WINGS + HORNS TALKING TO SERIES | JESAR GABINO

Posted by Oak and Oar on March 12, 2012

This week Canadian brand Wings + Horns debuted an interview series entitled ‘Talking To’ over on their blog. The first in the series catches up with one of our favourite designers and former Winnipegger Jesar Gabino. Jesar has held all types of titles from Senior Designer at Goodfoot, Creative Director / Designer Ransom Holding Co and Owner/Creative Director and Buyer at Nomad.

name: jesar gabino
twitter: @jesargabino
store: nomad
role: buyer/creative director/ owner
hometown: winnipeg, MB
current city: toronto
drink: pineapple juice
vice: cigarettes

what is your favorite thing about the city you live in….
best about toronto? variety. people always talk about how canada is multicultural but toronto is really the place where this is most evident. i’ve been & lived in a few canadian cities & for the most part toronto really holds true to that. food, people, neighborhoods, culture, city vibe… it’s all a mixture of cultures. toronto always gets the bad rap of being “the center of the universe” in terms of how other canadians look at toronto but it has stepped up in terms of being that place for canada. our little shop is a microcosm of that, we get all types of guys shopping at nomad… young &old, grimy & clean cut & guys of all shapes & sizes.

when you’re not in the shop where can we find you…
i’m usually roaming taking in this fine city of ours or seated at one of our fine restaurants in the city. more likely than not i’m roaming for food to eat or make at home. i also love being at home. i’m lucky where my better half & i have a great place with a fantastic piece of backyard in the city that is off a private lane. feels like the country back there in the summer.

what are you listening to right now…
exactly right now? “saturday nite” off ghostface killah’s supreme clientele album. it’s playing in the shop from our reincarnated scarfaces playlist. shouts to PA for coining that one.

who’s in your entourage…
my better half MR… always at my side & in my heart; family in toronto & on the westcoast; nomad gang, 431 goons, RSB & the friend’s i’ve known for more than half my life that are still in my life…you know who you are…that right there is history & goes beyond history.

who are you following…
those who led before us. to know the future is to know the past. the operative word here is “led” – big difference.

how do you hear of new brands…
everyone & everything. there are so many ways to be inspired & influenced nowadays. the internet blows things up way too fast these days so you’ve got to be careful. but we try to look at everything without bias & arrive at our own decision about brands.

what keeps you inspired…
people who strive to inspire & be inspired. they are few & far between. also people who are willing to take risks. not like crazy ass people who are detrimental to themselves but smart, focused & calculated risk takers.

where do you see yourself in 5 years…
probably doing what i do now but better, stronger & faster. nomad has momentum right now & by the good graces of the universe we’ll continue to grow. also, on a beach but not on a beach.

what makes your store cool…
well, i don’t know if we’re cool but if people want to say that i won’t complain. really though…i think that we really strive to give guys what guys want. this was a concept that took us a while to really hone in on but we approach it that way now. obviously within the parameters of what we choose to co-sign though. the nomad guy is the fashion guy’s guy, if that makes sense. it makes sense to us. we’re all inspired by many different cultures, fashion-wise, ethnically, pop-culturally & background but the one thing that ties us all together is the era most of us grew up in. there were a lot of subcultures that flourished in the 70′s-90′s & most of us were kids during that time. a few of us got some years on us over here so we’ve seen a lot. we’ve been around the block so we’ve seen a lot come & go. that right there is priceless…it’s authenticity because we’ve lived that sh*t but we’re not confined by that. we also like to look to the future, which is part of our success as well…the vision. 7 years ago we were influenced from certain people & places & we knew that toronto would follow suit at some point so we just made sure we were there when the people were ready. we’ve managed to stick around because we’ve adapted to what the market is giving us.

what’s next for your store…
getting through this season…hahaha. we got some things lined up…a couple special projects coming down the pipeline. we’re in the midst of doing a small renovation in the shop. we just closed our original location at 431 richmond because the building got sold so our queen street location is the spot now. we’re freshening things up for spring/summer 2012. on the last buying trip to ny we went to the thomas hooper show the origins of solitude at the nepenthes store. we ended up buying 3 pieces from the show so we’re excited to install those in the shop as well. look the dude up…

You can find the interview in its entirety here.