Friday, November 13th, 2009
slayer of style. lien rider from cc rider.
CC Rider is…
Lien Gray.
Owner of CC Rider.
Designer. Stylist. Rad chic. Maker of rock quilts.
The faves:
Craft: Sewing
DIY Tool: Dental Floss
Books: Anything vintage. Pshychadelia. Rock & Roll photography.
Designers: Alexander McQueen. Vivienne Westwood. John Paul Gaultier.
Album: Sad Wings of Destiny by Judas Priest.
Movie: Easy Rider & Suburbia
Spots in the city:
1) Mojo Bicycle Café
2) Pops
3) Decades Vintage
4) Yamo
5) Thee Parkside
What Records/Bands Do You Listen To That You Can’t Live Without and That Influence Your Design Aesthetic?
First, I should probably just say that CC Rider was based off of a song from the 1940’s. It’s an old blues song that’s been covered by 100 different people throughout the years — everyone from Janis Joplin to The Animals to Elvis Presley. So that has its roots in rock n roll and I think a lot of our inspiration design and aesthetic wise has to do with rock n roll and heavy metal. I really like Uriah Heap, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, Kiss, Merciful Fate, The Animals, The Zombies, UFO, Black Sabbath…a lot of roots in heavy metal in classic rock.
What Else Inspires You?
I try to steer clear of too much outside influence, or current influence. I read blogs but I try not to get too involved in it so I can have fresh eyes for everything. When I pick pieces, it’s more of a personal experience . I have a lot of books in the store and around me that have been a really big influence. I really like to delve into to historical counterculture movements that were going on in the 60’s and 70’s, up until now. Even in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, which were prevalent with punk rock and hardcore…all of that stuff has formulated my taste. I definitely have enough rock n roll and photography encyclopedias to last a lifetime, and then some.
What was the first thing that you remember making and getting paid for?
I made some costumes for some friends of mine who were in a heavy metal band. They all dress up as executioners, so I handmade a bunch of costumes for them for one of their shows. They commissioned me to make them and I spent 3-4 months hand drafting all of these tailored jackets/executioner-style wardrobe pieces.
What’s the most recent thing you made that you were proud of?
For an art show a little while back, I made this piece called “Qiss Kuilt” and it was actually the cover of Rock n Roll Over in quilt form. It’s a 1,000 piece, hand-sewn quilt. And I actually had an offer from someone in Japan, but I couldn’t part with it. I’m pretty proud of it – that was a pain-staking amount of work. It was 3 months where I basically didn’t sleep and my whole house was covered in thread. All my roommates were really supportive of it though, so that was awesome. I definitely commandeered the living room for several months.
What are your McGuyver tools that you can’t live without when you’re making stuff?
Seam ripper, fabric glue, vintage accessories and ecoutrement and a quality sewing machine.
How does D.I.Y. influence you?
D.I.Y.is pretty much everything about me. This whole shop, from its roots to everything in my core, is probably D.I.Y. I was really heavily involved in the SF punk scene when I was younger. There is a lot of value put on really being able to support locally owned businesses and things from the ground up that start out with nothing and end up making everything happen through this local community of people. It’s a collaborative effort between all of these people and myself to try to bring art and recycled clothing and new, independent and vintage stuff together all in one place and have no sponsorship or corporate entities supporting us. We started with absolutely nothing.
I had this major accident where I fell into a campfire and almost burned my arm off and was in the hospital for a few months. Afterwards, I had six months of recuperation time and I wrote up a business plan and got funding through various sources that were all independent contractors working with me who all gave me little bits of money. We also fundraised and got everything together to start this, and so the whole process has really been do-it-yourself.
If you could give advice to someone starting an independent business, what would it be?
Planning, planning, planning from the beginning! There are so many variables that you do not have control over. But if you at least have control over the smaller things, you’ll be able to get through those tougher times.
How did you get into the DIY community?
Definitely punk rock, just because at that time in my life when I was in school, I was really involved in local music. There was a real emphasis on making things and fashion and style – its such a big part of it. I used to spend days and days on my vests and jackets – studding them and making them the perfect expression of myself. That was the most fun part about it – being able to express yourself through fashion and really make it your own. Since you’re making it yourself, it’s not something that is going to go out of fashion at the end of the season. It’s not a trend – its you communicating your personality to the world.
What’s one thing you refuse to spend money on?
Like, everything. I refuse to spend money at giant conglomerate chain stores because I think they take away from the local businesses. They take a lot away from individuality as a whole. If you want to do anything to help your local economy, it’s to buy local instead of saving the $5 at Wal-Mart or Target.
What’s the most recent thrifting score that you picked up?
I just got an old 7-piece vintage 1950’s Verducci jacket. It comes apart in pieces and it turns into different jackets. It’s fully a lined leather jacket with zippers and everything. It was pretty epic.
CC Rider is located at 835 Divisadero Street near McAllister.
Peep ‘em. Do some shopping. Say hey.
on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 6:30 pm:
[…] Indie Mart interviews CC Rider’s Lien Gray. […]