely definitely worth listening to. You have to agree that this photo below is a very cute picture, which earned the Photo of the day status. I thought this quote needed to be shown.
2010 was a great year and it's hard to really recap everything that happened. I met new people and new connections, but I also lost Anthony who was there from the start. He was my Vice-President and helped me a lot behind on the scenes, but life sometimes takes you on a different path and I'm glad he's pursuing what he needs to do. We didn't end bad at all, he's still my bestfriend and he asked me about Branded Baron earlier. Sometimes it's hard to separate yourself from certain things that you've been a part of. I definitely would like to thank everyone who has been there and are continuing taking this journey with me. I'm positive we're going to get bigger and better. I'm sure Danette, myself, and whoever I bring along to contribute to the designs will make them hotter and better than the last release. I'll release my goals for 2011, the ones I can release to the public, sometime soon. I want to have Branded Baron to be the "Brand for the People" and I want to be able to share some great apparel, music, and other fantastic stuff with you. I will do my part and hopefully you will be there by my side. 2011, the party is just getting started!
Stay no less than Stunningly Fresh,
Joe
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