Best in Park + Note to Self = Doggie Denim!
Note to Self X Best in Park Japanese selvage denim dog coats!
You may RECALL, that although I do not have a dog (yeah, they're cute, but who has time to go for a walk everyday?), I am a HUGE fan of Melbourne start-up Best in Park! Launched late 2009 by Melbourne dog lover / designer Christina Teresinski, Best in Park has been winning fans all over Australia (and beyond!) with their growing range of super stylish and superbly high quality doggie accessories. Best in Park has been overwhelmed with interest and orders since Christina first launched the brand, and the range is now stocked at retailers across Australia and overseas. A very inspiring story for anyone with a burning ambition to quit the dayjob and pursue a creative idea - however crazy it may seem!
One of the reasons for Best in Park's success is that Ms Teresinski never rest on her laurels! Always launching fabulous new designs, this latest collaboration is perhaps the CUTEST I've seen! Christina has recently joined forces with Melbourne denim designer Max Olijnyk of Note to Self to create this insanely cute range of raw denim dogcoats! OMG. I die.
In true 'Note to Self' tradition, the coats are made using Japanese selvage denim, and they're made in Melbourne by Max himself. They AMAZINGLY start at just $70.00, and are available exclusively in the Best in Park online shop.
Read on for a little Q & A with Max who explains how the collaboration with Best in Park came about!
How did the Note to Self / Best in Park collab come about?
I met Christina through our mutual love of dogs. We ran a feature on her dog coats on ThreeThousand (Max was, until recently, co-editor of threethousand) and I just had to have one for my dog Tess. I think what Christina is doing with Best in Park is quite similar to the approach I have with Note to Self, but instead of jeans, it's cool stuff for dogs! We met up for a coffee one day and decided to do something together. We thought it would be a good idea to do an interpretation of the BiP dog coat, using Japanese selvage denim. It's inspired by those jean jackets with the furry collars, like cool guys wore in the '60s. It is also really warm! I made up a sample and we took it from there. The stunning model in the photo shoot is my dog Tess!
Max I did not REALISE how super denim famous you were outside of threethousand! Can you give us a little background on when you first launched Note to Self, who designs 'em, who makes 'em, where to order and buy them?
I have been making clothes for a long time, since I was 14 years old, but gave it the name Note to Self about six years ago when I moved to Melbourne from Adelaide. I started out making custom jeans for clients, and moved on to doing small production lines of named after their inspiration. There is a Max jean, for instance! The denim I use comes direct from a mill in Osaka, Japan - some of the best stuff available, in my opinion. It's beautiful and gets better with age. All the designs are mine, from which I make samples, then with the help of my lovely pattern-maker, we make a graded set and take it to a maker in Melbourne. I approach NTS as a project based label, taking on collaborative work (I call it 'by appointment') when the right one arises, such as BiP and a recent chino pants project with Sydney skate label Passport. Some of my work is stocked in stores, but I am focussing on building a web store and dealing with customers directly. A new range of jeans are almost finished and will be available in August.
Where are the NTS/BiP coats made?
The coats are made by me! In my studio in North Fitzroy. Christina takes them to her magical binder person to finish them off.
Note to Self X Best in Park Japanese selvage denim dog coats! Sizes available - 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and Pug / Frenchie Priced from $70.00
Amazing work dudes!
