web1_TTL031717CoalStSnow1.jpg

Storm cleanup nearly complete, determining cost underway

web1_CrowdedStreets2_resized.jpg

Dave Matthews tribute Crowded Streets to perform at River Street Jazz Cafe

<p>For Kyle Leslie, a brush with struggle was the best motivation for following his dreams.</p><p>The 23-year-old Dallas resident is the owner and artist behind Nuclearbane clothing, a brand of streetwear that begins in his home studio and is catching on locally.</p><p>Born in Colorado, Leslie &#8220;moved around a lot&#8221; during his childhood. He was interested in the arts early, but visual art was not his first calling.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s funny. I wanted to be an actor when I was a kid,&#8221; Leslie said. &#8220;I went to a talent school in Langhorne, Pa. and I panicked, because I realized I just wanted to draw.&#8221;</p><p>Attending fourth grade in Ridgewood, N.J., Leslie got his first taste of clothing design.</p><p>&#8220;I drew on a T-shirt that said &#8216;non-smoking,&#8217; &#8221; Leslie said. &#8220;The feeling you get when you do that and people really notice it, you can&#8217;t compare.&#8221;</p><p>Leslie moved to Harveys Lake at the age of 12 and attended school in Lake-Lehman School District, where, he said, he wasn&#8217;t a model student but, by his high school years, caught the attention of a graphic art teacher who saw potential in him.</p><p>&#8220;He would make me work on projects for him,&#8221; Leslie said. &#8220;I even designed a logo for his custom motorcycle shop. He helped me, and I began to make shirts for friends.&#8221;</p><p>It wasn&#8217;t until nearly three years ago, however, that Leslie began to look at clothing design as a viable career path.</p><p>&#8220;Basically, I didn&#8217;t know what I wanted to do,&#8221; Leslie said. &#8220;I would bounce around from job to job. Three years ago, I was like &#8216;I want to build an empire.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>Leslie&#8217;s desire to become autonomous in employment got Nuclearbane started, but a move back to his native state swayed his focus.</p><p>&#8220;Honestly, I almost gave it up &#8230; because I was offered a really good position for the company I work for now,&#8221; Leslie said.</p><p>Driven to keep his passion alive, Leslie returned to NEPA, hoping to live more affordably and allocate more resources to Nuclearbane, although a dispute with a landlord ultimately made him find the perspective he needed.</p><p>&#8220;In October, I completely hit rock bottom,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We were almost evicted, and I promised myself I was never going to give up on (Nuclearbane) again.&#8221;</p><p>Since October, Leslie&#8217;s clothing, which carries his &#8220;toxic&#8221; punk-rock brand of illustration, is carried in two area stores, Cloudz Vapor in Kingston and Analog Culture in Scranton.</p><p>&#8220;Things couldn&#8217;t be going better with the brand,&#8221; Leslie said.</p><p>Leslie calls his artistic style &#8220;retro graffiti,&#8221; which his business partners transpose onto hats, socks and stickers in addition to T-shirts.</p><p>&#8220;It reminds people of the &#8217;80s, and I love the graffiti style, so it blends together there,&#8221; Leslie said.</p><p>A recent work, depicting a melting pink whale among the clouds, appears to be at home at the intersection of animation and Dali-esque surrealism.</p><p>&#8220;I love realistic things, but my capability &#8230; I can&#8217;t draw realistic stuff,&#8221; Leslie said. &#8220;I morph it in my own way. What I&#8217;ve learned in the clothing industry is uniqueness and being off the wall, with something no one has ever see before, works.&#8221;</p><p>The key provider for his family, Leslie also works a full-time job in addition to producing Nuclearbane clothing, but that&#8217;s not stopping him from trying to expand the business.</p><p>&#8220;Right now we&#8217;re looking into creating events and getting into events,&#8221; Leslie said. &#8220;As a brand, we&#8217;d like to get into Agenda. It&#8217;s a huge clothing expo, one of the biggest in the world.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_NuclearBane4_cropped.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kyle Leslie&#8217;s finished painting of whale in the sky demonstrates his &#8216;retro graffiti&#8217; artistic style. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_NuclearBane4_cropped.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kyle Leslie&#8217;s finished painting of whale in the sky demonstrates his &#8216;retro graffiti&#8217; artistic style. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_WBW031517NuclearBane1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kyle Leslie draws what he calls a &#8216;doughnut whale&#8217; where the whale will resemble a doughnut with sprinkles on top in the kitchen of his Dallas residence on Saturday. Leslie is the owner and artist behind Nuclearbane clothing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_WBW031517NuclearBane1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Kyle Leslie draws what he calls a &#8216;doughnut whale&#8217; where the whale will resemble a doughnut with sprinkles on top in the kitchen of his Dallas residence on Saturday. Leslie is the owner and artist behind Nuclearbane clothing. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_WBW031517NuclearBane2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kyle Leslie said Nuclearbane has gained traction locally since October and that his apparel is now available in stores in Kingston and Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_WBW031517NuclearBane2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Kyle Leslie said Nuclearbane has gained traction locally since October and that his apparel is now available in stores in Kingston and Scranton. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_WBW031517NuclearBane3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kyle Leslie flips through his sketch pad full of art work. Leslie said he&#8217;s learned that uniqueness goes a long way in the clothing industry. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_WBW031517NuclearBane3.jpg</photo3><caption3>Kyle Leslie flips through his sketch pad full of art work. Leslie said he&#8217;s learned that uniqueness goes a long way in the clothing industry. </caption3><photoCredit3>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Nuclearbane catches on locally</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>ONLINE</strong></p><p>Follow Nuclearbane clothing on Facebook at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nuclearbaneclothing/" target="_blank">facebook.com/nuclearbaneclothing.</a></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or on Twitter @TimesLeaderMatt.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Dallas artist Kyle Leslie uses artistic talent to make Nuclearbane apparel