Meet Diego Lopez of Underground Technology

Diego Lopez is the president of a startup company called Underground Technology. This company mainly focuses on developing products for motorcycle riders, and one of them is the NightRage Backpack. The NightRage Backpack has integrated lights to help riders be more visible at night or in poor weather conditions. The backpacks are currently available on eBay. Visit the Underground Technology eBay store for more about their products.

1. Why did you decide to start your company, Underground Technology?

Well, ever since I can remember, I have had a passion for motorcycles. I believe that the Isle of Man TT was the event that captured my attention and has defined my life ever since. When I was a teenager I had an idea, an idea that I have fine-tuned since then, and now we call it the NightRage Backpack. I thought to myself: Why not make my passion into something useful to me and others? Just as in the same way you ride a motorcycle, starting your own business gives you a sense of freedom you don't usually get from a 9 to 5 (or a car), and that was my biggest motivation for starting the Underground Technology engine.

2. Would you tell us a little bit about how you came up with the idea for your NightRage backpack?

When I was a teenager I was very much into motorcycles, but I also was constantly reminded by everyone I knew about the dangers of riding, both motorcycles and bicycles. I began to think of ideas to make riding safer, both from a preventive standpoint and from a post-accident situation. It took me some time, but I finally decided on a design and electric layout for the NightRage Backpack.

3. What makes your backpacks so useful for motorcyclists and bicyclists?

Nations across the globe are becoming more environmentally conscious and adopting bicycles, one passenger electric vehicles, and even motorcycles as means of transportation to get to work and to run errands; these riders need something that allows them to carry all their personal items with them. Why not combine safety, functionality, and style into one multi-purpose product?

The NightRage backpack has integrated electro light panels which increase the visibility of the rider as far as a half a mile away, and it's also made out of a lightweight hard shell composite to help minimize any damage to the rider and personal items if an accident ever occurs. This backpack with lights also has a padded sleeve for 16-inch laptops, an extra sleeve for tablets, multiple pockets for smaller items, three zippered pockets inside, and enough room to fit a large watermelon in case you ever have to ride to the supermarket to buy one.

4. When it comes to designing a product, how do you make sure that safety is a priority, while also keeping functionality and the look of the product in mind?

I truly believe that functionality, safety, and looks always go hand in hand when designing a product. When designing a product with electro panels, safety is simply a byproduct of the design, or design is a byproduct of the safety element. (They are the same thing.) Another example might be aerodynamics; aerodynamics create sharp shapes and creases that are interesting to the viewer, and the design is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

5. How do you hope to grow your company over the next year or so?

There are many things in the works, from our marketing and advertising campaigns to the development of new products, things that I cannot say much about. But one of our biggest milestones at Underground Technology will be the launch of our web store. We are expecting that by the end 2015 we will have it up and running, ready for our current loyal customers and welcoming new ones. One thing is for sure: this is just the beginning.

Thanks, Diego!

Meet Simon Cobb, Owner of Menswear Exchange

Simon Cobb is an entrepreneur who owns the UK-based business, Menswear Exchange, a men's clothing store specializing in celebrity fashion, urban streetwear, and independent brands. In September of 2014, Simon will be launching a clothing label called Three Dreams. In his store, he likes to represent up and coming independent brands and provide them with a platform for exposure. Keep up with the latest Menswear Exchange news on Facebook.

1. How did you first get involved in the fashion industry as a teenager?

I think initially when I was about 16, I started taking a heavy interest in fashion due to following Kanye West. He's been my favorite musician since I was about 13 years old when he first broke out, so as time went by I began to be more and more interested in more than just his music, particularly his fashion sense. I started to seek and buy the items that he would be wearing, and before I knew it people were commenting on my clothes and wondering where they could get it from; this was back when Bape and Billionaire Boys Club was hot.

I still remember when I was 16 and that feeling after I bought the Yellow Ice Cream Board Flip Shoes and Yellow Bape Watch that I saw Kanye wear on the Friday Night Project (UK): it felt awesome having something so unique, and I wanted to share that feeling with others. From then I started looking for similarly styled products that were more affordable from which I quickly realized that I could make a profit. It started with friends, and then quickly word spread. I realized there was a huge market out there that I wasn't exploiting, so I then decided to launch "uniquemenswearstore" on eBay, specializing in celebrity trend fashion at affordable prices.

2. What made you decide to make the shift from eBay to your own store, Menswear Exchange?

There were many factors. I was getting increasingly fed up with eBay fees, PayPal fees, unspecified selling regulations... You know, I was a Gold Top Rated Seller with over 5,000 positive feedback, and I felt I was being treated like a novice, so I started to think about investing in my own store.

Another factor was the opportunity to offer a more diverse range of products with a far better user interface and customer experience. So I started sourcing and holding meetings with several development companies before I found the right one. Before the website launched, I decided to abandon "uniquemenswearstore" and move forward with Menswear Exchange because I felt I firstly needed a refresh, to be something new; my eBay store branding was outdated, and I needed to come up with a better name with longevity. I feel Menswear Exchange definitely puts me in better stead looking forward.

3. Would you tell us a little bit about Stock Exchange and some of the other attributes that make your shop unique?

Well, the Stock Exchange is an idea that came to me in the rebranding of my store; it's a play on words with (Menswear) Stock Exchange, but also it's a concept that I've considered for a while and have brought it with me from my eBay experience. I would get a lot of offers from buyers requesting to make an offer, or make an offer of exchange or part exchange on some of my more collectible items, and it made me realize there was currently nothing else out there like it. It's not a brand new concept per se as you can part exchange in video game stores or for a car, but it's certainly not been utilized in the fashion world, and with people becoming more and more fashion-conscious together with the economy still recovering it seemed to me a perfect time to launch this concept in tandem with the full launch of Menswear Exchange last October. Myself and my team of developers worked really hard getting the concept to market, and now the store has a select range of collectible designer clothes (usually one-offs) in which you can place a number of offers on; it's so far been very well-received but unfortunately at the moment I do not have the budget to really take it forward the way I want to.

I want it to become a more reformed version of ASOS Marketplace combined with eBay where members of the Stock Exchange can buy sell and trade their clothing items; however, it will be specifically for high-end designer items and collectible garments of that nature, basically what is already featured on the Stock Exchange but other people's listings and not ours although we will most likely continue to have our featured products there as I am very interested in the culture of fashion and current designer trends.

Another unique aspect of my store is my Inspired Range which is what initially grew my business from an eBay store to where I stand today. You can pick up the latest celebrity trends and very affordable prices, and this range is very popular by far; we have many subscribers solely for our Inspired Range. Not only that but we also support Lifestyle designer brands such as Converse All Star, Polo Ralph Lauren, etc, and we're currently developing a department where we will be solely focusing on representing and promoting some very interesting up and coming independent brands; in fact I'm working on launching a clothing label called Three Dreams in September which will be part of this department.

4. Why did you decide to set up shop online rather than as a brick and mortar store?

Quite simply it's a matter of cost. Although it wasn't cheap to get the website developed and built to industry spec, it was a lot cheaper than opening a store and having to fit out to spec as well as fill it with stock. We do hold certain stock with the online store, but due to building excellent partnerships over the years, we can rely on storage at separate warehouses, etc, so a store at this stage would have been an inconvenience whilst we are still growing. After Three Dreams has launched and I've had time to develop Menswear Exchange and the Stock Exchange, I'll definitely be looking to open a brick and mortar store; just for now the timing isn't right as we need more of a presence in the market which is what I'm currently focused on building.

5. What should we expect from your forthcoming clothing line, Three Dreams?

Three Dreams is a collaboration between myself and two friends; I'm the majority equity partner with the other two holding less equity but both equally important to the future success of the brand. It will be not only a reflection of our three personalities but a reflection of our area on the South Coast, Portsmouth, and beyond. We are looking for Three Dreams to become a creative company that focuses on making our region better, and we are talking to local talent from DJs to artists, to fashion designers and even computer programmers so that we can all brainstorm and make our part of the world better and then look to take it onto the global scale: this includes parties and whatever else we can get ourselves involved with.

The clothes themselves on launch are currently in production which will include our standard logo t-shirts, printed leather jackets, leather trousers, paisley extended t-shirts, snapbacks, and hoodies as well as some very interesting all over print designs to come on launch in September. For me it's important to focus on our home city of Portsmouth; there's too many tacky brands popping up all from "London" just using the name to help sell their sub par products, and we want to actually create real designs and well-thought-out products that the market will love and in turn will increase exposure to our city and region because Portsmouth and the South Coast has just as much talent within as London: it's just nobody is representing the culture like we will right now!

Honestly, if I see another tacky brand come up copying another designer's font and just printing the same name a thousand times on different black and white t-shirts... Three Dreams is our love letter to the fashion industry to let everybody know that not all streetwear from the UK is just boring logo tees with no imagination and from "London." Some of us want to create.

Thanks, Simon!

Meet ONYN, East London Artist Group

ONYN are a creative collective in East London, England. ONYN formed in July of 2012 and since then have been prolific in their painting output. In the last six months they have sold over 2,000 original canvas paintings worldwide. Find samples of their work at www.onyn.com and on their Facebook page. ONYN create original, unique paintings on canvas; they are not adverse to using technology (it has its place), but believe there is currently nothing better to beat talent, paint, and a brush!

1. What are the materials you use to create your artwork (from the photos, it looks like canvas panels and acrylic paint, and I'm curious to know if you make and paint your own frames)?

Yes, currently at ONYN we paint exclusively on linen canvas panels with acrylic paints plus some pencil and inks for good measure. As for our frames, it's another "Yes." We have a basic ethos of creating unique, high quality objects for a reasonable price. We make our own frames out of ethically sourced, natural solid wood and decorate them with the same paints we use in our images.

2. How many people are in your collective, and what inspires you to work together?

As a loose creative group, our numbers change depending on internal and external forces; we're somewhere between four and eight creative souls at present. As for what inspires us to work together, I guess it's that we push each other to try new things, and therefore ONYN is greater than the sum of its parts.

3. How do you come up with the subjects for your paintings, and what would you say are some common themes that come up in your work?

We create images that makes us smile and feel good. A lot of our paintings are on www.onyn.com. We don't purposely repeat themes; however, certain images seem to reappear from time to time. Sometimes we are asked for a specific animal, character, or situation, and we're always happy to meet a challenge.

4. Do you do most of your sales locally in London, or do you travel to shows in other cities--and countries?

Since we started last year we have focused on East London shows, as it's where we are based and the area attracts a lot of international people who appreciate art. ONYN paintings seem to be popular throughout the world with particular interest to date from Italy, Spain, South Korea, Japan, and the USA. We're always looking for opportunities to expand our range and reach! To keep up to date with news and show dates, be sure to "like" us on our Facebook page: www.fb.com/Love.ONYN.

5. How can people who admire your work online contact you to buy a particular piece--and do you ever accept custom orders?

To meet the demand (especially from international customers), we have decided to launch an ONYN eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/ONYN-Whimsical-Unique-Art-Paintings. People will be able to buy original, unique ONYN art with or without our painted frames, and have them delivered direct to their door. As for commissions, we love to meet a challenge and our creativity doesn't stop at canvas paintings. Ideas and requests can be emailed to: art@onyn.com.

Thanks, ONYN!