Soletron Exclusive: Nooka.....One of the Hottest Sneakerhead Companies Out There!!

Soletron Exclusive: Nooka.....One of the Hottest Sneakerhead Companies Out There!!

Let me just start out saying thatNooka is one of the industry leaders in the sneakerhead game. If you don't know about Nooka, you have been living on another galaxy. Not only are all of their products ridiculously comfortable to wear, but they will always get you compliments. Their products are lightyears ahead of the curve and the competition.

My favorites are the watches. Their unique way of telling time, is always a great conversation starter. Each bar or circle represents an hour, and it is a very futuristic watch. Besides the unique way of telling time, their colors are always bright. Nooka is the perfect match for a sneakerhead's outfit. You can catchKanye West,Lil' Wayne,Amber Rose,Jason Derulo,Cody Simpson andJustin Bieber rocking them.

We were thrilled to interview the CEO & Creative Director of Nooka, the man himself: Matthew Waldman. Let's check out the interview below, and stay tuned for Nooka to be on Soletron your sneakerhead destination!

Background

Company Name: Nooka

Date Founded: December 2004

Located out of: New York City

Number of Employees: 7

Specialty Product(s): Watches, sunglasses, belts, wallets, fragrances

Interviewee: Matthew Waldman

Position with the Company: CEO and Creative Director

Interview Questions

So tell us a little on the company's background? How did it get started?

"Nooka is a story of my quest for universal language. I truly believe that as a planet, we all need to speak the same language but this discussion often gets lost in emotionally-charged arguments about culture. telling the story via the visual and form language of design is a subversive way to have this discussion and transcend arbitrary geographic boundaries."

"The original concept for Nooka was conceived in 1998 while staring at a large clock in the London Hotel while waiting for a client. Wondering why there were so few intuitive options for time display, I sketched some ideas on a napkin and brought them back to New York."

"Most prominently known for our unique timepieces, we have expanded our range to create a Mindstylebrand with the addition of a series of sunglasses, wallets and a fragrance."

What about the name? What is the significance or story behind it?

"The name Nooka was developed with a desire to transcend linguistic and geographic borders as well as evoke futurism by incorporating the sound nu' from nuclear' and new.' Stemming from our New York roots, Nooka' can also be heard as a contraction of New Yorker.'

In what region do you do most of your business?

"Currently, we do most of our business in the US, Japan, Singapore and Italy."

How many stores are you currently in?

"Nooka is currently in almost 600 stores and we are always increasing our number of retailers."

What advice do you have for someone just starting their own line? Any tricks of the trade?

"There are no tricks, simple perseverance is a very important thing. a willingness to learn new things is also important. moreover, people and the market will respond to seeing what you are doing as opposed to listening to you talk about what you want to do. so focus on perfecting what you can produce within you're own means and do it well."

Do you manufacture local or internationally?

"Locally when we can, and internationally for most things."

How does your line fit into the sneakerhead movement?

"I am a huge sneaker-head myself and really am always impressed with how the sneaker companies keep pushing the boundaries of material science. this technoprogressivist approach is lacking in so many other fields of design, and it an ethos I apply with Nooka as well. also, the materials we use are very similar, so the colors and "feel" match quite well."

What do you think the sneakerhead movement is missing from a retail perspective?

"I keep going back to the late 90s/early 00s when Nike [and other brands] had a design lab and produced designs that were bridges between fashion and kicks. right now, only puma seems to be catering to this segment with puma black, but like Y-3, it's too expensive for most consumers. as for the "movement", i'd like to see more sneakerheads getting into the design and not blindly follow every limited edition release from a celeb brand."

How many designs do you normally come out with per season?

"Across all the lines, usually between 12-20 new SKUs."

What do you think your hottest designs are for this season? Why?

"I love the Zayu because it really pushes the concept the fullest. also, the redesign of the asset organizer is very exciting because it brings a new material and user experience to something often overlooked the wallet. not new, but the strip still excites me, i have a design patent for the closure and once people try it, they never go back to an old belt."

Anybody famous rocking your products?

"Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, Amber Rose, Jason Derulo, Cody Simpson and Justin Bieber have all been spotted rocking Nooka."

What retail stores would you love to get into but haven't been able to so far?

"We are in so many great shops, but i guess Barney's COOP for the US and Colette in Paris."

What's next on the horizon?

"We are going to apply the Nooka aesthetic to an analog watch. I would love a tech company to let me design a new experience for mobile communicationalso, I am working on an anti-gravity drive."

Appreciate you taking the time with Soletron.com

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