Local Spotlight: Permute Clothing

With their motto listed as "a changing clothing company", locally known clothing Permute Clothing has been hard at work over the past few years churning out streetwear that doesn't generally follow the norm. Permute's heavy use of social media has benefied them greatly in solidifying their spot in the Twin Cities streetwear scene. Headed by Saint Paul natives Max May and Matt Muraoka, I got the chance to sit down with May before the snow fell and got to ask him a few questions about their endeavor.

Max May (c) 2014 Bill Berger

Bill: First off, thanks for sitting down with me.

Max: No problem, glad to be here.

B: What was Permute's inception like? How did you get to the point you're at now?

M: Well, we were all friends in high school at Central and got to all be part of a screen printing class. With all of us interested in street fashion and printing on clothing, it just sort of fell into place that we started a clothing company. We pooled all the extra money we had and produced our first line in 2011 which consisted of three designs.

B: What do you think is your best selling product?

M: Hmm, I'd have to say sweatshirts or warm hats. We've done everything from baseball hats, posters, t-shirts, patches, and everything along the way, and sweatshirts are definitely our best selling item. Makes sense with the Minnesota winters I suppose.

B: How has the use of social media and technology in general affected your business?

Handsewn Turtlenecks (c) 2014 Bill Berger

M: Oh, it's hugely beneficial. We're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, you name it. There's nothing like randomly getting retweeted or a shoutout from a dude in Italy or something to really make you realize how connected we all are. We also have an online store that Matt wrote the code for and everything.

B: What are your plans for Permute's future?

M: Nothing too concrete, the online store I mentioned earlier was the big project we were looking to finish. With that, we have a more stable platform to host and promote our work.

Max in Colorado this Fall (c) 2014 Bill Berger

GPS Enabled SmartWallet is The Coolest Thing You Will Probably Still Manage to Lose

As if there weren't already enough "smart" things to buy in today's world, the company StreetSmart is now gunning for your wallet. Their recently released, aptly named SmartWallet is the next in a long line of advances in mobile technology. Containing a 1000mAh backup battery, Lightning or micro-USB phone chargers, and GPS locator, the wallet boasts a handful of features with the ability to save almost any night out on the town from disaster. Lose the phone? Make your phone chirp with a button on the wallet. Lose the wallet? Your phone beeps when you leave it and can guide you back to within 50 meters. Lose your friend who doesn't have a SmartWallet? You're on your own. For more info, check out the companies website HERE.

SmartWallet: The World's Smartest Wallet from StreetSmart Brand on Vimeo.

Hubbard Broadcasting Acquires 16 New Stations in Minnesota

Hubbard Broadcasting, the Saint Paul based television and radio broadcasting corporation, recently announced they would purchase 16 radio stations from the Omni Broadcasting Company. Only adding to their expansive broadcasting locations as far away as New Mexico, the new stations would bring broadcasting to the Alexandria, Bemidji, Brainerd and Wadena markets in rural Minnesota. An added cherry on top, Hubbard Broadcasting claims the acquisition will bring in 100 new employees without any personnel changes to the existing stations. For more information, check out the press release on the company's website.

http://corporate.hubbardradio.com/press-room/

Bi-Annual Saint Paul Art Crawl Creates Spring Beauty

In real estate, they say it’s always about location. If you were to tell someone in the late 1970’s that the abandoned and dilapidated warehouse district in Lowertown, Saint Paul was the location destined to become the thriving hub of of the cities art scene, you would have been hard pressed to find someone who agreed with you.

By means of a 10 million dollar grant by the mcknight foundation, the Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation got to work on revitalizing the area. Instead of demolition and new buildings, the LRC choose to renovate the inside of the historical buildings, most of which were built by Prestigious Saint Paul architects.

First appearing in 1991, the Saint Paul Art Crawl now includes over 300 artists in the Lowertown District who open their studios and creations up to the public for an entire weekend. From a spraypainted hot tub made out of a dumpster, to illustrious oil paintings of far away lands, the art crawl is extremely open as to what can be included in the art show. The food, drink, and most importantly, the often quirky residents of the buildings create a relaxed and fun atmosphere that is different from most stuffy art showings. The spring art crawl is April 24th, 25th, and 26th with more information being found on the official website, stpaulartcrawl.org