Brothers Chris and Kirk Bray are the founders and creative team behind Billykirk, an accessories line founded on the principles of hand-crafted, classic, quality leather goods. The company’s name is taken from the short-form of Kirk’s full name, William Kirkland, while the company’s aesthetics were influenced by the brothers’ love of vintage, industrial, Americana growing up in the South.

The “Billy Kirk” collection began in 1999 with watch straps, and the line has since expanded into belts, wallets, satchels, travel bags and house wares. Their commitment to making beautiful, timeless goods make them the perfect pair to feature in our “Things That Never Go Out of Style” series here on corduroymag.com. Here are Chris and Kirk’s “top ten” lists:

Chris (on the right):
1. 35mm film
2. American-made tools, boots and folk music
3. Billykirk’s hand-stitched card cases
4. Brooks Brothers Seersucker suit
5. Chivalry (I am a Southern boy)
6. Grandpa’s old pocket knife and Zippo lighter
7. WWII stories of valor and unselfishness
8. My Gokey’s canvas and leather briefcase I got new in 1988
9. Signet rings
10. Monogrammed stationary

Kirk (seated at left):
1. White Jack Purcells
2. 1960’s Omega Seamaster watch
3. Early Stock Ford Bronco
4. John Stewart
5. Good fitting navy blazer
6. Motivation through hard work
7. Bonnie Prince Billy
8. “Catcher in the Rye”
9. Levi’s
10. Experimentation

Find out more about the brand and check out their latest collection online at billykirk.com.

- TC

Björk. Sigur Rós. Múm. Being a band from Iceland can be a tall order. With so many big stars looming over you, how do you make a name for yourself outside the borders of the tiny nation? According to Seabear, you just go with the flow.

Everything about Seabear seems to have just come about organically, much the way their music feels. Sindri Sigfússon began writing music as Seabear around 2002. In the following years, he produced a few EPs and two LPs, picking up session players along the way. “After a while they just joined the band,” Sigfússon says, and eventually these players came to make up the seven-piece as it is today. As the band grew, so did their music. Each record was more delicate and detailed than the last, and the progression seemed natural. Their songwriting process was just as organic as their formation. Sigfússon talks about how the seven of them simply gather in their practice space and see what happens. He also waves away the fact that their lyrics are in English. Sigfússon was only following the musical heroes of his youth, saying, “I don’t think it matters if you sing in English, Icelandic, or whatever, as long as it’s done well.”

Their rise into the international consciousness is nearly as serendipitous as their creative process. Seabear got picked up by German label, Morr Music, a few years ago when the owner of the label caught a Seabear show in Berlin and “liked it, I guess,” says Sigfússon. Soon, their songs began to get picked up for soundtracks, including some high profile placements in Finding Neverland and Gossip Girl. “The money we got for Gossip Girl paid for a whole five-week tour we did,” the singer recalls. Since then, the band has received attention from all over the world and has had tours to match.

The band is currently promoting their new album release — entitled “We Built a Fire” — and the slew of tours that will follow (including North American dates this spring). Sigfússon, however, remains laid back about it. “I just hope people have fun,” he says.

We’re pretty confident they will.

- Casey Bridgers

New York City has a way about it, an ability to enrapture wandering souls, journeymen, wide eyed hopefuls looking for something more. Last year Alicia Keys boasted that “its lights will inspire you” but really, it’s so much more. Though New York screams big with a capital B, the city’s fabric is made up of the little things; the corner vendor, the sea of yellow that fills the streets, the morning paper on a train ride across the bridge. And yes, there are lights too.

Acclaimed illustrator Christoph Niemann was once one of those wandering souls, moving to New York from his native Germany in 1997, looking to make it in America. And make it he did, his work  having been featured in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and New York Times Magazine. He also fell in love with the city along the way. But after eleven years as a New Yorker, Niemann decided it was time for a change, and moved with his wife and two kids to Berlin.  In a blog he maintains for the New York Times called Abstract City, Niemann posted a series called “I Lego N.Y” in which he pays homage to his urban mistress by illuminating its many charms using Lego. The series was an explosive hit and has now reemerged as a book. We spoke to the illustrator about his whimsical tribute to the city that never sleeps.

If you love New York so much, why did you leave?
That’s the hardest question right at the start! There has not been a day that I have been fed up with, or even just indifferent about New York. All things considered it is probably still my favorite place in the world. I did feel though that in the long run I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the city as much as I used to.

New York is the single most wonderful place to turn one’s energy and ideas into real projects. The one thing that the city doesn’t allow for enough is failure. There is so much change about to happen in my industry (editorial, publishing etc.). I felt I had to be more willing to make mistakes, in order to come up with new tricks (which I know I will have to). So we decided to shake things up and try out a new environment. Berlin seemed like a good place to do that.

Berlin is indeed an amazing city, and many contend that it’s usurped New York as the center of the universe. What does New York have that Berlin doesn’t?
The G-Train…?

What Berlin sometimes lacks is an equivalent of Wall Street. Everyone is so hip and progressive and fashionable. But if there is barely anybody out there who stands for a different, more conservative mindset, even a bunch of crazy 23 year old, environmentally conscious hat designers can seem a little reactionary and stale.

What I love most about this series, is that without the captions the work seems is so abstract, but add the words and I cant see the pieces as anything else. Was this the intention?
Absolutely! For me the ideal joke consists of the viewer/reader providing 98% of the idea, and the illustration just filling in that last tiny piece of the puzzle, that makes everything come together. Abstraction is a wonderful tool to make us aware of all those connections and associations that we have already stored in our heads.

Your work with Lego and even your illustrations are incredibly clever. Where do these ideas come from?
That’s an easy one: effort with a good dose of angst and desperation. I wish there was a secret, but it’s really just trying out a lot of different things, and having the stamina to throw out the 85% of ideas that I feel do not work.

The aesthetic of the series is incredibly simple, but I’d imagine the process of coming up with the pieces was very complex.
For this series my job was 15% Illustrator, 15% Art Director and 70% editor. The hardest part was to push the ideas to ever greater simplicity, but not to step over that very thin line that separates “simple” from “unintelligibly abstract”.

Why do you think your work with Lego has been embraced by so many people?

There are two things: one, people simply love legos. It’s one of the few toys that is as cool for a 3-year old as it is for a 7-year old. I guess the other element is that this series is not about showcasing how terribly smart I am. It’s about the viewer having fun with their inherent visual and cultural intelligence, that gets tickled with the images.

Were you worried that audiences wouldn’t get it at first, particularly non-New Yorkers?

I had conceived this more or less as an inside joke. So I wasn’t really worried, but I would have never dreamed that non-New Yorkers would embrace it to such an amazing extent.

One of the fascinating things about New York is that even when you only visit for a week, you can make it “your” place. There is no other city in the world that seems to be owned by no one and everybody at the same time. I guess that leads to a lot of people identifying very closely with the city in all it’s aspects, whether they have lived here 60 years or only visited for 10 days.

Your work is mostly illustration and graphic design. Do you see yourself working more with tangible materials after this?

The extremely tight deadlines, as well as the flexibility that my editorial work demands, doesn’t lend it self that much to this three dimensional work. But for the blog or similar projects, I would very much like to do more of these experiments.

It seems like living in a major city like New York or Berlin is crucial to your work. Why is that?

I don’t work for myself, I always work with an audience in mind (that may be a weakness and a strength). To get a sense of the audience, I need to be surrounded by it. Then again, maybe living in a big city is less crucial to my work than it is to my general happiness.

Your work has always been very fun, whimsical and some may argue, rooted in childhood. How did becoming a parent affect your work?

As far as my children’s books go— they certainly wouldn’t have happened without the inspiration I am getting from spending time with the kids. But with works like the lego series as well as other pieces, I try to use the light and playful approach merely as a visual Trojan horse to tell a more or less grown-up story. One thing has changed though: since I have kids I can lay on the floor for hours, playing with legos and wooden bricks and pretend that I am actually working.

*Want to win a copy of Niemann’s “I LEGO N.Y.” book for yourself? We have a bunch of copies to giveaway! All you have to do is click HERE to fill in our 2010 reader survey and you’ll be automatically entered into the giveaway!

-Daniel Barna

Designer Simon Spurr is understandably exhausted. He’s just finished his first runway show for New York Fashion Week — where he debuted his new high-end collection of impeccably stylish and well-tailored menswear to a raving audience that included Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour — and he’s still catching up on interview requests, sample requests and — oh yeah — some much-needed sleep. But first, he took time out to chat with Corduroy about his new collection, which showcases a more luxurious, trim, modern (and British?) man.

What was the inspiration behind this season’s collection?
My intention was to establish SIMON SPURR as a modern luxury menswear brand. I definitely drew upon my British roots and focused on precision tailoring loosely inspired by the 60/70s Savile Row tailor, Tommy Nutter. I wanted to bring a British sensibility to American fashion week. I’m British, many of my reference points are British and that’s my look.

What types of guys do you picture wearing the looks?
The SIMON SPURR man is modern and has an inherent confidence. He is very much about style and appreciates quality. Actually the majority of the models in the show were British.

Why did you decide to put on a runway show this season instead of presentations like in years past?
Showing the SIMON SPURR collection on the runway set the tone for the brand. It seems more appropriate to show “Designer” menswear in the form of a runway show. It was also the first time I felt really confident that the clothes would work in this format. It was important to show the clothes moving, to allow the natural swagger of the models’ walk to express itself. Putting the clothes to music also allowed me to help tell a story. It was important when choosing the music that if the viewer were to close their eyes that they would still feel this young, British sensibility.

You seemed to show a more diverse array of looks this season, which covered most menswear bases, from slacks to jackets to suits to accessories. Was this an intentional move?
I wouldn’t say this was a conscious premeditated decision. SIMON SPURR is a full lifestyle brand and I wanted to illustrate this. There is definitely more depth to this season’s collection not only in the product assortment, with new development in hats and bags, but also with more attention paid to scale, pattern and finishing.

How hard is it to transition from fine denim to fine suiting?
I come from a strong tailoring background at Ralph Lauren Purple Label and Black Label. The tailoring, which I have made my own, has become an important part of the brand’s identity. I have often been quoted on my thoughts of menswear returning to a more elegant look. In the show I even mixed the two elements and showed a wool/silk tuxedo jacket over a fine denim shirt, jeans and boots. It’s how you wear the pieces that makes the difference. I have had no problem making the transition from denim to suiting.

Does the fact that you were known for denim help or hinder you?
I think that the transition has greatly helped the brand. When I started SPURR I had no intention of it being a “denim” brand. I always wanted it to be a full lifestyle brand that had great and authentic denim. With the separation of the brand into SIMON SPURR (Collection) and SPURR (contemporary), I have been able to maintain a sophisticated look on the runway, but also create a real denim business with SPURR.

Some reviewers described your collection as a return to “dandy” dressing for men. What does that word mean to you?
The word “Dandy” conjures a different image for me. When I think of a Dandy I have an image of an eccentric man that over dresses. SIMON SPURR is not a Dandy in this way. I offer a much cleaner, more modern approach to the Dandy.

So is the era of jeans and T-shirts over?
Whilst I personally still wear jeans and a t-shirt (under a tailored jacket), I do think that there is a move to a more groomed look for the modern man. I think men and women alike appreciated a well-dressed man; someone that has taken time, given thought and has pride in his appearance. Isn’t that what we all want?

I heard you had Guy Ritchie’s name plastered on your inspiration board backstage. Is that true? If so, what does Guy Ritchie have to do with Simon Spurr?
Yes, we had a page of key inspirational words backstage to help get the best walk out of the guys. The Guy Richie nod was to express the feeling of a man that has worked hard for his position in life; someone from one of Guy’s movies that comes from the middle class (or below) and has finally arrived at a point where he can enjoy the finer entrapments of menswear from a three-piece suit to hand-finished shirts and leather.

How nervous were you that Anna Wintour was in the audience?
Honestly I was not nervous at all. Since I met Anna during the Vogue Fashion fund experience, she has always made me feel welcome in the industry. Of course, I have the utmost respect for her and I know what her presence means if she attends your show. Ultimately, I was ecstatic and honored that she took the time to come… I hope that she liked the clothes.

Be honest… how happy are you now that the show is over?
It’s a happy/sad moment. There is definitely a relief that it’s over, I have my first runway show under my belt and the reviews have been complimentary. However, it all happened very quickly and it’s hard to savor six months work in 10.5 minutes! I love the runway format and admit that I’m already getting excited for the next one.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do now that fashion week is done?
Sleep. It’s my favorite thing to do. I’ll take a day off, just to re-charge after the adrenaline rush and get back into my routine. And then it will be business as usual and I will have to knuckle down and crack on with Spring/Summer 2011.

- TC

New York-based accessories designer Chris Habana doesn’t believe in taking life so seriously. And the free-spirited Philippines-transplant-turned-Brooklyn-boy has carried this philosophy into his wonderfully unique and playful jewelry, which draws inspiration from everything from pop art to goth culture to Victorian-era costuming (His spring 2009 line, meantime, was reportedly inspired by “Saved by the Bell”).

That’s not to say Habana is fickle. He’s worked hard to develop his personal aesthetic since catching the fashion bug as a teenager, and successfully launched his namesake line in 2004. Now, just a little more than five years later, he’s turned his once homemade collection into a buzzed-about line that’s outfitting celebrities like Bjork and Alicia Keys, and appearing in the pages of Women’s Wear Daily, I-D, and Numero Homme. Chrishabana accessories now include hats and apparel, in addition to his signature cuffs and chains, which feature heavy-duty construction, bold, geometric shapes and one-of-a-kind details. They are definitely statement pieces. It’s clear Habana is still just getting started too, with new designer collaborations and projects in the works.

With influences and experiences this diverse, we knew we had to get Habana’s take on what he considers to be “timeless,” so we asked him to take part in our exclusive online series about “Things That Never Go Out of Style.” Here is his top-ten list:

1. The Golden Girls
2. My Sketchpad
3. Humor
4. My customized ripped jeans
5. My combat boots
6. Bacon
7. Friends
8. Dancing
9. Kimchi
10. My A.OK collaboration Madonna Cone Bra necklace!!!

Chrishabana pieces are available at Oak NYC, Revolve Clothing and select boutiques across the U.S. and Asia. Find out more about the designer and his latest collection at www.chrishabana.com