07 / 01 / 2014

Welcome To Clyde

I have this weird ritual whenever I stay at a bach: head for the cupboards and seek out their collection of ‘holiday hats’. Why? Because they are always the BEST. Pre-loved and worn-in shapes and styles that you just can’t find anymore. Not only are these hats ideal beach accessories but they also fit seamlessly into my holiday attire (or at least I think they do). But there is always that bittersweet moment of having to return it to where it was found. Damn. If only I could purchase a hat like this one…

Enter Clyde.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen, Fashion Assistant at Interview Magazine talks to Dani Griffiths, founder and creator of Clyde – the best looking hats you will ever lay your eyes on. Classic styles, perfectly shaped and sized, and all in beautifully natural colourways. Clyde offers headwear fit for years of enjoyment. My pick? Wide Brim Flat Top Hat.

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Hollie Van Osenbruggen: So you are from Vancouver originally, and you mentioned that you only planned to stay in New York for three months. Why did you decide to move here?

Dani Griffiths: I wanted a change of pace. Vancouver is an interesting place and is really beautiful but it can be very slow. I know some really amazing people there doing very creative things and a lot has changed there since I’ve moved but I decided to move to New York when I was 21. I worked in boutiques in Vancouver and learned a lot when I was there. When I came here for my 21st birthday, I was completely enamored with the city, I was just romanticized by the city. Totally fell in love with it. Then I moved here six months later, and I started working for Assembly New York.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: Tell me about Assembly.

Dani Griffiths: It is an assemblage of young designers; there is an in-house collection and then a carefully curated selection of vintage in the store as well. I ended up wearing every sort of hat that you possibly could in that sort of environment. I started off in the menswear section then became kind of the right-hand man for Craig who owns the store. This lead to doing a lot of the vintage buying, I did the woman’s buying, visual merchandising and then eventually I did the sales for the men’s collection so I would attend the trade shows. It was amazing to get hands on experience and really feel the ins and outs of the business.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: It would be, and especially good when you work for a new company – learning everything alongside their growth.

Dani Griffiths: Yeah, it was, because the company was very small. It started as a dent in the wall, people’s best-kept secret, but now it has become more of a well-known name. I had always been doing Clyde on the side, but there just came a point when Clyde started to outweigh my commitments elsewhere – it just started to demand more and more attention. I started out with distribution at 4 or 5 stores but once I started doing the hats, the amount of accounts I have had every season has almost doubled. So now it is my only job. At first it was just an accessory line, I had being dong it a very long time since I was young. I have being operating under the name Clyde since I was 15 years old as the name for which I would make things and then sell them. It has changed, what I have done within it – but it is cool because it has such deep roots.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: Well yeah, it is like a childhood dream realised.

Dani Griffiths: Totally! If I was a kid and someone had told me that this is what I would be doing, I know it sounds cheesey, but I would not have expected it or I would have been really thrilled! I am super happy about the way things have gone.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: Fantastic! Tell me more about the timeline, what you started designing first and with what methods.

Dani Griffiths: Crochet was what I began with. I started by making hats when I was 13 years old, and I would sell them to my friends. I’ve always really appreciated working with my hands. My father is a musician and my mum has always being very tactile. She would always sew our clothes as kids, she was always making crafts and working on projects. My parents were both business people but they had a love for creativity. When we were kids my Dad built us a playhouse where my sister and I would just live for the summer and I had my own vegetable garden. We had rabbits and cats; it was a very lush visual, if you will. They both live in the city now but it was an amazing way to grow up. I am super close to my parents. I think that shows through because they very heavily influenced me. I respected them and loved them so much. I liked their paths and it definitely transferred into what I am doing now.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: It’s nice to have that kind of relationship with your parents where they feed into your life in a very conscious way. People are often trying to against the grain of where and whom they came from. So, the crocheting came first and then the knitting. Did you know when you Google knitting it comes up with some crazy article which states that Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts helped in redeveloping the popularity of knitting?

Dani Griffiths: What? That is hilarious.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: So I suppose they must be some of your influencers! Have you ever thought about making clothes?

Dani Griffiths: It has always being accessories. I won’t rule out moving into clothes because I definitely see that happening. I just want it to be as good as possible, so that’s why I always try to focus on one thing at a time and make it the best it can be. I really like shapes and the subtleties within shapes but I would much prefer things to be original in shape and the design rather than original by throwing something on it. I appreciate industrial design. I am much more inspired by a beautiful glass or a nice chair. Right now I am sharing my studio with an interior designer and a furniture designer. It is the most harmonious environment.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: You are the first person I have met in New York with a car. Do you get out and about in it? Drive across the USA?

Dani Griffiths: I bought the car and drove it across from California. It was awesome. I drove south the whole way; Arizona, Texas and stopped for a couple of nights in New Orleans. When I got back I had to start designing the Fall/Winter collection right away. I went straight to work on that and only had something like 3 weeks. It was a good trip, I had postcards from the trip, colour-scapes. When I look back – those were the only things that were on my inspiration board. No people – just environments and music – music is a big one. I’d say 50 percent of me is music and 50 percent is design in terms of where my passions lie.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: I like how you were inspired by environment because knitting came about as a way to create heavier garments, protection against the elements. Same as hats too.

Dani Griffiths: I like things that will stay with you through your whole life and become a part of your personal journey. This is why I don’t like to focus on trends. I prefer utility balanced with beauty. I want there also to be some room for the wearer to change the dynamic of the item by making it personal to them. They can put feathers in the hats, they can put a scarf around it or their own band. I like to leave room for the wearer to reinterupt the piece…

(Fabulous featuring Ashanti So Into You starts playing on the radio). We both fall into laughs.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: Damn I love this song. I used to sit and wait by the radio for it to play so I could record it on my tapes.

Dani Griffiths: I have actually being doing that today – dubbing cassette tapes! My friend is working on this mix tape project for the scene store down by the Lorimar stop of the L train. There are a lot of good things happening down there, especially if you are into the printed matter. No, not really? ( jokes ) Oh yeah I forgot you only use your digital iPad and that weird looking recording app.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: Ha ha yeah, yeah… I will go check it out for sure! Actually speaking of mix taping, when I was going through your Tumblr there was a post about how you were at the New Museum cutting mix tapes. I actually listened to them. I feel like you can get to know someone really well just by listening to the way someone constructs a mix – it could almost be an amalgamation of his or her entire personality rolled into one.

Dani Griffiths: I am so glad you listened to it! I really like to tell a story through the mixes too – pay attention to a gradual build. There are so many stories telling you can do through songs and the way in which they connect. I really want to create more mixes – I’m always posting new songs and videos. It’s important to me – I mean a song can change your whole day. If you listen to a good song- it can take you to another place. I appreciate music.

Hollie Van Osenbruggen: I did see a video of you playing a bass guitar but then it skipped to you doing something completely different – I didn’t get to see much of you playing. Wish I did though.

Dani Griffiths: Honestly that video was quite freeform but that is also just how I work. I’ll do some knitting and then I just sit and put on a record or look for new music or play around on the gear I have at home and then back to whatever I am working on. The way that I work is that I have no set times. I will go into the studio at all hours of the morning just whenever I feel the urge to make/work. That is the best thing about living in this city though – you can literally live your life the way you want to live it. New York has been a blessing that way. I feel the same way. There is a lot of freedom here. You never feel like anything will close or stop. I don’t think it does.