SUPREME STICKER MAN
In the subculture that Freshness has been writing about the past few years, much of the topics involve collecting or collectibles. There are many types of collectors and our friend Clarence Nathan collects Supreme stickers, while some have started to collect them in recent years as the Supreme ‘box logo’ became a valuable collectible, Clarence has been collecting them for over 14 years.
I’ve known Clarence sometime and have seen him many times in and around the Supreme area. I knew he had a history with Supreme and even thought he worked there at one point, he never did. Recently, Clarence sent an email and said that he wanted to show his Supreme sticker collection and that he had a lot. When he showed up at our office and started to pull out his collection, I was completely blown away by what he has collected over the years. Click through below for his recount of collecting stickers since the late 80s and a photo journey through his collection of Supreme stickers.
Check out this dude dedication to his beloved skate brand
In the subculture that Freshness has been writing about the past few years, much of the topics involve collecting or collectibles. There are many types of collectors and our friend Clarence Nathan collects Supreme stickers, while some have started to collect them in recent years as the Supreme ‘box logo’ became a valuable collectible, Clarence has been collecting them for over 14 years.
I’ve known Clarence sometime and have seen him many times in and around the Supreme area. I knew he had a history with Supreme and even thought he worked there at one point, he never did. Recently, Clarence sent an email and said that he wanted to show his Supreme sticker collection and that he had a lot. When he showed up at our office and started to pull out his collection, I was completely blown away by what he has collected over the years. Click through below for his recount of collecting stickers since the late 80s and a photo journey through his collection of Supreme stickers.
We’ve known each other for several years now, what led to your decision approaching us Soukwear ] to showcase your collection.
There are 3 reasons why I approached Soukwear to have my collection shot.
1- Soukwear is the first Moroccan based fressness culture blog
2- You guys are based out of Marrakesh.
3- I saw the Slam Jam post online and i wanted to do it right and really show as many stickers as possible so the heads can see a large selection of Supreme stickers. No disrespect to SJ but so many people who are familiar with my collection always beg me to document what I have. I think they feel like I’m going to wake up one day and sell it all for nothing without ever showing it off.
When did you start collecting stickers?
I started collecting stickers in 1987 from hanging out at Soho Skates(shout out to Ann Z.) when they were on 6 Ave in 987. I used to skate with all the old heads.. Bruno, Jeremy, Aly, Beasley(RIP), Mario, Jumunji, Eli… etc. My dude Martin(most of you know as the 1st NYC Bape Store manager) gave me a ton of stickers my last day in the city before heading off to college. Most of these got plastered on my trunk and that initial collection was lost. While at college in Atlanta, GA around 1992 i got back into collecting. I would hit up the only skate shop in town Stratosphere and the rest is history.
Why stickers?
No particular reason. I was mainly into the graphics and I knew there was a high turn over because so many skate companies came and went during this era. Eventually I started to realize that some of these stickers would never be made again because of this.
There are 3 reasons why I approached Soukwear to have my collection shot.
1- Soukwear is the first Moroccan based fressness culture blog
2- You guys are based out of Marrakesh.
3- I saw the Slam Jam post online and i wanted to do it right and really show as many stickers as possible so the heads can see a large selection of Supreme stickers. No disrespect to SJ but so many people who are familiar with my collection always beg me to document what I have. I think they feel like I’m going to wake up one day and sell it all for nothing without ever showing it off.
When did you start collecting stickers?
I started collecting stickers in 1987 from hanging out at Soho Skates(shout out to Ann Z.) when they were on 6 Ave in 987. I used to skate with all the old heads.. Bruno, Jeremy, Aly, Beasley(RIP), Mario, Jumunji, Eli… etc. My dude Martin(most of you know as the 1st NYC Bape Store manager) gave me a ton of stickers my last day in the city before heading off to college. Most of these got plastered on my trunk and that initial collection was lost. While at college in Atlanta, GA around 1992 i got back into collecting. I would hit up the only skate shop in town Stratosphere and the rest is history.
Why stickers?
No particular reason. I was mainly into the graphics and I knew there was a high turn over because so many skate companies came and went during this era. Eventually I started to realize that some of these stickers would never be made again because of this.
Why the focus on Supreme?
Well to be honest I have all kinds of stickers from different skateboard, surf and shoe companies. Between 1992-1995 i was collecting skate stickers from all over the country and world if I traveled outside of the US. When I did the rollerblading thing in 1995 i would stop by Supreme and peep the glass case where they had the stickers laid out. They had tons of stickers by other brands like most skate shops do so I would literally buy 1 of each… sorry Gio. I was buying and collecting ALL skate company stickers at this point. The first Supreme set i got was the 4 mini logos in blue, green, black and gray all with a white outline. The current box logo size wasn’t standard at this point. The interest in Supreme stickers was sparked because they only made stickers once. The 2nd reason is that Supreme stickers were only sold in NYC at the Lafayette St shop so the only way to get their stickers was to actually go to the shop and buy them. Remeber this was way before eBay, NikeTalk, InStyle Shoes and other streetwear blogsites sites who focused more on sneakers.
Your collection includes a stack of certain editions, why and how did you get so many?
Well for me it was a combo of things. I was accepted by the original Supreme crew (Gio Estevez, Pooky and Chappy). They allowed me to hang out and be apart of their scene. From 1995-1997 there was a major after hours scene in the back of Supreme each night. I would hang out in the back of the shop with all the staff and the homies. Here is where I met peoples like Ari Marcopulous, Keenan Milton(RIP), Huf, the Keefe brothers, Justin Pierce(RIP), Ssur, Jakuan 360, Peter Bici, Kareem Campbell, Aron, Jamie Story, Fred Gall, Stash, Futura, Lee and Dondi. It was mad ill. Anyway… Supreme stickers at this time weren’t a commodity as it is nowadays so when they were released I would get what I wanted because there was no resell market and the demand was low. It’s like i was the only person in NYC interested in collecting stickers. Also the Supreme stickers were NEVER for sale. Shoppers were given 1 or 2 by the staff at their discretion. As for stickers by other companies usually about cost 50¢ to $1. So I would just pay outright for them or do a trades. Dude I remember when box logo tee shirts would be on the tee shelf for weeks at a time. That’s how it was back then.
Nice one fella....
The Soukwear team.....
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