story

Retail, I learned at a very young age, was really about community. It's about the people that you see every day. My name is Brian Nadav. I'm the owner and director here at Lapstone and Hammer in Philadelphia. My father started C Blue, one of the first streetwear stores here in Philadelphia. I worked at City Blue…

…from day one, sweeping the stock room, I worked throughout school in the summers. In '07, I took over operations. This store was one of the original City Blue locations. This neighborhood was really run down about nine years ago when we opened.

I knew it was the right time to take this concept, which was the worst city blue location and kind of take it from worst to first. What we do here at Lapstone is we support our own and we cultivate talent.

We have staff members that are some of the most creative in the city, and the idea is to support their concepts, their brands, and really put them alongside these international, global brands. Philly is this hub for so many creatives, and there's this old sentiment that…

…you have to leave Philly in order to make it and become successful. We are a part of this narrative to disprove that fear. For Philly, by Philly, you don't have to leave Philly to make it big.

We have the talent and we work hard. This store is like a catalyst that connects streetwear, the sneaker community, and artists and creatives and entrepreneurs.

What we believe in is supporting those that are in the trenches, that are in the streets, that are doing the real work, whether it is basketball clinics, after school, mentorship programs, and just being a part of that.

What can we do as a shop, as a retail store to help create that sense of community and to help support these different initiatives? I am Brian Nadav, and this is Lapstone and Hammer. Thank you for watching Talking Shop.

Talking Shop

Lapstone & Hammer