Hello, and welcome to another Taylor Box Box Talks. Today, we're going to be discussing this custom shoe packaging for Adidas. This project was done in collaboration with Parallel Design. And it also just won Best in Category for entertainment at the Dieline Awards.

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the iconic Adidas Superstar shoe, Adidas decided to collaborate with RUN DMC. They came out with a special edition of the shoe that features RUN DMC's picture on the side of it. And they also devised a series of different marketing initiatives around the launch. One of those was this incredible package, which was actually supposed to be a part of a special event last spring, but then COVID hit.

This was a super limited edition custom shoe packaging. There was only a hundred of these made. And it was originally intended for a benefit event in LA last spring. But, of course, COVID hit, interrupted that, and so it was eventually released as just an influencer kit.

What makes this package so unique? Well, first of all, there is the sheer size. This is the first Box Talk we've done standing, and that's just so we could get the whole package in the video frame.

The second is decidedly the weight. This thing weighs close to 30 pounds, or 20 pounds. It's heavy.

Next are the other sort of haptic cues. So we've got this beautiful wrap. This is Aston, by Ecological Fibers. It is a pseudo leather, but in hand, it feels 100% like real cowhide. And again, because this is a wood-framed basswood structure, you get nice sharp corners. Beautiful, beautiful silhouette on this box.

Next, they decided to apply graphics-- simple graphics, but nonetheless graphics-- on many faces of the box. So we've got the Adidas logo and the RUN DMC logo on the top. On the sides, we've got the classic Adidas stripes and the Adidas logo on that side, and then the stripes and the superstar logo there. And then on the front tabs for the two drawers, we've got JMJ for Jam Master Jay and the Super Store sort of abbreviated.

Often, when an oversized box, we do have the capacity to make quite large packages out of a paperboard solution. However, if a box does get to a certain scale, and it's got a considerable weight in the inside, we will always recommend going with a wood frame structure. In this case, the outer cabinet that's holding these two drawers, we knew we had to make out of wood because of the scale not being manufacturable on a machine, and because it was going to be holding a pair of shoes, a leather outfit, and a record.

So if you have a product or a package that you're trying to deliver, and you're wondering, can I even find a box big enough for that, please reach out. We almost certainly can accommodate you, whether it be with wood, paperboard, or even a corrugated solution. So this is the kind of box that doesn't really have a standard style name. We call this internally a drawer box because there are two drawers. But there are some things that really make this a really, really unique and award-winning box.

So we've got this die cut hole in the top. Now, that's got a double pained window of PVC with a piece of red film in between, obviously, to maintain the color scheme. And that was wrapped perfectly with the top wrap so that they aligned up. This was not die cut after wrapping because you wouldn't be able to achieve the smooth edges if you wanted to die cut this after wrapping with the material. So that's a technical way of saying that this was handmade to a really extreme level of precision, which makes it impressive.

Having that window at the top also lets you see the record-- lets you see the RUN DMC record in the top drawer. So let's talk about that top drawer. So the JMJ tab pulls out, and you have a beautiful gold wrapped tray. This is wrapped in Ecological Fibers's Radiance that's got this panel tipped on the front of it. Again, this is just the attention to detail that you're looking for in a really premium luxury package.

Then, inside that tray-- I'm going to pull it all the way out-- we have an insert that's lined. And that's Prestige Velvet, simulated Velvet. It's got a recessed panel for a plaque that would have information about the recipient and then also this recessed area that perfectly fits the record.

So this is beautiful. This almost looks like an award that would be on somebody's wall. It's just a beautiful execution. And absolutely every edge has been turned and considered. So there was an awareness that whoever was the recipient of this box would likely take this all the way out and want to show it off. And so you have to have it finished all the way around.

In the lower drawer is where the special edition of the Adidas Superstar shoe is with RUN DMC's face on the heel, as well as the iconic RUN DMC jumpsuit, and a clothing bag to carry the jumpsuit. Again, this is a deep, deep tray. This is entirely made out of basswood, very sharp edges, very, very sturdy construction, and lined entirely in the Ecological Fibers's Gold Radiance.

Something that I think is worth noting and just that might be of interest to people viewing this video is talking about how you actually can get a wrap around a box of this scale. So as you can see, there's a continuous piece of material going all the way over the sides. It wraps in here on the sides of the drawer so you have a finished edge and also wraps around the bottom.

So this is an enormous piece of material. It gets passed through a Potdevin gluer. And then, two individuals held this, lined the circle of the wrap up to the circle in the board, then made sure that these two logos were square. And then, wrapped it around the sides, making sure that these Adidas stripes on either side lined up with the top and the bottom edge just so.

So I mean, this is a real testament to the skill and commitment of our craftsman team because this had very, very small margin for error. And it came out beautiful on every hundred of the pieces. As I mentioned, this package won Best in Category at the Dieline awards. It's our first Dieline award. And we were thrilled to share it with Parallel Design.

This was an incredible collaboration experience for Taylor Box. We have worked with Parallel before on some really fun, unique influencer and seed kits for a lot of their great clients. This was just an absolutely unique custom shoe packaging project to get to work on.

They came to us with some beautiful conceptual sketches. They had a really clear idea of where they wanted to go. And then, our structural designer, John Romano, brought that vision to life and really was able to come through with the recommendations for wood, board, wraps, and decoration style to achieve the outcome that they wanted.

All together, this package, it truly is unique. And as I mentioned, we only made 100 pieces of this. But if you have a product, a service, an anniversary, some kind of celebration coming down the pike that you are looking for a unique tactile way to celebrate, please reach out. We'd love to talk to you about how to create something this unique for your project as well.

Something else that is important to think about if you are planning a package, and you're wondering about how you're going to decorate it. So depending on the materials that you choose, there's a number of options open to you in terms of printing. In this case, because of the size of the stripes on the side and the placement of the logos, it made the most sense for us to silkscreen this outer wrap. That allowed us to do the two colors to get the big scale, and silkscreen took really well to this Aston material.

Then, for these two tabs, because they were small enough, we were able to foil stamp them, which gave them a little bit of a textural, recessed, embossed quality. Again, we could have considered that for these components, but when you're talking about a big multi-piece design over a large area, foil stamping might not be the best solution. Whereas on a small area, you can get a lot done and also have that extra haptic vibe.

So sustainability is an increasingly important topic both to end consumers, as well as purchasing agents representing brands and companies around the world. And I think it's important thing to note that this is an heirloom collector's item. So this package was made with sustainably farmed wood. All of the wraps, aside from the Prestige, came from Ecological Fibers, who is a local paper mill. There FSC-certified and a great partner of ours.

But fundamentally, this package is designed to have endurance. So this is not designed to be thrown away or even recycled. It's designed to be kept in your home, proudly displaying the beautiful heritage of both the Adidas Superstar sneaker, as well as RUN DMC, you know, a classic hip hop group. So this package absolutely will endure. Its second life is to remain and continue to function. It's easily cleanable. And it's so sturdy. This is just a keep forever type keepsake.

Thank you, again, for joining us today for this Box Talk. Again, we're very proud of the outcome of this collaboration with Parallel Design. It's our first Dieline award. And we are so honored to have been a part of this project.

If you have a project, either for a product, a service, or an event, and you're looking to tell a really unique story through three-dimensional packaging, please reach out to us today. We are waiting for your call. All right, thank you.