The Puma First Round Sketch sneakers deserve some attention. They are probably one of the more original releases from Puma in a little while. The kicks are available in three different colorways and all have an imperfect hand-painted look to them. Peep all the colors here.

Creative Recreation always seems like the older brother of the sneaker lines. Their designs are always trendy but refined, and you always seem to want what they’ve got. Their 2008 fall/winter line has just come out and it stays true to the Creative Recreation style. Clean lines, simple pattern, and rich colors are the main attractions to the line. Check out all the looks here.

Crooked Tongues and Adidas are paying tribute to one of the biggest events that make an excessive amount of beer consumption the norm-Oktoberfest. The two brands have created a low-cut shoe with a smooth leather and suede upper. The color is a milky tan with red and forest green as pop colors. The shoes have officially been released, but only 300 pairs are available, so don’t sleep on this one.

With NYC being so close, Philadelphia often gets underestimated and overlooked.  Ubiq, has been taking strides to change all that by consistently dropping heat in their t shirt lines.  This f/w, Ubiq concentrates on Philly’s vast sporting history and highlights the teams associated.  Whether you are a Ubiq fan or just a Philly fan, there is something for everyone in this.  Available now online and at Ubiq stores/accounts.

Info.Image:  Ubiq

Last week, Huf stunned the streetwear world with a very impressive line of f/w jackets and outerwear.  Not to be outdone, the eccentric Nigo is now dropping his jackets.  As is the current trend these days, most of the collection is work wear inspired and is a pleasant contrast to an other wise “cartoony” brand.  Great balance and execution, Nigo!

Info.Image:  BAPE

Factory 413, the Supra/Kr3w flagship store in sunny southern California has just received these black beauties.  This Suprano Hi gets the thumbs up from Jim Greco, as it gets an all over mesh treatment.  Now this is a nice move by Supra, who as of late has been somewhat mediocre with the usual colors and materials.  Available now at Factory 413 for $150 usd.

Info.Image:  Factory 413

Snkrbox presents a sample sale on October 4th in Toronto. Upto 75% off 10Deep, Alife, Mishka, and Acapulco Gold.

October 4th, 11am-7pm, 873 St. Clair West, Suite Two, above the new Goodfoot. Cash only, while quantities last.

The Me Bike crew have teamed up with the Slacker Skate team to provide even more action in a otherwise full day of vice and relaxation. The Me Bike team is back at it with their third year of artist collaborative bikes. Such talents as LordH, Zedz, Abner Preis, Morcky boy, Boghe, The london police, the list go’s on!

All this is going down in the Paradiso, with a custom built skate park of epic proportions in the legendary venue, sounds like its going to be a good one! Come by and break your arm, sue someone, smoke a J, its all here for ya!

Format: Our last interview focused a lot on blogging and sneaker media. Let’s get a bit more personal this time. Please introduce yourself and discuss your history before starting Nice Kicks.
Matt Halfhill: My name is Matt Halfhill, I was born and raised in Fresno, California and fell in love with shoes while attending Edison High School (Go Tigers!). I now live in Austin and I’m very proud to call Texas home for the past four years with my wife, daughter, and son on the way. Prior to Nice Kicks I worked for an Internet marketing firm and then worked freelance focusing on search engine optimization.

Format: What was your inspiration to start Nice Kicks?
Matt Halfhill: I have been a member and an avid reader of a number of forums that discussed shoes, but the problem I found was that it was a challenge at times to find ‘news’ buried in a 40 page thread cluttered by posts of people showing off their Space Jam toy collection or asking what is the worst Jordan every week. With time, I was able to find who on the boards had credible information. Many times it was hard to verify if the information was true and accurate so I felt there was a need for something more authoritative and direct.

Format: How did you transition from Internet Marketing to blogging full-time?
Matt Halfhill: I was between jobs at the time that I started Nice Kicks. I did Internet marketing projects freelance before so it was not too much of a change to work by own clock at home. At first I didn’t plan on blogging being fulltime — and now I wish that it was just 40 hours a week, but there really is a lot of work necessary to maintaining the site.

Format: Last year you mentioned that you’ve noticed a major interest in other brands besides Nike. What are the sneaker brands you’re personally interested in at the moment and why?
Matt Halfhill: There are quite a few I really like at the moment. I have been into Supra for a good year and really like what they have done. Others that really catch my attention include Clae, ALIFE, and 100 Styles and Running for casual/non-athletic style. For athletic, I am a sucker for New Balance and Asics. Both have made tremendous strides since I started the site in 2006.

Format: Your shoe size is listed in your e-mail signature. Do you get a lot of free kicks?
Matt Halfhill: [Laughs] I do get free shoes from time to time, but I don’t accept gifts unless the products have been out in the market place. I think that it is pretty important to be respected as a neutral media outlet. If brands send us samples to photograph they are either returned or donated unless they specify they wish for us to test out a product. Gifts can create a grey area between the separation of editorial and advertising — two sides of the business that should always remain separate.

Format: You also mentioned “the last thing we want to be known as [is] a taste maker.” As one of the biggest blogs on the Internet, you clearly are. How come you aren’t comfortable with this title?
Matt Halfhill: That’s a 50/50 for me. Something I stress to readers all the time is to choose for yourself and not let anyone tell you what to wear (unless, of course, it’s an endorsement contract). I think that what we aim to accomplish with our articles is to highlight products or elements about products that get overlooked or not even considered. If that makes us a ‘taste maker,’ we are fine with that, but in no way do we want to be known as a site that is trying to tell everyone what is “in” or what they need to purchase to look good.

Format: With the continued growth of blogging as an accredited media outlet, to what degree have you encountered issues with credibility in the last year?
Matt Halfhill: In the past year things have changed immensely with respect to Nice Kicks being considered an accredited media outlet. When we started in 2006, the word blog was still synonymous with a ‘just for fun’ website injected with personal opinion and what some would think as unprofessional. During our first two trips to MAGIC we were often brushed aside by some major brands despite reaching tens of thousands of their core market every single day. Now, we are welcomed in and treated with great respect and that to us is a real marker of how far we’ve come.

Format: Nice Kicks recently joined the Complex Media Network. Please speak about this transition and partnership.
Matt Halfhill: We joined the Complex Media Network as one of their charter members in the summer of 2007. One the surface they work on selling our ad space, but the relationship goes much deeper. Complex has really treated us like a member of their team and have taught us many things about journalism. We have collaborated on a few pieces and look forward to working on more joint projects.

Being selected as the marquee sneaker site for the network, we attained the highest award per se to our brand — receiving the Complex Cosign. That recognition by such a respected publication gave credibility to our name in a medium that it is very hard to achieve.

Format: What does Nice Kicks have planned for the future?
Matt Halfhill: A new layout and new features are coming within the next month and a re-launched members section by the end of the year. We just opened an office in Austin where we have four full-time writers working on Nice Kicks and other websites that we are building. We do have a something really special coming on the shoe front, but I can’t go into much more detail until closer to the release.

Format: Why shoes?
Matt Halfhill: Shoes say more about a person than a T-shirt, fitted, or pants ever could. Maybe one can’t make a witty or political statement like a T-shirt, but a pair of shoes can express to the world who you are as a person better than any other article of clothing.

Linkage: http://www.nicekicks.com/

JB Classics have got a brand new lineup for fall and it includes footwear that incorporates some creativity. JB has come out with some simple designs with bold colors and blended patterns. There are also a few designs that have the snake skin Drytex lining –note the absence of socks on the models, you gotta love breatheable footwear. Take a closer look at all the styles here.