Photos: Nathan Caswell, Jessica Humphrey and Jon Cammisa
Interview: Alec Coiro
Jess Humphrey Jon Cammisa took their line of outdoors wear into the great outdoors on their road trip to their L.A. pop up shop this summer. Along the way they picked up a few things for their vintage line and answered a few queries from the road.
Do you two feel like you share a common haircut? Did your hairstylist introduce you?
It’s true. We do have very similar hair cuts. To be fair we each had them before we met. Although, I’m not sure if that’s any better or worse. But no, there was no preemptive coordination.
You have a vintage line associated with Victory Press. Is it safe to assume you were doing a lot of thrifting on this cross country road trip?
We kinda had to whip across the country both ways, so we were limited to the thrift stores that had called to us in passing. We have, however, many times in the past, done some major thrift crawls while visiting other states.
How far out of New York City do you have to get before you stop seeing New Yorkers pillaging the thrift shops?
Not even the tri-state area is totally picked over. There are still some gems that haven’t been raided completely and even manage to be replenished from time to time. Across the whole continent theories about where and why the good thrift stores are is perpetually updated and debated amongst the thrift obsessed community. It gets deep.
Bryce Canyon
Bad Lands
Mystic
Do you buy only vintage clothes that match the Victory Press aesthetic?
When it comes to what we are looking for, we tend to hunt for things that specifically influence our Victory Press collection. Also, we have two great partners that have supplied and done some great picking for us (Andrew Porter and Jordan Page) they’ve both brought some amazing pieces to the table.
With regards to the vintage that is posted on our site, we try to collect and release one thematic collection at a time. Usually the themes will be a play on words or two sides of the same title. For example, last October we did a Cabin in the Woods theme which was a cross between vintage hunting and hiking gear and horror movie t-shirts.
What are your professional thrifting tips to a kid just starting out?
Unless you’ve got a 36″ waist or up don’t get your hopes up for finding pants. That shit is nearly impossible.
Which Way
Color Wall
Cheese
Yellow Stone
What are your feelings about the pop-up shop phenomenon, and what is the pop-up’s future?
Pop-ups are tricky. On one hand, they’re a great way to test out your product on the market from a tactile and environmental experience without the commitment of a hefty store front lease. On the other hand, it can be really hard to gauge the response and affiliate your brand with your target customer in such a short time. Especially if you are a new company. We like doing them because it gives us a chance to totally curate a space and really tell a full story without risking huge financial burdens that could really make or break a relatively small, new and self-funded company such as ours. The future of pop-ups?…telepathic consumerism
Do you find it hard to fall asleep in a tent?
Tent sleeping is chill. It’s pretty clutch to have one of those inflatable floor mats. Jasper [the company dog] is a bit of a tent hog which is super annoying.
If you spotted someone on the street randomly wearing Victory Press, who would you want it to be?
Rodney Mullen. James Turrell. Allen Iverson.
Sprayin'
