Jeff Staple spent 15 years building Reed Space into a streetwear destination on New York’s Lower East Side. Now, the renowned designer will help another celebrated nearby store, Extra Butter, focus on its 10th anniversary.
Over lunch at the LES eatery Russ & Daughters in August, he and Ankur Amin — president of Extra Butter’s holding company, TGS (That Good Sauce) — decided it was in both of their best interests to work together. “Jeff is an organizer, a teacher. He’s worked with the best brands, and he’s known New York for a long time,” Amin said.
The first project Staple will assist with in his new creative director role at TGS is the renovation of Extra Butter’s Lower East Side location. “When you get to 10 years, you reflect on everything that got you to where you are,” said Jason Faustino, co-owner of Extra Butter. “We identified key elements to what made the Extra Butter brand what it is today. Those things are going to be emphasized more in this redesign.”
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Staple added, “We’re going to be seeing an entirely new look for Extra Butter. It’s fun because for this, I still have a fresh eyes perspective on the brand. It helps to have that for Jason and Ankur because they’ve been so immersed in EB for the past decade.”
For Faustino, Staple’s addition also allows him to reconnect with the Extra Butter community. “A customer ends up being someone I split [New York] Islanders season tickets with, part of our running group on Mondays, go fishing on the weekends or to movies. Our growth the past nine years has been through those relationships.”
But the Staple Design founder’s role at TGS isn’t limited to Extra Butter’s milestone. Amin confirmed he will also lend his expertise elsewhere. “It could be working with a footwear brand on a collaboration, picking up a new apparel brand to feature; it could be the paper stock our hang tags are printed on,” Staple said.
He will put his stamp on Rise, the Chase Ceparano co-owned boutique under TGS, which is up 50 percent year-over-year. “As Chase grows his brand, Jeff can help on the creative side, on the vendor relations side, and things like that,” Amin said.
Rooted, another TGS banner, is scheduled to open in Nashville, Tenn., in December. “Nashville is a city that we love. It’s eclectic, fun and super-cool, plus it’s growing at a fast rate,” Amin said. Brands confirmed for the store include Adidas, Puma, Daniel Patrick and Red Wing Heritage.
Finally, Staple and Amin confirmed that a new iteration of Reed Space is on the way. “We all appreciate and admire what Jeff started with Reed Space 15 years ago. It was a fresh take on retail; it wasn’t everywhere,” Amin said.
“The new Reed Space is 80 percent fleshed out in my head,” added Staple.
