Today we catch up with our man in Texas, Jeremy Stewart. You can thank him for creating Hari Mari, one of the most comfortable flip flops on the market, and they improve the lives of kids with cancer while they are at it.
Hari Mari’s roots are born out of time spent living in Indonesia, where my wife Lila & I worked on separate projects related to improving kids’lives. I was making a documentary film on children battling hunger & malnutrition in Southeast Asia; Lila, volunteering with an orphanage outside of Jakarta. Returning to the States, and soon thereafter expecting our daughter, we decided the next project we undertook would go to help kids in some capacity.
Moving back to our hometown of Dallas, we saw an unmet need for colorful & comfortable flip flops at the premium level –something different & unique from the sea of black & brown sandals that usually dominate retailers’walls, while also preserving a timeless, classic look that was stripped of conspicuous branding. From day one, we set out to create a flip flop that would hold up aesthetically today, tomorrow and ten years from now — a sandal that could be dressed down for a day at the lake or beach, just as easily as it could be dressed up for a night out.
We married our two passions for making a great flip flop & helping children, partnering with our childhood friend, John Veatch, to found Hari Mari in 2012. Seeing a lot of companies & brands helping kids abroad, we decided to focus our efforts on the U.S., and were stunned to discover pediatric cancer is the most fatal disease among American children, more fatal than all other childhood diseases combined.
It clicked from there. Hari Mari’s commitment sees $3 from every pair purchased going to support kids with cancer in their recovery efforts. We call it Flops Fighting Cancer.
“Hari”means “of the sun”in Indonesian, while “Mari”means “of the sea”in Latin.
As for my personal style, here we go:
Jeans: I pretty much live in Paige Denim and Jean Shop jeans
Shirts: I’m a simple tee guy, so I wear a lot of American Apparel and Marine Layer tees, but change it up with long-sleeve pique polos from Criquet Shirts – their organic cotton shirts have a great vintage feel & look to them.
Pants: Bonobos –good fit across a large range of styles.
Board Shorts: I spend a lot of time in Greenlines and Sundek board shorts. Both brands deliver a classic surf aesthetic for serial flip flop-wearers.
Shoes: When it’s not flop weather, like most Texans, I turn to boots with a pair of traditional ML Leddy cowboy boots. I also lace up Surface to Air chukkas and an old pair of LL Bean duck boots in colder temps…all easy complements to a good pair of jeans.
Accessories: Persol sunglasses are timeless and hold up well to wear & tear. Similarly, Property Of makes a great waxed canvas & leather bag that I’ve had with me for years. It holds all of the basics –laptop, phone, books, flip flop samples & swatches –and then some. I’ve taken it around the world and beaten it up over & over again, but it’s held up incredibly well to the loving abuse.
Outerwear: Penfield windbreakers, Carhartt canvas vests, Todd Snyder and Grayers sweaters. I’m also a big fan of Howler Brothers’lightweight Talisman Fleece for layering in colder weather, and Iron & Resin’s classic waxed brown Rambler jacket for every day wear.
Your favorite App: Outside of Hari Mari’s $20 off friend referral program (shameless, shameless plug), I’m a confirmed Instagram addict, so Instagram and Camera+ for touching up pics are favorites. Trunk Club’s app is also a new way to tap into new, up-and-coming brands & lines with their no-hassle service.
Favorite piece of technology: My favorite pieces of technology are modern takes on throwbacks:
A Fuji Instax camera –we take it everywhere we go: store visits, photo shoots, trade shows, factory go-see’s. It’s great to have immediate physical photos in hand of things & people you like and want to remember, and we’ve found there’s something about instant cameras that makes people happy & nostalgic. We keep all of the pics we take & pin them to a wall in our office. It helps us remember all of the great experiences we’ve had and people we’ve met since starting Hari Mari.
My other tech indulgence is a Rega turntable which we also keep in our office. We take turns humoring one another with our affinities for 70s & 80s albums.
Next tech purchase: We recently shot a Hari Mari web spot with a local b-boy crew, and they brought this amazing Lasonic iPod Boombox to the shoot. It’s soft-circled as the next tech investment.
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