STORE: Turntable Lab
CITY:New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Seoul (coming soon)
SINCE:1995
FOUNDED BY: Pete Hahn, Anthony Cattarina, Jasper Goggins
BRANDS CARRIED:10.Deep, Burton, Enjoi, Mishka, Obey, Stones Throw, Stüssy, The Hundreds and many more.
WHY WE CO-SIGN: As the name implies, Turntable Lab started as a DJ equipment store in 1998. Building on a hugely successful business model of informed reviews, fair pricing, and artfully selected goods, the Lab quickly burgeoned into a full fledged lifestyle shop carrying everything from vinyl, production equipment, and clothing to Krink markers. Today, on top of its heavily-trafficked website, Turntable Lab (headquartered in Brooklyn, NY) boasts brick-and-mortar retail locations in New York, LA, and Tokyo with an opening in Seoul slated for the near future. As they've expanded TTL has garnered the reputation of being an all-around "tastemaker", with influence over musical, style, and design spheres of our global underground. In our age of countless hot-today-gone-tomorrow ventures, Turntable Lab deserves recognition as a truly one-of-a-kind business and a international movement with serious staying power.
Keep reading for an interview with Peter Hahn as well as pics of the store...
Complex: What are some of your most popular items?
Pete Hahn: Stüssy x Turntable Lab DJ Backpack, WESC: Bag Pipe Headphones - Cadmium, Obey Sticker Pack,
Manifest: Wu-Members Shirt, Stones Throw x Kid Robot: Quasimoto Toy
What is the aesthetic you're striving for?
Pete Hahn : Aesthetic isn't something I try to focus too much on. Our business has changed so much in the last 10 years, starting off as turntablist store, then going into strict hip-hop, and to the mish-mosh it is now. We've come to embrace rapid change. Hopefully we're one of the stores that's gonna change with you. Our company ideal has always been "for the people".
What's your personal favorite in stock at the store?
Pete Hahn: It's definitely this shirt we did with Geoff McFetridge and Solitary Arts for our 10th anniversary. I've always sweated this particular image as it perfectly captures the creative process. So when it came time to do an anniversary shirt, I asked Geoff and his business partner Yong-Ki about using it, and thankfully they said yes.
Who are your style icons?
Pete Hahn: Arsene Wenger—above his slick personal style, his team is the ultimate expression of worldwide style.
Are there any special projects or collaborations in the works for the near future?
Pete Hahn: We recently teamed up with my friend Douglas, who designed our Gravis X Turntable Lab DJ bags, to produce a line of Turntable Lab DJ bags. The first two models drop early Summer 2010.
What was the first designer item you bought or wore?
Pete Hahn: The first branded thing I remember wearing was a Lacoste polo when I was pee-wee. I didn't have any concept of designers at the time, but I knew I liked "aligator shirts." Somebody got me a shiny blue Lacoste jacket soon after, and I fell in love with it. I loved wearing that shit.
What are your retail plans for the future?
Pete Hahn: We recently opened up a partner store in Tokyo, and a Seoul store is opening later this year. As for the website, it's always changing, but I'm really proud of our new digital download site digital.turntablelab.com
Turntable Lab
120 east 7th street
New York, NY 10009
212 - 677 - 0675
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