RSC Inspired by: An Introduction
Inspiration is open 24/7 and can hit you right when you need it and at the most inconvenient times. The inspiration that goes into creating a place like Reserve Supply Company is constantly evolving since its initial conception in 2008. RSC Inspired by is a series that looks to give some insight into that influence and add to the conversation of what inspires and catalyzes creativity.
It has been a little over eight years of pulling up to the back parking lot of 2205 Washington Ave. Eight years of unlocking the doors, turning the lights on and hanging the open sign outback. The ebb and flow that is retail continues and customers get help with product inquiries, talk about a latest project, or just shoot the breeze on an afternoon. Every now and again someone wanders in from the coffee shop or barber next door and says "I see the sign all the time but never stopped in before, how long have you guys been open?" This can go down a couple of different avenues of conversation but the house favorite is how did Reserve Supply Company get started? If you want the short version, Jason and Heather Bruen moved to Houston and found a store front in the Sixth Ward to open up a men's clothing store. There's more to it though. If you want the full story, continue to follow along.
Reserve Supply takes inspiration mainly from music, design, skateboarding, and early motorcycle culture. Style cues of the clothes fall in line with those influences and is in the vein of quality and craftsmanship foremost. The brick and mortar is a huge part of the overall vision and is carefully considered along with the service that goes with it. Business is business, but a shop needs some connection to it as well. The staff is a lean crew, and past and present employees are personally invested in some influence of the store and generally looking to have a conversation on one or more of them at any given time. There is a collaborative spirit in this small business, everyone gives their two cents on a new addition to the line-up of brands and products that are stocked. It is an eclectic and cohesive mix that offers up its own collective experience that is almost a tangible thing when you stop in. More often than not Jason is here working and will give some insight into the store and how it all started if you ask him.
The Reserve vision is always evolving and has been approached more as a design project instead of a place that sells men's clothes. It functions as retail but with curated form, and as with any evolving vision there is a constant awareness of potential inspiration; punk, soul, and rock music, 80s skateboarding videos, the British Invasion, architecture, a 71 Bonneville, House Industries, a HAP Jones Calendar from the 70s, flat track racing posters, Beastie Boys, Black Crows, Ice T, Rock n' Roll hits, Blues deep cuts. It is all here swirling around in a space at 2205 Washington Ave. There's more to it though, continue to follow along.