• Stephen Burks
• Readymade Projects
• USA
• » www.readymadeprojects.com
• » stephenburks@readymadeprojects.com

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He studied product design at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design and Architecture at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture and Planning.

He formed Readymade Projects in 1997 to offer creative design direction and design strategy in a variety of disciplines.
Since then, he has collaborated with some of the most interesting brands, designers and artists working today. The studio prides itself on its ability to make unpredictable purposeful connections between object and use, consumer and environment, brand and market for clients as diverse as Idee's Sputnik and Cappellini.

My current collaboration with Camella Ehlke, founder and creative director of Triple 5 Soul, led to the redesign of the new Triple 5 Soul flagship store in SoHo that just opened this past February, as well as the Triple 5 Soul men's store in Tokyo.
After analyzing the brand, the design strategy I chose revolved around re-engaging Triple 5 with its international community of artists, dancers and musicians, all of who "grew up" with the brand as the uniform of choice.
It was a very challenging project because of the legendary street credibility that Triple 5 Soul has.
The main issues were how to give the store a completely updated image without alienating its loyal customers.
I worked closely with Camella to implement a totally new direction for Triple 5's retail offer based on the SoHo flagship store operating as a kind of cultural condenser. As a transforming event space and retail gallery, the new store serves to allow a bi-monthly schedule of events to literally re-brand it.
We named it the Triple 5 Soul "vs." projects.
The new marketing strategy allows an individual artist or company, associated with Triple 5 to take over the entire store space.
Through an opening party, temporary exhibition and large-scale graphic sticker applied to the back wall, the guest artists literally combine their identity with Triple 5's.
To accommodate these events, all of the fixtures can be reconfigured.
The rolling T-shirt display doubles as art/product platform, the suspended hangers slide off tracks to create party space and a full-time DJ booth merges with the cashwrap/bar.
Camella and I are currently "renewing" other creative companies by developing new product categories and marketing relationships based on our mutual interests in international urban lifestyles.