I did this interview back in June 2008, and not many people got a formal introduction to this dynamic duo. You've seen them around town, they might have even told you to fix your face....
Soooo without further ado, I re-introduce to you YakBlak.
Look out for my follow up interview with this team, see what they have been up to, what they have done and where they are going...
Is it the Yak or Blak that brings so much flavor to YakBlak Sunnies? or is that one can't exist without the other?Which ever it is, YakBlak Sunnies bring you dynamic vintage shades that will have you trickin on Flatbush Ave just to get a pair.
Even though I know this pair very well, I couldn't help but get an interview to find out how they really hooked up.
In your own words describe the entities that are yak and blak?
YAK is the Ebb of the Ebb & Flow that is YakBlak. nuff said.
BLAK aka the blak in yakblak is the son of beautiful Lebanese Jamaican woman and African American man. the masculine principle of the duo, designer, husband, blak, AfricINamerica, lover, hater, activist, Sagittarius, mental mogul, GET IT DONER, 29 years young, developer, architect, visionary, lazy, motivated, uninspired, inspired, new found texter, stir crazy, but most of all in love with life and its creation.
YAK: Together we make up a team of two mental moguls who are in a steady pursuit for new ideas and projects, to Yak and Blak everything is possible with focus, dedication and action. ACTION IS MAGIC.
I am the one that says ok...what do we need to do first lets put a timeline together….I like to plan the plan.
Sometimes it feels like we share one brain when it comes to business and design….we both fully understand our brand, business and how we want to proceed in the future.
Blak is the talker...I'm the texter if you will. Don't talk about it. Be about it.
BLAK: I must agree, I am definitely a talker, it’s an intimacy thing, I like to hear people’s voices, read their reactions. My mind is always working it doesn’t rest. I am always absorbing and searching, inquiring. I went to school for architecture, where the answers to design problems could not be found in a book, so I had to keep myself open at all times. Never knowing when or where the next solution would come from. Truthfully I love talking about things I luv. It is also how I sharpen my ideas.
But yah, you got to give it to me, since I got my new toy (the crackberry) I have become quite the texter. Don’t front sun. I would also say that I am a very hard worker, we both are. I think that’s one of the key things that make yakblak work.
Don’t let yah fool u, she is no mime. She has quite the mouth on her as well, she like to front like she is all cool and mysterious, but she’s a blabbering cornball like the rest of us. And she almost has me beat when it comes to talking shit.
YAK: like I said…he’s the talker.
Where did you guys come up with the idea to come together and bring good lookn vintage pieces?
We met each other at a party a few years ago; I am not going to get into that controversial story, but anyway. I think we were immediately attracted to each other, not in a sexual way or anything like that, [YAK: eewww! you wish!!] but we just admired each other. We continued to bump into each other and each time we would both have on a pair of dope sunnies. I would buy mine from this Cuban dude uptown who had a huge collection and I don’t know where yah would get hers.
YAK: I still won’t tell.
BLAK: She asked me a few times where I got mine but I wouldn’t tell her. I didn’t want my secret to get out. So one day I went to my top secret location to pick up some shades and asked the owner how many pairs he had? He replied “about ten thousand”, so I asked him how much would he sell them to me for and he told me to come back with some real money and we’ll talk.
Money wasn’t really the issue, but I knew I would need a partner to make this endeavor work and the only person I could think about was Yah. I asked her, she said yes and we bought out the Cuban dude’s supply. Yet we didn’t stop there, the same day we decided to join forces we also decided that YakBlak would be an accessories company that would start with dead stock sunnies and build from there and the rest is YakBlak.
What's the difference between shade and sunnies?
A sunnie is just a term we use for our shit, yah dig. It’s all about branding, we knew we had to come up with a way to separate our selves from every one else, so we started calling our joints sunnies.
It really came out in one of our many shit talking sessions and it stuck. Prada, Louis, Chloe, and all those other designer sell sunglasses and shades BUT YakBlak sells sunnies.
YAKBLAK = SUNNIES. PERIOD…………. AND DON’T FORGET IT
Do you consider sunnies to be categorized as accessories?
Not only do we consider sunnies an accessory, we consider them a NECESSARY ACCESSORY. Don’t bite that either cus THATZ OUR, HATERS AND BITERS GET YOUR OWN….
We see it like this.. You can look like a bum from the neck down, but as long as u have on a pair of sunnies (YakBlaks of course). You ready to party.
It’s a serious expression of style. All fashion icons and fashionistas have worn and understood the power of some beautiful pair of sunnies. And YakBlak is all about continuing that legacy.
What makes a good sunnies? YAKBLAKs
Can you give our readers some advice on how to pick their perfect pair of sunnies?
Blak: THE OBVIOUS ANSWER IS MAKE SURE THEY’RE YAKBLAKs. Na but really a good pair of sunnies should make you feel hot and sexy. They transform u, they challenge you, they should help you become the super star you always envisioned yourself to be.
Yak: This street talk right here: weight, style, design, uniqueness, the rest is on you to flip...OH!
What tips can you give on the maintenance of their sunnies?
Do not throw them in the bottom of your big bag...I mean come on! Clean them regularly. Don’t lend them to your friends or trust any one else with their well being.
Buy a repair kit and tighten regularly,. Check them periodically to ensure that the essential screws are tight and most importantly, GIVE THEM A KISS BEFORE YOU GO TO BED AT NIGHT. MWAH!
What can we expect from YakBlak in the near future?
You might wanna sit down for this: when YakBlak was originally conceived we envisioned it as an accessories company, which would specialize in the "necessary accessories"; sunnies, belts, bags, shoes.
We will continue to offer a collection of deadstock sunnies and in the near future we plan on manufacturing a full line of vintage inspired frames, wood and leather unisex handbags, unisex shoes, belts, and anything else we are inspired to make.
