Interview with Marc from oneculture | Introducing the new pulsar

1) Who are you, exactly?

Good question—ha ha! My name is Mark and I’m a Northern California native. I was born with a natural inclination towards art and all things creative. I used to draw A LOT as a kid! I remember producing a rather precise rendering of Don Knotts from the cover of “TV Guide” back when I was in third grade. I would draw things and then take them to school in order to show my classmates and teachers. This practice eventually got me placed into an advanced art class (a long, funny story).

I also love arts & crafts. In fact, to this day, my fondest memories are of the summers I spent at Arts Camp on Feather River, where I learned to make a stove top from a coffee can, a tuna can, a strip of card board, melted wax and string. We made bacon and potatoes on it. Arts Camp was awesome to the third power!

Over time however, I became unfocussed and, well…a “regular” person. That is, until I created oneculture—then I became an eager third-grader again! All of that creative energy came back to me instantaneously. It was a complete RUSH!!! My head practically spun off of my torso—ha ha…

2) What prompted you to start a denim line?

Long story short: I was driven by a mix of boredom, ignorance and creativity. Here’s what happened…

In January of 04’ I’d gotten laid off from a crappy office manager gig; I hated that job! In any case, the abundance of newly found idle time eventually prompted me to entertain a long since tucked-away idea of making clothes for myself. And since jeans are all I’ve ever worn, I figured that I’d begin there.

And this is where the ignorance comes into play as I was completely unaware that there was some sort of “denim boom” happening. I knew of the old school brands like Levi’s, Calvin Klein, GAP, Lee…brands like that. But up to that point I hadn’t heard of a single contemporary denim brand. oneculture started from absolute zero!

So, having said that, when I sat down to sketch I didn’t have a clear idea of how my drawing would look. I had no models or templates to follow. All I knew was that I wanted to create something more thought-provoking than the jeans I’d been accustomed to wearing. And I let this desire guide my pencil.

I loved the sketch immediately! I became so enthused and invigorated that within a few minutes I began wondering just how many other people would dig it as well. oneculture, or rather, the idea of producing jeans for consumers, was born at that very moment. I knew immediately that this was my destiny. I had finally found a way to be artistic & creative for a living!

3) Tell me about your brand name. What does oneculture stand for?

There’s a certain degree of insecurity that comes with being an industry outsider. And in order to compensate for that I wanted to make a really bold statement with my brand name. I wanted it to be powerfully concise; a condensed message that would sort of encapsulate all things denim as well as possess the potential for great possibilities.

While brain storming I became fixated first on the word “one”, and then on the word “culture”. I eventually opted to combine them in order to send a more potent message. The term “oneculture” is a collective reference to jean-lovers of the world. And together with the tagline—“For those who love jeans”–it’s practically self-explanatory.

4) Who is your target customer?

I design partly in order to satisfy my inner consumer. After all, I’m a consumer like most other people. With regard to jeans however, I consider myself to be a “Denim Liberal” with a lean towards raw denim fabric; a non-snobbish, middle-of-the-road type.

The dry denim market is quite esoteric. However, I wanted to create a raw denim brand to which every-day people could relate. Based on buyer feedback, my customers thus far have been DJ’s, lawyers, students, Silicon Valley techies, etc. And I’ve shipped personal orders to places like Canada, Virginia, New Jersey, Ireland and Pakistan, to name a few. So my customers seem to represent a fairly even cross-section of the denim market, which is perfect; that’s precisely who I’m trying to reach.

5) With so many dry denim brands on the market, what does oneculture bring to the table?

I consider this question to be the proverbial starting point for any business venture. Fine fabrics, fits and solid construction are ubiquitous within the raw denim industry. We all have these things to some degree. They’re what you should have in order to even consider getting started. That being said, quality-wise, Pulsar is solid.

Beyond our shared characteristics however, oneculture differs from most other raw denim brands in that it offers a truly unique point of view. Whereas nearly all raw denim brands seem to draw inspiration and style from a single source (late 1800’s/early-mid 20th century “Americana”/work wear/outlaw culture, etc), oneculture draws inspiration from various sources; a relatively eccentric mix of home town pride, architecture and childhood nostalgia with a pinch of “denim forum”. The result is a raw shuttle loom denim jean with its own purpose and character. And in that regard, oneculture provides consumers with a fresh, affordable alternative to structure.

6) Explain oneculture’s distinct look

The look stems from a desire to stand out in a tasteful manner; both, on my end and on the consumer end. Lack of industry connections prompted me to try and create jeans that would practically sell themselves, which meant that not only would they have to be of great quality, but they’d also have to possess a certain degree of eye-appeal. For direction, I relied heavily on introspection in order to understand the mechanics of consumer psychology. And in order to create the aesthetic I drew inspiration from my personal interests.

For instance, I’m one of the most nostalgic people you’ll ever meet. I collect items from the 1970’s, namely action figures, TV Guides and movie posters…stuff like that. Hence, I felt that it’d be interesting to let my childhood nostalgia bleed into my brand somehow. I opted to utilize thread colors and styles (silhouettes and names) in order to share my story in a subtle way. For instance, my signature thread color references, “1970” (beige, olive green and brown) and “1978” (orange, brown and turquoise) are comprised of colors that were prevalent during those times. And the style name “Pulsar” comes from an action figure that I’d gotten for Christmas back in 78’, “Pulsar, The Ultimate Man of Adventure”.

Additionally, home town pride is a huge motivating factor for me. I’ve been editing my product each season in order to refine the look and fit. And I felt it important this time to represent my region by adding some local flavor to my brand. I incorporated basic brown thread with indigo thread accents; a combination that I refer to as “East Bay MUD”, in reference to our local utility company (“the East Bay Municipal Utility District”). This season also saw the introduction of my leather patch (version 1), in which I opted to pay homage to our local iconic landmark, the Sutro Tower. The Sutro Tower is responsible for our local radio and TV programming.

Lastly, I keep a close eye to the city streets in order to take in what local residents are actually buying and wearing. I thusly consolidate my ideas and bring the look together with them in mind.

7) What/who are some of your influences?

As a local business owner, I’m completely inspired by legendary local visionaries (and visionaries in general, for that matter); namely folks like George Lucas, Donald Fisher, Steve Jobs and Russ Meyer to name a couple. The list most certainly doesn’t end there though! These people possess unusually keen foresight and were fearless enough in the beginning to pursue their impulses—BADASS! I’m motivated in part by the desire to simply be able to add my vision to the rich history of my region.

By the way, although my tastes have since changed, Renzo Rosso has also been a huge influence. I specifically appreciate how the design team works over there at Diesel.

Describe some of the challenges that you face.

I’m a laid off, part time, blue collar worker so money is a constant issue. Secondly, I have no industry credentials or connections, so I don’t benefit from the spoils of network support. Lastly, is the inherent challenge that comes along with “swimming upstream”! oneculture is not the typical dry denim brand that’s so ubiquitous within the denim forums; it appeals more so to the general public. And as such, I don’t have the luxury of readily available, day-to-day feedback.

However, I’m completely unfazed and maniacally focused! I have an intuitive feeling and a crystal clear vision. I simply continue to do the best that I can with what I have.

I do small batch productions and, to that extent, the funding always comes through somehow. Secondly, I feel that as long as I continue to produce good work, the whole “connections” thing will work itself out eventually. Lastly, good old fashioned word-of-mouth has been working just fine. The feedback that I’ve received thus far has been phenomenal and encouraging. For instance, I’ve had five different customers write to me in order to share that they’ve been stopped on the streets by people asking about their Pulsars. So that lets me know that there’s a tendency for people to feel an authentic, organic connection to my work.

Having patience however, has been the most difficult part of my journey thus far. I’m notoriously impatient!! But hey, what can you do—ha ha…

9) What does the future hold?

Ultimately, I wish to become a reputable designer/visionary, someone whose work is admired and anticipated. I look forward to doing much more; I have SO many ideas, man. However, I’m just taking things one step at a time. And for now, I’ll just leave it at that.