STANDARD H Podcast

Many of you know I’m somewhat of a fashion nerd. Having grown up in the South, clothes were a way to feel as though I could live like those in the big cities of New York and Los Angeles. It serves as escapism for a lot of people, and I think today’s guest would agree. Nick Roberts is the PR front behind some of the most celebrated brands in menswear as well as a little company called HODINKEE - fo...

Happy New Year! This week’s guest is Dan Brunn - owner and principal of DB Architecture. He’s an accomplished architect, yes, but he’s also a car lover, which began much earlier than I even expected. With that, we talk about his younger years growing up in Tel Aviv, and how he went from barely speaking English to communicating through drawing. We delve into punk rock as it relates to urban plannin...

Marshall & Megan Dostal are certainly a dynamic duo. As owners and operators of Further Products, their story is one where they somewhat fell into their company.  Their soaps originated from byproducts of the biofuel Marshall was using to power his Mercedes several years ago. A connection with another particular professional gave rise to their signature scent - something I took note of when wa...

This week’s guest is master watchmaker Cameron Weiss - the man behind Weiss Watch Company based just outside of Los Angeles. His upbringing, education, and work experience have taken him all over the United States as well as to Europe, but he settled in California having launched his watch company to bring back a larger focus on American made watch brands. We go into how he got his start in the in...

Episode 18 brings us to Jason McLeod, the executive chef and part owner of Consortium Holdings - a restaurant group based here in San Diego. For the lack of a better description, I was introduced to Jason through our mutual friend Sarah through a series of comments exchanged on Instagram. At the time, Jason had recently opened Ironside - a seafood restaurant in the Little Italy neighborhood of dow...

Cat Varga is a jeweler/creator and part owner of Brooklyn Vintage Company - a vintage store located in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. Cat and I met through my best friend Chris several years ago and what I took from our conversation is Cat is a hustler . We talk about early days growing up in Queens, raised by two glamorous women, getting fired from her job selling chocolates; the topic of...

Welcome back and if this is your first foray, welcome to the STANDARD H Podcast. My first guest for season two is Derek Keller - the founder and creator of 440 Gentleman Supply, a handmade leather goods company based in my home town of Raleigh, NC, so I was really eager to share Derek’s journey with all of you. He is a very dear friend of mine, so it only felt right kicking off Season 2 with our c...

This week is the last for season one of the STANDARD H Podcast, but stay tuned sooner than later for season two to kick off. With that said, we end season one with guest, Josh Herman,a ceramic artist based here in San Diego, California. We met while I was working at Allen Edmonds and conversation just seemed to flow within minutes of meeting Josh. He has somewhat of a dry wit that alludes to a lev...

As a guy who has worked in apparel for roughly 20 years and certainly appreciates nice clothes and fine tailoring, there are several accounts I follow on Instagram posting men in suits - previous podcast guest Matt Hranek namely being one. Often I'd be scrolling my feed and photos of suits would stop me from going on. And a pattern began to form where I'd see the same name tagged in the photo: J.M...

The first word that comes to mind when thinking of Clark Hipolito is "energy". I met Clark while running a clothing store in Raleigh North Carolina around 2003/2004, and I just remember him as one of the more positive energies I'd ever come across up to that point in my life. He was always the guy who gave you the hand shake followed by the bear hug and simply walked with an air of confidence, yes...

The first episode of the STANDARD H Podcast explored a brick and mortar business within the independent watch and fine jewelry world. Today’s guest is also in the world of watches, primarily focused on servicing those interested in collecting vintage timepieces. Eric Wind, owner of Wind Vintage operates a website displaying many of his watches, however, I feel the sweet spot for Eric is his person...

Matt Hranek’s bio is a lengthy one. To unfairly condense it, I could simply say he’s a photographer, author, producer, and recently launched the magazine, WM Brown. He’s somewhat of an epicurean polymath, cigar lover, wine enthusiast and arbiter of the timeless Barbour jacket. The list could certainly go on, but I’d really rather let him tell it. We talk about coffee, travel, and everything from 1...

I’ve known Max Quintavalle for roughly ten years. We met in Malibu while I was working at James Perse. He’s originally from Florence, Italy, and in 2012, he started Italy to the Max - his Italy-specific travel agency catering to high net worth individuals. We talk about What it’s actually like as a foreigner moving to the United States and what it’s like dealing with immigration while trying to st...

Charles Harbison has been a friend of mine for what's nearly been 20 years. We worked together at Banana Republic in Raleigh, North Carolina where we became fast friends. He later moved to New York to study fashion, worked as a designer at several well-respected companies such as Jack Spade and Michael Kors. He was plucked to design & launch womenswear for Billy Reid. He later left to create H...

It’s been 4 or 5 years since I met James Lamdin - founder & owner of Analog/Shift - a vintage watch dealer that started online, but is now stocking modern pieces and also works alongside shops such as Watches of Switzerland. Per usual, we first connected over Instagram, and have since met up in New York City when I’ve been in town. James was also a founding member of Red Bar Group - a Watch me...

Noah Walker is one of only a handful of working architects that has captivated me over the last decade. And I can yet again thank social media for effectively making this episode happen.  Noah and his firm, Walker Workshop, popped up on my Instagram feed several years ago and I have been a fan ever since. His ability to combine warmth with minimalism is really what draws me to his work, and in tim...

As I’ve gotten to know Sean O’Connor over the last few years, I can’t help but be more and more impressed by him and his accomplishments. As the founder owner & operator of Venice California-based Sean O'Connor Lighting, he has taken part in some of the most recognizable buildings in the Los Angeles area. His projects have stretched outside of the United States ranging from Europe all the way...

Eneuri Acosta is the Chief Operating Officer of HODINKEE - the world’s largest watch blog that is now operating a print magazine and an incredibly robust online shop. He’s seemingly always smiling, and there is just an aura of optimism about him that is almost tactile. I was enthralled with his upbringing and how he found himself as the COO of a company I have been religiously paying attention to...

Aldo Rossi founded his eponymous leather goods business in 2014 following a successful career as a photographer. We explore his upbringing in Paris, his time living in New York City, and his last 20 years living in the greater Los Angeles area of Topanga Canyon. We chat about assisting some of the most renowned photographers in the world and why he would begin producing products backed by the phil...

Kazumi Wines founder/owner, Michelle Sakazaki, has been a friend for over 10 years. It was so much fun getting to know even more about her upbringing, her work history and how she went from designing clothes for Armani to starting a wine business. We go into what it's like having grown up in Japan to being a woman in a perceived man's world within the saturated wine industry. Web Links: Kazumi Win...

Michael DiTullo is more than just a designer. We talk about growing up on the east coast and following the desire to "design stuff for the future." Michael has worked for some of the most well-respected design agencies in the world, as well as heavy-hitting companies such as Nike. He's designed cars, watches, and even shoes for Michael Jordan, himself. We talk inspiration, what makes for good desi...

This post introduces the STANDARD H Podcast, mentions the topics of future conversations, and simply welcomes those interested in following along. Thank you for listening! Shop: www.standard-h.com Follow: @standardh_ Music by Jensen Reed (@jensenreed)  and superbeautiful (@kingtrut). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, vis...