Lyle Owerko

Remember the iconic World Trade Center image that graced the cover of TIME after 9/11? Yup—Lyle Owerko captured it. Calgary-born and N.Y.C-bred, Owerko has established a career as a photographer and filmmaker that expands beyond the heart-wrenching photo. In addition to travelling the world from Asia to Europe, Owerko has shot music videos for American Hi-Fi and collabed with our girls (and “spitfires”) DANNIJO. We caught up with Owerko and his precious pup, Luna, at his sick two-story Manhattan apartment. We chatted about his Craigslist pool table find, his insane closet organization, and, of course, his latest endeavor, The Boombox Project. As 90s-obsessed kids through-and-through, we’re partial to the seminal pop culture symbol. We were fortunate enough to see a sample of Owerko’s boombox collection—the rest remains in museums, including the V&A in London. Owerko was kind enough to gift each of us with a signed copy, which we learned Spike Lee penned the forward to; now that’s called doing the right thing. As for his closet, you know how we feel about organization. Learning Owerko’s method to his madness was a real pleasure. He’s definitely in the running for “Most Organized” at The Coveteur Awards (Brian Gluckstein is clearly number one). Owerko shared his past professor’s musings: “One can’t make art in a mess,” he said. “If you’re unable to find a critical tool at a moment of inspiration, your ideas could potentially die.” This guy takes closet organization to a whole new level in both his home and office space: he’s easily “The Container Store’s” number one customer. As Owerko says, “Having a closet is a luxury not to be taken lightly now. Respect the closet if you have one!”

Closet