Prototype
Wednesday - July 05, 2006
Five friends who share the same interests in fashion, art and music are discovering that there are scores of other locals just like them.
Gavin Cook, Danny Ganiko, Kevin Mau, Kavet Omo and Gavin Kobayashi are the men behind Prototype, a new store in Pearlridge offering the latest in skateboard gear, art accessories, and men’s and women’s clothing and accessories.
“Most of us worked together at a local surf/skate store, and we didn’t really always agree with what we were selling,” explains Cook on how Prototype came about. “We wanted to sell different things, and we wondered how it would be if we could bring in all the brands we liked and the clothes we wanted to sell.”
They followed their dream, and in just a month and a half since its opening at Pearlridge, customer response has been phenomenal. They’ve created a buzz and even drew crowds at its last in-store event/art show “Four-Eyed Fish.”
“Our store is kind of urban with a street feel,” says Cook. “It’s real art and music inspired. Also, we try to bring in brands that nobody else in Hawaii carries, or only a couple of other stores have.” Brands for men include Obey, LRG, 10 Deep, Grn Apple Tree, Stussy, Poetree, FiveFour, The Seventh Letter, Prototype, Akomplice and Listen. For women, the store carries Stussy, Luxirie (women’s version of LRG), Obey, Sound Girl, Gentle Fawn and more.
“The short-billed caps are kind of the ‘in’ thing right now,” says Cook. “And brands like 10 Deep and LRG are really hot.” The store also carries hip-hop CDs and vinyl, graffiti style paintings, and artwork by various artists. There’s also a monthly in-store or store-sponsored event. In the works are a skateboard deck design show, and a show with Kidrobot. There’s also a Prototype skateboard team consisting of three “up and coming kids with good grades and good personalities” — Mike Granillo,Wes Lucas and Bronson Gregory.
Prototype, which was originally located at Windward Mall, is now in Pearlridge (uptown, below Borders). For more information, call 484-8973, log on to www.inspirecreativity.com or visit their myspace page under the display name: prototypeops
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