Towards the end of 2008 I set forth towards New York City on an expedition of cultural enlightenment. For a month I roamed the city streets, galleries, sneaker shops, music venues, hang outs, and of course sampled the best coffee NYC had to offer. Many places stand out in my mind from the trip however the place that truly blew me away was in the most unlikely of places. Not in Soho or the nooks and crannies of down town but instead in Rockville Centre Long Island. Extra Butter for me embodied everything I wanted to find on the East Coast. A great laid back vibe thrown together in a clean-cut space with streetwear skateboards and sneakers. Butter definitely Knows!

Why Extra Butter – Where does this name come from…
It comes from our culture itself. “Butter” was always an adjective used to describe the very best of things, particularly in regards to style. Of course, with the way we tie products, merchandising, branding, and events back into movies – Extra Butter is a natural fit.

Why Long Island…
I happen to love Long Island, being surrounded by water and not having to get caught up in the congestion of the city was appealing to me – not to mention the over saturation of shops. That seems to be happening out here as well, but we really believe in what we do and what we stand for. A lot of our efforts are to grow this culture and lifestyle in fresh and new directions, and Long Island – in particular Rockville Centre, seemed like a perfect place to start. In the short time we’ve been here, we’ve already seen a lot more excitement and energy injected into the town.

Why do you choose the brands you sell? What relationship do you have to the styles and scenes these brands represent?
We basically choose brands we like, it’s that simple. As far as footwear is concerned we stick with brands that have a legacy and continue to be the leaders of the industry and remain classic. For clothing – it’s companies that have a message and purpose. We try to steer clear from brands that have products that are simply aesthetically pleasing. We believe the better companies, the ones we work way better with, are the ones that not only look good, but make an important statement. That is the communicative essence of style to begin with.

As far as the relationships with the brands we work with…I like to think of it as intimate. Working together on a close level like that keeps us well informed on the products we support, but also allows us to join forces and tell the brand’s story or theme in a more collaborative and closer to home level. This is the difference between an impersonal one-stop-shop/department store type thing, and a boutique where it’s more than a destination, it’s also a home.

What makes you get out of bed in the morning and do what you do?
I really love the culture involved at EB – whether it’s movies, art, style, etc. I love being apart, contributing to it, and essentially being a part of a place that transcends just being a shop that just does business, but being a shop that tries to nurture this culture with education, direct involvement, and true passion. It’s easy to have the enthusiasm with the rest of the team at EB sharing the same belief, work ethic, and direction as well. That kind of commitment is essential to making progress and carrying out your vision.

Can you give me some info on the extracurricular activities the store showcases? (Think you had some video premier when I was there last!)
Our events always stem from something currently being highlighted in the store, or going on in the world. February was a successful month of Friday night movies – all with the romantic V-day vibe. We showed “Buffalo ’66″, “Heaven”, “Punch Drunk Love”, “The Graduate”, and my all time favorite – “True Romance”. But most recently we had a movie screening with Mishka. We screened an underground film they’ve been wanting to show called “Martyrs”…this also followed up little lookbooks we had produced for their new Mens and womens Spring lines that released that same week.
http://extrabutterny.com/blog/2009/04/06/martyrs-movie-night-with-mishka-recap/
http://extrabutterny.com/blog/2009/04/01/mishka-womens/
http://hypebeast.com/2009/04/mishka-nyc-2009-spring-collection-lookbook-by-extra-butter/
http://mishkanyc.com/bloglin/2009/04/05/extra-butter-does-it-again/

We really love the brands we carry and like I said we try our best to give back to them and the people supporting us, by putting together events where we can all come together and vibe.

Brief introduction to the people involved, the staff, the people that make it happen!
Well first there’s Roose, who is our rock. Holds us down in every way and provides a lot of the fire behind our energy. Evicurean is the eternal student that constantly brings intellectual growth and consistency to our philosophy and appearance. A-lex is like a secret weapon. Who’d think a kid that young could be such a whiz with photography, photo editing, and all sorts of design. He’s never without the enthusiasm to take us to the next level. There’s more to our team, as our support network is a key element to our nature and success…some of them are more behind the scenes, some of them will be in your face in no time. And then there’s me….but you should know about me already.

Any shout outs?
hmm all the brands we work with – so thankful for our relationship with them, Sycko, L’amour Supreme, Christina (Milk & Honey), Mafia (Sneaker Freaker), and everyone else that loves and spreads butter all over the world!

Extra Butter is:

Extra Butter
266 Merrick Road,
Rockville Centre NY 11570
United States
(516) 632-5150

extrabutterny.com