Hasta La Ideas

A few words with the artist behind a new line of handmade snowboards

Bored with the current direction of mainstream snowboarding, artist and professional snowboarder Corey Smith decided to do something about it. The resulting line Spring Break Snowboards brings the sport back to the basics with handmade wooden snowboards meant for making beautiful powder turns and reviving a love for nature.

Not only do these wooden beasts look like a blast to ride, Smith hand shapes and paints each for a one-of-a-kind board worthy of hanging on a wall. The “business model” is unconventional too; rather than buy a board, Smith asks interested parties to donate to Spring Break to replenish materials and otherwise keep the company alive. Five hundred bucks gets you a board of your choice from the “collective” quiver, but existing and future work will sell at to-be-announced Spring Break art shows next fall.

Smith, current Art Director of COMUNE clothing, has always been a strong presence in the evolution of style and individuality in snowboarding (pioneering today’s “tight pants” movement), and may very well spark another trend with his newest venture. We recently caught up with the mastermind behind Spring Break Snowboards to learn more.

What made you grab a hunk of wood and carve a snowboard?

I was in Tahoe for most of the winter filming for the upcoming
COMUNE snowboard video. It didn’t snow for the month of January and I was getting cabin fever, just dreaming about riding fresh powder. I thought, “Why not see if I can make some handmade boards?” Once I had a few boards built and realized they were functional I decided to start a fake snowboard company as an art
project. .

What inspires the look?

I was reading a book about this surfer in the ’70s named Bunker
Spreckels and how he shaped really unique boards. It really
inspired me to think differently about contemporary snowboard design. Many
of the shapes come from conversations with friends and just thinking about
what kind of wild shapes we can come up with. The pill shape seems to work
really well. I was surprised how well the powder holes in the back worked.
They really allowed the tail to sink in the deep snow just like a swallow
tail board.

Is the process closer to shaping a surfboard or snowboard?

Well, I’ve never shaped a surfboard. I grew up in Portland, OR
skateboarding and snowboarding so surf culture is pretty foreign to me.
I am really interested in learning more about surf history and board
development though, since snowboarding and skateboarding were born from that.

What materials and techniques do you use in the production process?

I really just use wood, fiberglass, polyurethane and the
t-bolts for the bindings. I’m embarrassed to even let people know the
redneck technique I use to bend the shape into the boards haha! It’s
really just been trial and error learning how to make a functional
snowboard by hand.

Where are you based?

I live in Los Angeles in the summer and Lake Tahoe in the winter. I’d really like to build more boards this summer so I have a bunch for all my friends next winter when I hope to return to Tahoe.

Why are Spring Break Snowboards worth checking out?

It makes deep fresh powder accessible to anyone. Since the boards float so well in powder you can ride mellow, relatively avalanche safe terrain. If you ride a traditional
board in deep snow you can only move on steeper terrain. With these boards
you can just hike stuff off the side of the road, you don’t need a
helicopter, snowmobile or even a lift ticket.

Thanks to Comune and Kevin Castanheira for helping make my vision a
reality and documenting it.

Photos by Kealan Shilling

Our video inside a workshop reviving the lost art of Turkish tiles

by
Gregory Mitnick

A celebrated Turkish art form dormant for more than 300 years, Iznik tiles play an integral role in Turkey’s Ottoman Empire history and the production of them today is a labor of love.

In 1993 economics professor Dr. Işıl Akbaygil visited some of Istanbul’s historic buildings and noticed that some of the tiles were as bright and clear as new, while others were dull and deteriorating. Research soon confirmed that these tiles were indeed special, though they hadn’t been made since the early 1700s and there was no historical record or documentation of how they were made.

Dedicated to reviving this lost art, she founded the Iznik Training and Education Foundation. It took around ten years for the Foundation, along with a host of government, preservation, research and university partners, to determine what made the tiles so unusual, to recreate the lengthy handmade production process, train local artisans and construct a manufacturing facility. Today the Iznik Foundation creates tiles for repair and restoration of historical buildings, pubic works (including large murals in Istanbul’s subway stations) and for private use.

The secret to the tiles is their composition, primarily ground quartz, which also makes up the bright glazes that adorn them. Quartz brings many purported health benefits, such as improved circulation and shielding from radiation, but they also have some practical features such as being temperature neutral (ideal for warm environments) and durable—these tiles are engineered to last 1,000 years.

Our video features Istanbul-based architectural historian Gökhan Karakuş, who takes us through the history and modern-day labor-intensive process of making these beautiful tiles.

Truck tarps upcycled into chic reptillian-scaled bags

At Freitag‘s newly opened NYC shop you will find over 1,000 of the Zurich-based brand’s one-of-a-kind bags cut from used truck tarpaulins, but you will also find a surprising twist on their main material. Showing a softer side of Markus and Daniel Freitag, the brotherly duo’s Fake Snake limited edition handbags reveal a more malleable take on tarp.

Each bag is comprised of 648 pieces, all assembled by hand and laced together over a six-hour process. Producing just ten bags for each colorway, each limited run is housed at one of Freitag’s five flagship stores around the world. Part of their Spring/Summer 2011 Reference collection, the bags come in two sizes and sell for $802 and $469 each.

For a closer look at the making of the bags check out Adrian Ehrat’s photos after the jump.

New York City’s minimalist custom bicycle builder

Finding inspiration in vintage track racing catalogs and archival images, Francesco Bertelli builds gorgeously minimal bicycles in his NYC workshop Biciclette Assemblate. The Italian transplant’s one-of-a-kind creations combine new, dead stock and vintage components found at flea markets, collectors, trusted suppliers, and of course, eBay. This scavenger style of sourcing parts allows Bertelli to stockpile choice components and later pick and choose the perfect parts for each individual build.

Central to the design process are Bertelli’s strict guidelines; he only uses classically lugged steel frames with track geometry, quill stems, chrome forks, and vintage cranksets—all accented with leather and wood when appropriate. Hand assembled, finished, and fine-tuned, the bikes are emblem- and sticker-free, in keeping with the builder’s extremely pared-down style.

Bertelli teamed up with Norwegian track frame manufacturers Viking (also an exciting new upstart) to produce his own frame variation in custom anthracite colorway. These framesets are available through Biciclette Assemblate for the admirers of the craft who wish to build their own, which Bertelli encourages. His site even includes a “how to build a bike” section, an online diary of Bertelli’s own build experiences and advice, plus piece-by-piece component descriptions.

To commission your own unique bicycle build, cop one of Viking’s Bertelli framesets, or to simply drool over previous builds, contact Bertelli through his site.

Additional reporting by Graham Hiemstra

Deer antler, vegetable ivory and Purpleheart wood make up this Portland jeweler’s newest edition

Admired by locals in the know, Portland, OR-based Sticks & Stones has flown under the mainstream radar since launching their stunning accessories line in 2009. As the name implies, materials like wood, fine metals and precious stones have remained at the core of their designs. Their recently launched Spring/Summer 2011 collection finds the brand adding an intriguing set of new materials to their lineup, with jewelry made from deer antlers, purpleheart wood and vegetable ivory.

The colors of deer antlers span gorgeous milky white, caramel, stark black and gray. Since deer naturally shed their antlers each season, not only are the animals unharmed but Sticks & Stones makes beautiful use of an otherwise unused material. The deer antler pieces keep to an inherently beautiful earthy vibe, but those looking for a little more can add a premium black diamond set in 18k gold bezel.

Using organic Central American vegetable ivory, Sticks & Stones creates unique pieces like the “Dirty Peach”and the “Egg” (made from the Piassaba Palm). The Purpleheart’s unique grain and natural purple pigment make for built-in beauty, which intensifies once exposed to oxygen and light. Once the desired color is reached, rich oils are used to seal its original luster.

Sticks & Stones’ arduous production process includes hand sanding to bring the wood to its smoothest state, followed by weeks of curing in oils to ensure the piece is strong enough to withstand all elements the Pacific Northwest is known for. With impeccable craftsmanship and a distinct combination of materials, each handmade piece is truly one of a kind.

Sticks & Stones is available in select stores in Oregon and their online boutique.

See more images in the gallery.