Sam
Date
Time
Place
Slug
October 15, 2025
2:00pm
Manhattan, New York
“Ox”
Collaboration.
It Takes a (West) Village.
No single person can make anything great. It takes a village of people to make a movement. For Slug, I could not write this without the help of tens, maybe even hundreds of people. So when I reconnected with Sam, Quinn’s cousin from NYC, and also the founder of Hidebound Books, we thought to help each other and collaborate on a project. This is the story of how we put a Hidebound Book in a Slug 2.
Tall Objects.
Sam and I had met back in 2016 during me and Quinn’s first semester at the University of Miami. I remember we had a very wild time, which included perusing through South Beach, getting our fake IDs taken, and I think stealing outdoor furniture. 18-year-olds in Miami. We luckily had matured over the years, and during that time when Quinn would come to New York, the three of us would hang out. The last time we saw each other this summer, Sam had showed me his new business called Hidebound Books. Hidebound Books is a phone entertainment substitute. A wise and wondrous way to spend your free time. While studying in London, Sam developed a leather bookcase containing condensed versions of some of the world‘s most classic literature. I really loved the concept when he first showed me. In a world that’s increasingly digital and at times distracted, there’s not many better things to do than to read. When I saw the tall, slim design of the product, I thought “wow that could fit in your back pocket.. but it could also fit in a Slug”. Having discussed our own manufacturing processes and tribulations of business, we had the idea to do something together. Fast-forward a month later, we met up at his parents home near Union Square and got right to it.
Slugbound Books.
The idea for the shoot was to take both Slug and Hidebound Book to places one would really enjoy to have a read. On a view looking over the city, on a stoop of a brownstone home, in the park on a beautiful day, in a diner booth, on the subway. All places for leisure and reflection. We took photos with his dog in his dad‘s art studio, passing construction workers on tight streets, in plush, red cushions of diners, all while talking about ideas and plans for the future. I love this aspect of business: the creative, decision-making, freedom, flow state. After a good hour and a bit, we wrapped up the shoot, returned back to his house and took a breath. Sam graciously gave me a Hidebound Book with Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations inside, one of my favorites. I checked my pockets to find them all filled. So, I put it in my Slug. Now that is collaboration.