MANILA, Philippines ? If you?re one of those people who always want to be unique and express their individuality, shopping among stalls of mass-produced products might not really appeal to you. Look no further, as the Evil Geniuses are here to provide you exactly what you want.
In March of 2008, five friends thought of putting up a company called Three Floors Up. They are Allan Burdeos, Bon Sundiang, Paco Sta. Maria, Ace Enriquez, and Glenn Hernandez. If those names sound familiar, it?s because half of them are in famous bands.
Allan is the drummer of Kamikazee, Bon beats for Moonstar88, and Glenn plays the base guitar for Concrete Sam. Paco does video production, and Ace is a graphic designer and video editor. While Three Floors Up is mainly a multimedia house doing mainly graphic design and video and music production, they put up another sub-group called Evil Genius Apparels, specializing on customized hand-painted shoes, shirts, and other merchandise.
When they first started, they produced band merchandise for Parokya ni Edgar, Queso, Kamikazee and Concrete Sam, which they sold during gigs. Eventually, they ventured out to hand-painting shoes and shirts. Upon seeing some hand-painted shoes at the mall, they liked the concept but not the design. Soon they were painting their own designs for the first batch.
Even though they already have ready-made shoes for selling, clients can always provide their own design, or even just a concept of what they want and they will work their geniuses with complete client consultation. Usually, they will first create a mock-up in the computer then send it to the client if the design is good to go. No one gets disappointed in the process.
The shoe painting time varies with the complexity of the design. It takes a week at most, but sometimes it only takes half the time. Hand-painted shirts are quicker to make, but again, it will still depend on the design.
Evil Genius also makes customized guitar cases, and this is the expertise of Bon Sundiang. It?s quite surprising that a rock star knows how to operate a sewing machine, much less create intricate cases for guitars. Bon?s parents had a tailoring shop, where at a young age he learned to make simple things such as bags. If you go to them for a guitar case, it would help if you can bring your guitar, especially if it?s unusually shaped. Two weeks is the average waiting time for the case.
Asked if the apparel business interferes with their ?day jobs,? they said it actually complements it. Painting is a breather when they?re too busy with their schedules, and acts as another creative outlet aside from making music or video editing.
Shoes retail from P1,950 while shirts range from P300 to P400 only. Guitar cases? price may vary, starting at P3,000. Some samples of their merchandise can be seen at Skate of the Nation, at the corner of Tomas Morato and E. Rodriguez in Quezon City, and at 55 Tinta at 55 Maginhawa St., UP Village, Diliman. For orders and more information, you may call 09164291430 or visit their website at http:/evilgeniusapparels.multiply.com
