00:00 I have the biggest collection of original USA made bands.
00:04 So the brand's tagline is off the wall.
00:09 It doesn't get more off the wall than this.
00:12 If I were to part with or to sell the collection
00:15 at some point, it would be on the level of buying a house.
00:18 Who I wanna disclose the most I've ever paid
00:22 for a pair of bands.
00:28 So this is an insight into my day to day operations
00:31 of buying and sourcing these shoes.
00:33 Here's a pair I prepared earlier
00:38 from the Vans Country Western Collection in 1981.
00:43 My interest and passion in Vans began about 20 years ago,
00:50 looking for something vintage that I could still wear.
00:55 I get the question often, what's my favorite piece?
00:58 And unquestionably, it is the era
01:03 and specifically the blue and red combinations
01:06 from the mid seventies.
01:08 The trajectory of the Vans brand
01:11 went a completely different direction
01:13 when this shoe was produced.
01:16 Yeah, I think it's undeniable
01:18 that I have the world's biggest collection of Vans.
01:21 It's kind of wild to admit
01:24 if I were to part with or to sell the collection
01:27 at some point, it would be on the level of buying a house.
01:31 This is an award that I received personally
01:35 from Steve Van Doren.
01:37 I give a (beep) obviously.
01:39 So Steve Van Doren is the son of the founder of Vans
01:42 and Steve's my hero.
01:44 Meeting him was such an important moment
01:47 which really galvanized and crystallized what I was doing
01:51 and gave it great meaning.
01:53 I was buying with the idea to sell at some point.
01:57 Maybe it was gonna be a market stall,
01:59 maybe it was gonna be an eBay store,
02:01 maybe I was gonna open a shop
02:02 and an opportunity came up to sign a six month lease
02:06 on a shop and I went for it.
02:08 And 13 years later, I'm still doing it.
02:12 The purpose of the space now is essentially storage,
02:14 studio, backup, retail space
02:17 in case things don't work out in Carnaby.
02:21 All right, let's go check out the Carnaby street space.
02:24 Welcome to Pillow Heat.
02:28 The global mecca for Original Vans USA.
02:33 Part archive, part commercial vintage store.
02:39 I got a display cabinet downstairs over 10 years ago
02:44 which they were doing a refit in the store here
02:46 and by chance I met the assistant manager of the store
02:50 and she facilitated my displaying some shoes downstairs.
02:53 So I've had a cabinet there for about 11 years
02:57 which directed people to my store in East London.
03:00 So it was an organic beginning and a fateful thing
03:04 to now 12, 13 years later to be in-house,
03:09 recognized for what I do.
03:11 But having a public archive, a walk-in archive
03:14 with the option and the possibility to buy a piece,
03:19 I can't think of any other brand that offers that.
03:21 So in terms of the commercial inventory,
03:24 this is the majority of the product.
03:26 Yeah, some of the B-stock is back at Clapton which we saw
03:31 but the majority, you know, it's done by sizes here.
03:34 So all the top tier product is here
03:38 and then some of the archives,
03:39 some of the museum that I've built as you come upstairs,
03:42 the big internal marketing pieces are here.
03:47 So the brand's tagline is "Off the wall."
03:52 It doesn't get more off the wall than this.
03:55 There was a staff member who would dress up as a clown
03:57 for store openings.
03:58 Eventually they were commissioning legitimate clown shoes.
04:03 You've got high tops, low tops,
04:05 any combination of print, color.
04:07 Fans mean so much.
04:10 I'm just stoked to be wearing these old world shoes.
04:13 It makes me happy to walk down the street
04:17 with every step.
04:18 The business is 13 years old
04:20 but I still feel like it's just the beginning.
04:23 What can I say?
04:24 This brand is in my heart.
04:25 I'm hooked.
04:27 (upbeat music)
04:29 (whooshing)
04:31 (whooshing)
04:33 (whooshing)
04:35 (whooshing)
04:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]
