Big Apple Kicks

Concept 2

Last week I discussed concept #1 for our Minted New York x Saucony shoebox. Since I want these posts to be a short read, I broke them into two parts.

Let's dive into Concept #2

Concept #2 - The Big Apple:

Before I go too much into the design detail, I first want to give a bit of a background on "The Big Apple."

"The Big Apple" is commonly believed to have been popularized in the 1920s by a sports writer named John J. Fitz Gerald. Fitz Gerald used the term in his horse racing columns to refer to New York City's racetracks as the big leagues or the pinnacle of success for horse racing. Over time, the phrase evolved to represent the city as a symbol of opportunity, ambition, and success.

I had previously made a sticker that plays on the motif of "The Big Apple" (below) - taking inspiration from the many fruit stickers that are seared into my memory from childhood.

The running apple from our Run Club design also plays upon the big apple motif.

Considering the above, we can move into the shoe box, the big apple, and packaging as art. I have had an affinity for the unboxing experience since I started the brand in 2021. Looking at some old packaging brings home how far we have come.

What would a shoebox look like if treated as an original art piece? What kind of emotion would it invoke? What would happen to the box after opening it?

The idea here is that when the customer is finished with the box, it is not something they want to throw away and would instead put it on display somehow.

You should quickly think about what it would be like if you purchased a large painting and had to have it delivered to your home. Chances are, this art piece would not come unprotected, and we thought the box should offer that same experience.

Below you will see the idea around a custom bubble wrap. The bubble wrap mimics the feeling you would get when looking at a wrapped piece of art. You could "generally" understand what the work looked like under the bubble wrap, but until you got the wrap off, you would not have a clear image of the piece.

So you open the box and look inside - how does it feel? In a perfect world, I'd want you to think you were looking inside a crate of fresh apples. The shoes would then be wrapped with vintage parchment paper and use our (apple) sticker to hold the paper closed.

We will sample both concepts to see the packaging factory's limitations. I imagine some things will not be possible as we have imagined them, but it's still important to try. I will update you as the process continues!

Training

This week's training block was 34 miles with 5 lifts:

1. Monday: OFF (Lift - Push)

2. Tuesday: 6 (2 easy then 4 @ 5:50) (Lift-Pull)

3. Wednesday: off (Legs)

4. Thursday: 8 easy (Lift - Push)

5. Friday: 8 (trackwork - 12x400m @ 1:25) (Lift - Pull)

6. Saturday: off (No Lift)

7. Sunday: 11 Long (No Lift)

I have felt beat down this week. My heart rate feels like working twice as hard as usual. I have had this sort of "post-race effort" recovery slump before. I will try not to push too soon or fast and listen to my body.

My lower back completely locked up on mile 11 of 18 this Sunday. As I sit here typing this (Sunday evening), it is crazy uncomfortable. I am unsure what happened, but I took a step, and everything seized.

Articles I found interesting this week:

Carl Braun on Communicating Like a Grown-Up

The Horrifying Epidemic of Teen-Age Fentanyl Deaths in a Texas County

The Sound Machine