ELSEWARES

So Jay Ivcevich is an artist, who is also a DJ (J. Stroke), who also makes killer stripey socks. Can you flesh out the Stroke Socks story for us?

I’ve just always been a DIY creative type. I enjoyed DJing, producing and playing music live. I DJed for about a decade down in Atlanta. I haven’t been spinning as much lately here in NYC but am working on a new mix for abrooklynlife.com so keep checking their site. I’m not sure when I’ll be finished. I am always working on music but don’t have any current material quite ready. (Back to the sock story) One of my old friends I used to play music with on the street in London back in ‘93 had some odd colored striped socks and I thought I would like to have cool striped socks as well. I could never find ones I wanted, though. I finally found a manufacturer through a news story about a small family company that made socks for the NBA. They were able to make the prototypes based on patterns I actually hand painted.

During all the time I was focusing on music, I dabbled in painting. At a house party in 2001, a New York art dealer friend was in Atlanta and brought another gallery owner with him and they flipped out at the stuff in my house. I was offered a solo show and have been making art professionally ever since. The success I’ve had with art is what brought me to NYC in 2004 and what put music making a bit more in the background (for now). I currently have a solo show of paintings up in Chicago.

Has the business of Stroke Socks changed over the years? If so how?

Well, I’m not really the best at running a business. Or I just don’t have the time to truly devote myself to it. My family has been pretty much running the show. We finally have the manufacturer consistently making the quality socks we want. It slowly grows but I know how much people love our socks once they get them on their feet so it seems like we should be HUGE.

What valuable lesson(s) do you want to pass on to artists & designers thinking of launching their own product or apparel line?

I would probably pass them along to friends of mine here in NYC for advice. In fact, I should take my own advice and consult with two particular designer friends of mine that are more fully devoted to their lines. One told me about a great resource/council in the garment district that connects designers, textile people, manufacturers, etc…

I recall a story about a guy riding his bike in New York wearing Stroke Socks - care to retell it? Do you often spot Stroke Socks on the street?

Actually, I was the guy on the bike rocking my right pant leg rolled up with a pair of our “Super Sunset” socks on. At a red light on 14th and 8th avenue, a hip young business man on a Vespa had the same pair on?! I said “you got my socks on!” and he said “No, you got my socks on.” So I said, “You don’t understand, I designed those socks! I am J. Stroke.” He laughed and said he got them online (maybe from you guys) and drove off as the light was green. A jogger ran past me in Atlanta once and said, “Hey, I like your Stroke Socks!” I didn’t have the chance to tell her who I was. I saw a lady with them on at an art benefit once. Turns out she’s in this cool art band. Saw them onstage at a show in Atlanta where Beans was rocking them with a pant leg rolled up. Not a big surprise as I had heard he was a big fan of the socks. Whenever we run into each other here in NYC, that’s how he introduces me. “Yo this is J. Stroke, he makes the dopest socks!”

What’s next? Having conquered feet, do you plan on creating apparel for other body parts? Or other types of products altogether?

Actually, I may not be done with feet yet. It’s hard for me to find the right shoes. I may investigate doing a small line of limited sneakers. People also really dig the wood bow ties I wear at formal events. We may drop some of those in the near future.

If you had a little brother, is there a particular album, book, film, artist or musician you’d be turning him onto right now?

I do have a little brother and we have similar tastes in music. His wife has really good taste as well so I always tell them bands to go see down in DC. I really like the Deerhunter EP “Fluorescent Grey” right now. Amazing because I remember tolerating their sets as a half-assed noise band in Atlanta. They’re like a real band with good songs and are getting hyped everywhere right now. I get books from the NYPL all the time. I read a fun NYC zombie novel called “Monster Island” recently but I’d recommend “Babylon by Bus” about these two Boston slackers who went and got jobs in Bagdad. A funny and heartbreaking tale and a good insider view of how the Bush administration’s incompetence created the sad situation we’re faced with in Iraq. As far as art, the James Turrell show at Pace Wildenstein on 25th is pretty sublime. I think it’s not open much longer.