Vans fans were in for a cold treat on Saturday, June 5th at the Palo Alto Vans store opening. They were excited to find free ice cream being offered by Ice Cream Man and Vans to cool them off on a hot weekend day of shopping. The Vans grand opening also showcased live art by Mars-1, a local San Francisco artist. “His unique imagery explores possibilities of otherworldly existence through highly developed, multi-layered landscapes. Often employing a fuzzy-logic aesthetic, Mars-1’s artwork has a sentient appearance, like a tulpa—which in mysticism is the concept of a materialized thought that manifests into physical form. His unique style has been described as urban-Gothic, sci-fi abstracted, quasi-organic form.” Suffice it to say that it was way cool to watch the man work! You can check out the piece he created for this event at Juxtapoz Magazine.
Passersby and shoppers alike perused clothing and shoes with ice cream in-hand and got the jump on some great deals Vans was offering for it’s big opening weekend. Bouncy beats and a few new “cream-slingers” encouraged people to come in and check out the scene. Our friends Eric, Seeyew, and Shizuka decided to try their hands at giving the gift of cream. And they turned out to be naturals! Their excitement and friendliness drew people in as much as the free cream. “Who would’ve known that this is so much fun?” Shizuka proclaimed, bewildered by the excitement of the crowd. We knew Shiz, we knew.
No one left empty handed as Vans was giving away free shoe-totes along with Ice Cream Man’s traditional treats. But some shoppers were more concerned with Vans Warped Tour, “Is Ice Cream Man gonna be there this year?” a fan inquired. We’ll see. In the mean time, we gained a few new cream-slingers and a new reviewer. Lizzie just came by to shop, but she not only left with a pair of cool sunglasses, she’ll hopefully be reviewing Bear In Heaven at the Rickshaw Stop for us in July. All in all, the store launch was a memorable one. And I went home with a big, huge shopping bag to boot! Livin’ the dream!
