Upper Playground brings you another interview from The Run Up. This time they chatted with Swoon, somebody you do not catch too often in front of the camera. Enjoy!

To celebrate it’s 10th Anniversary, Upper Playground has teamed up with several artists to create vinyl figures commemorating the event. The first in the series, Alex Pardee has created the Walrus Rider, a two-faced creature, whose legs were stolen, seeking vengeance and searching for his legs atop his walrus associate. The figure is approximately 11″ tall and has bendy arms and a removable tusk, which fits into the rider’s hand.

The Walrus Rider is available in two colors: Teal and black. The teal/magenta figure is being produced in an edition of 500 pieces. A second colorway of black/green is an Upper Playground exclusive and is being produced in an edition of 113 pieces. The Upper Playground exclusive colorway is releasing on Saturday, May 30th and Alex Pardee will be at Upper Playground’s flagship San Francisco store for a signing from 12 to 2 PM. Alex Pardee is also taking a trip down to Los Angeles to do a signing at Munky King on Saturday, June 13th.

The limited black and green UP colorway of the Walrus Rider will be available exclusively at Upper Playground retail stores and online at the Upper Playground web store. Both Walrus Riders are available for pre-sale now on the Upper Playground Web Store.

More information on the new Upper Playground x Alex Pardee Walrus Figure follows after the jump.

This month, Upper Playground releases two hats in black and white. “Paint,” designed by Saber, features brush strokes in a tonal palette of black, white and grey. “Hair” features an embroidered rendering of Usugrow’s well-known hair illustration. Both hats are available at Upper Playground stores and on the Upper Playground Web Store.

Detailed images of the Saber and Usugrow designed Upper Playground New Era Caps follow after the jump.

Japanese artist Usugrow has put together an impressive group of artists for the upcoming Shinganist book and group show, taking place at the Fifty24F Gallery in San Franicso. The line-up includes USUGROW, MOZYSKEY, TOSHIKAZU NOZAKA, BENE and JUN KANEKO.

There will not only be an exhibition, but there will also be a Shinganist Book accompanying the show and in August Upper Playground will be introducing the Shinganist Clothing Collection, featuring artwork by the participating artists. Something to look out for!

More information on the event follows after the jump.

As part of their Spring/Summer 2009 Collection, Upper Playground has worked with photographer Ricky Powell. The t-shirt comes in black and white and features a large photo print on the front. The back features the words “Rest in Peace to a great man. We will miss you.”

The t-shirts are now available here. More detailed images follow here.

Another interesting episode comes from Upper Playground’s Walrus TV. This week photographer Ricky Powell interviewed painter Kostas Seremetis. Kostas discusses how he got his start initially as an animator and was rejected from all of the art schools that he applied to – but that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dream and becoming a successful painter.  Seremetis discusses the importance of painting what he loves  – and that includes super heroes, comic books, sci-fi movies and samurai movies.  The interview is inspirational, gives you a great glimpse into Kostas’ studio and what inspires each piece.

The Upper Playground March series of New Era caps includes three new styles – each featuring the art of 3 San Francisco based artists: Jeremy Fish, Sam Flores and Denis Kennedy.

If you like to have your whole kit match, or if you’re just a big fan of the graphics, the Bee Team and Beat Cycle are also available in tees and hoodies. Jeremy Fish went all out on his superFishal hoodie – the quality is all in the design and details. The Bee Team hoodie features embroidered appliqué, custom printed lining, elbow patches and wooden button details.

All of the caps, hoodies and tees are available at Upper Playground stores in San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and on the Upper Playground Web Store.

Detailed images of the product follows after the jump.

Spring Training starts tomorrow and if you’re not a true baseball fan, you can get in on the action with Upper Playground’s baseball league comprised of vicious characters including Outlaws, Stranglers and Brawlers to name a few. Playing on different pop culture legends and characteristics of twelve cities, the UPLB collection is a tongue-in-cheek version of how UP thinks baseball teams should be branded. The cities and teams represented are: Los Angeles Diablos, Seattle Hoods, Brooklyn Brawlers, Oakland Outlaws, San Francisco Panhandlers, Chicago Racketeers, New York Pickpockets, Cleveland Slingshots, Portland Vipers, Philadelphia Players, and Boston Stranglers. Morning Breath created all of the designs; the hats are made of wool and feature front and back embroidery. The black sheep of all the teams, the Miami Kilos, do not have a 59FIFTY hat because to some companies, cocaine is just not cool. All of the teams have a corresponding tee for men and women and the UPLB collection of hats and tees are available at Upper Playground stores and on the Upper Playground Web Store.

Detailed images of all New Era caps in the collection follow after the jump.

The February New Era releases are here and Upper Playground has two new designs, Sword and Dear Deer. The Sword design is by none other than Usugrow, who is based in Japan and known for his black and white illustrations. The hat features felt appliqué and embroidery on the front and back of the cap. The Dear Deer design features the art of Michael Sieben, a former exhibiting artist at FIFTY24SF Gallery, and features a broken-down yet surprisingly proud deer. The hat is made of cotton duck cloth and features front and side embroidery. Both hats are available at Upper Playground stores and on the Upper Playground Web Store.

Detailed images of the Upper Playground February 2009 New Era caps follow after the jump.

Fresh of his “Ghosts of the Barbary Coast” exhibition at Fifty24SF, Jeremy Fishal has released a co-branded t-shirt with his SuperFishal and Upper Playground. The t-shirt follows the theme of old San Francisco that drove his recent work – all the heroes and harlots of the gold rush era. Shirts come in both men’s and women’s cut.