Website Update

We may have been on vacation last month however that doesn't mean we were sleeping and sipping drinks the whole time.  We have been working on our website vigorously and there's a light at the end of the tunnel!  We are excited for the next few months and hopefully this fall we will have it completed!  Stay patient and stay with us!

www.graffinctrades.com

Freight Fridays Feature Fix

Todays Freight Fridays is meant to be served with some syrup.  It's all about the waffle cars and how delicious they can be to the freight world.  Helps give the car some character and any piece to stand out that much more.
This weeks freight is a small burner piece by REPAE (1UP).  Enjoy the weekend and stay safe!.

Website Fossils

Are graffiti archive style websites a thing of the past?  Have they gone the way of MySpace and Bing?  Well, I guess they're still around but who uses it and who ever used Bing to begin with?  A decade ago there was no such thing as an 'app' and you had to search relatively hard to find your favorite writer online.  We've heard old school writers from the 80s talk about how it was before the internet.  I guess this is this generations "before the app" or "before social media".

Apps and the popular social media choices has changed the game drastically.  One can find nearly any writer they want and now have the chance to interact with that person.  Instagram is probably the biggest influence of this as we've seen writers have hundreds and thousands of followers and half of their Instagram posts are shots of their dinner.  Kids still jock them and their "dope dinner" comments.  We're not hating at all, just simply reflecting on how apps and these social media style sites have become such a powerful tool.  Probably one of the most positive influences in the graffiti culture thus yet.

Anonymity still exists on Twitter, Instagram and Flickr however there is a lot more accountability than you would find in a forum .  "Back in my day", it was online forums to see new graffiti from else where in the world.  Online archive sites were the cool thing and to submit your photos and have them archived was a way to get your name out.  You use to hear a lot about this or that site but does anyone go on those sites anymore?  We  like the way the culture has evolved and adapted to these new trends.  We understand that online graffiti forums and archived sites are still out there and are still used but theyre not as talked about or used as much they use to be

Freight Fridays Feature Fix

There are writers who get up bombing their neighborhood and city.  There are also writers who like to stay legal and do big productions and sometimes get paid to do them.  There are those that like to do pieces on freight cars.

Crushing freight cars deserves its own individual level of respect because there's a lot of preparation that goes into a freight mission. Getting in and out unnoticed and without injury is an accomplishment in it's self.  To get your name up and have it seen throughout the country and later benched on the internet is rewarding.  A lot of curves, bumps, handles and painting on metal alone isn't easy.  To keep it clean while pitch dark, on metal and working around the elements that make up a train car is respectable and not as easy as non-train writers would think.  Many big names have came and gone through the years but many come back every now and then.  The writer that shares an equal love for rolling stock as they do for graffiti and are skilled enough will actually paint around all of the stenciling as well.

Todays pick is a cylinder hopper done by FOX.  Below we found a nice flat panel Canadian National clean car.  Enjoy your Freight Friday and stay safe!