You read that correctly! I am giving away a free custom iPhone 4/4s case from Uncommon! If you haven’t heard of Uncommon, they sell premium cases for the iPhone and iPod Touch. They even allow you to put a custom design on the back of the case. this one in particular features the Floral Sol design that is on one of our belts. Below you can find out how to enter:

You have two ways of entering the giveaway. The first option is that you follow and either retweet my tweet on Twitter that says “Free Custom iPhone 4s Case Giveaway! http://riseabuv.com/?p=247 RT to enter!” or post that yourself. The second is to enter by going to our Facebook Page, liking it, and then comment on the status that says “Comment here to enter the free iPhone Case Giveaway! Read More: http://riseabuv.com/?p=247″ Multiple comments will not give you multiple entries.

If you do both of the options above, then you have two chances to enter the giveaway! I will not allow anymore comments or retweets after 9pm EST Sunday January 15.  After that, I will choose a winner at random and announce the winner on Monday. I will then either contact you on Twitter or Facebook, depending on how you entered.  This is open to individuals in the United States only. So go retweet me and like us on Facebook! You know you want to.

Over this past summer I had a chance to hear an amazing artist perform at Evolve Clothing Gallery. Mree is an aspiring singer/songwriter with an absolutely amazing voice. This interview is from last year, so a bit of information is out of date, however at the end I will give an update on what is new.

Image originally from Mree’s website

My name is Marie Hsiao, and I go by “Mree” as my artist title. I’m a singer/songwriter that produces my own music. I got started by posting videos of me singing on YouTube under the name “mreebee3” and it has really helped to get me to where I am with my music and following today.

I’ve always been singing since I was little, but what really got me started in music was piano. I started taking lessons when I was five and my teacher taught me how to play by ear (which is how I play on all my instruments). Singing came into the picture when I was eleven and I saw the movie “Glitter”, starring Mariah Carey. I wanted to learn to sing like her and that’s when I discovered my voice. When I started to write my own material, I knew that this was something I wanted to pursue.

I’m always the worst at categorizing music, but if I had to (in a bunch of words), I would say a mixture of singer/songwriter, indie, and acoustic. I’d listen to music in that mash-up of genres but I’ve still got an ear to listen and try out different kinds.

I look up to my favorite artists because their music plays a big part in my inspiration. Some of my favorite bands include Bon Iver, Sigur Ros, Jonsi, and Hammock. Whenever I listen to them, I get a sense of happiness, comfort, and hope all at the same time (it’s a bit hard to explain). But it’s this array of emotions that inspire me to (hopefully) get the same reaction to the music that I create and have people feel something when they listen to me. On a personal level, I look up to my mom because she supports me and helps me get through so much and I hope to be like her when I grow up.

Those are about as much as I play so far. Eventually, I would love to learn to play the violin and cello. I just absolutely love their sound.

For me, it always changes depending on what kind of mood and venue I’m in. For now, I love playing “On Your Own” when I’m in indoor venues because I feel like I can really connect with the audience and get them to feel something. It’s a song about parting from those who put you down and being happily independent.

Other than my music, I can’t think of any other special talents. I mean, I do like to draw now and then, but it’s nothing spectacular. I’ll leave that to my sister, Lina. She is an incredible artist.

Other than the three singles I have out on iTunes, I’m planning to have my full-length album out by the end of summer (most likely in August), so be on the lookout for that!

—————

The album titled “Grow” was released October 8, 2011 and can be found on iTunes or on her website where you can purchase a physical copy. You can find her on Facebook and YouTube where she is always posting updates and song covers. On February 11, Mree will be performing at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. For more information on future events, you can check her website. Mree just recently released a new music video for her single “Lift Me Up” which you can watch below.

Welcome to the spankin’ new redesign of the Abuv website! It was designed to load faster and generally just look much cooler. Things will still be getting pushed out as time goes on, so please be patient. If there are any errors or issues, please go to the contact page and let me know so I can look into it.

The store is finally COMPLETELY in stock. Every item you see there is currently sitting in the basement just waiting to get shipped out! Catch My Sol Act and Sol Invader came out absolutely amazing and I am so happy with the quality. Sol Invader has to be my favorite shirt as of now. It just looks perfect.

As for the mystery item, we now carry custom made non-latex rubber and aluminum bracelets. These are completely handmade by yours truly.

If you live nearby and want to check out a great shop, definitely go to E>olve Clothing Gallery. They carry all kinds of brands, including Abuv. I also made their logo for them, and it looks pretty awesome as their sign.

I will be at NYCC this weekend at the Javits Convention Center. So if you’re going to be there, follow me on twitter and let me know so we can hang out or meet! I haven’t been in the city in awhile, so I can’t wait to go back.

 

Watch out for more blog posts! I will be posting interviews with other inspiring entrepreneurs as well as projects I am working on.

Back when I was at New York Comic Con in 2010, I had the chance to meet the creator of the Robotectors, these character themed cases for your iPhone and iPod Touch.  Antonio was able to answer some questions recently about the protectors.

I am Antonio de Jesus, painter, illustrator, graphic designer, product designer with a passion for collectible vinyl toys. I consider my self a traditional / non-traditional painter. My paintings have been exhibited at the Jersey City City Hall, Hoboken, New Jersey Historical Museum (permanent exhibit), the United Nations in New York City, Ecuador, and Brazil.

The Robotector are a series of my own characters designed with a specific set of powers.
I wanted to create something with meaning (at least for me). For example, the Black with Bones character is a prehistoric skeleton who uses his bone to protect and defend himself or others from danger when fighting.
The Ni 28 refers to Nickel. This character has a magnetic power. Using his power he can magnetize himself to the enemy and get very close to create damage to its opponent. Pure White character is the angel mediator of every fighting situation. It means well to everyone and does every thing possible to avoid fighting. It will protect the good ones and the bad ones.
She will be there to balance the fight.

My love for collectibles vinyl toys drove me into the creation of my series of toys, but the Robotector where not the first toy I created, the first toy I designed, I called them “Drooling Aliens” then I created “Roboticow” these were plush dolls only, then I created the Robotector.

I designed the Robotector back in 2004 when I got an iPod Classic as a birthday gift. Back then I would never think it could be produced.
During the summer of 2008, I bought the iPhone 3G/3Gs and the idea of creating my original case came back. By now, I had experience in the process of manufacturing a product.

Yes, the Robotector is also a vinyl toy. I want to spend time creating the story behind the Robotector.
This will allow me to explain the entire series of character, their powers, strength and their enemies etc.

Is very hard to predict due to the fast changes in technology. Phones and mobile devices are changing very fast and at the moment
I don’t produce as fast as the product is required. Hopefully in the next months I can have a more clear idea of when a new series will come out.

The Robotector is available at the fallowing stores: Kidrobot, Forbidden Planet, Toy Tokyo, Kinokuniya and Eat Gift.
Online, there are about 8 retailers as well, including Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, and so on. We have have reached stores from 5 other countries,
including: South Korea, Japan, Venezuela, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Picture taken by Hannah Lambert

If you’d like to get your hands on one of these, you can check out the Nugo Labs website.  You can also follow the company on twitter and like them on facebook.

My buddy Pedro and his business partner, Mark, started up a site a couple years ago called Sole Sirius.  It’s an awesome blog for people who are really into sneakers and other things fashion.  Here is a little bit of insight into the creators.

My name is Pedro Rodriguez, I’m 24 and the editor in chief and co-creator of Sole Sirius. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Sunset Park to be exact. I’ve been into sneakers since my freshman year of high school, so since i was 14. My obsession began with skate shoes, brands like Adio, Circa, and Fallen Footwear lined my closet floor. It wasn’t until 4 years ago that i started picking up more “mainstream” stuff like Nike SB, and Supra.

Hey I’m Mark, one of the co founders of Sole Sirius, I’m 24 years old.  Born and raised in Sunset Park, an often forgotten area in Brooklyn New York.   I’ve been working along side my long time friend Pedro on the Sole Sirius project for a little over two years now.   We’ve known each other for about 16 years, since we were just 8 years old back in Cub Scouts.  lol

I’ve always been into sneakers but I’ve never really had the money to drop on kicks because my family was lower class.  So I was that kid wearing one pair of kicks a year.  I had my toothbrush and my soap out every night scrubbing my sneakers until they looked as new as I could get them for the next day of school.  As I got older I developed a love for the artistic side of sneakers  the colors and patterns as well as fabrics used to design the shoe appealed to me.  I enjoy looking at a pair of sneakers as if it were a work of art, and many are definitely masterpieces in their own rite.

Sole Sirius originally started out as “So Serious” it was something i would say whenever i saw a pair of kicks i found really impressive. A friend of mine was never sure what i was saying and asked me one day if i was saying “Sole” or “So” and that’s when it clicked, the perfect name for a website i had been dying to start for a long time. Once i had figured out the name i approached Mark one night, we spoke about it and the rest is history.

We came up with the name Sole Sirius one night while drinking with some other friends.  Pedro actually thought of it, once I heard the words Sole Sirius, it just clicked.  Sole being the soul of the shoe, the part which separates you from the earth as you walk.  And Sirius being ambiguous in meaning. It can stand for “serious” like your serious about your “soles” or your kicks. And it can mean Sirius like the binary stars which many cultures believe your soul goes to when we ascend from this life onto the next.  So the name has a very strong meaning to it when you look at it from either way.  Since Sirius is a binary star it fits perfectly with the concept of sneakers because everyone wears two pairs of sneakers, unless you have only one leg.

Daily if possible. Sometimes, because of our regular jobs or personal lives we might miss a day or two but normally multiple times daily and some weekends.

Retro’s are really taking over right now, the Jordan brand has the holiday season locked down. They have a few kicks coming out in the next few months that collectors and fans are gonna go crazy for. Specifically the “Cool Grey” XI’s and a few colorways of the Jordan XIII.

I guess that depends on where you live. Anywhere in the tri-state area, Sneaker-Con is the place to be, the DXC (DunkXChange) has events all over the place, New York, Miami, LA, San Fran. Chicago has the Htown Sneaker Summit, which i hear is pretty insane.

We plan to take over the world in a few years kinda like Ghengis Kahn.  Joking, but seriously we plan to open up a storefront in a few years and of course continue to bring sneaker heads their daily fix of sneaker releases and culture on the web.

Aside from our website, you can follow us on twitter which is updated just as often as our site, multiple times a day. We’re on Facebook, just like the rest of the world. We have a Youtube channel where you can check out our sneaker  event walkthroughs and independent brand spotlights and if you’re on Clusterr we’re on there too.

So there you have it!  If you’re a sneaker fanatic, you should definitely check them out at their website.  For updates, follow them on youtube, facebook, and twitter