You have to admire someone who built a popular surf shop in the rainy and grey Pacific Northwest, a place that’s nearly the antithesis of the tan surfer vibe that has been the surf industry’s marketing campaign since forever. Designer, artist, and surfer Lyndsey Lee Faulkner was the founder of…

If I had the foresight to name these episodes from the beginning, I would have called this one The Underdog. Designer, skater, surfer, and owner of Wildwood Design Co., Tyler La Flamme would take no offense to the moniker, even proudly referring to himself as an “underdog scrub” while we…

It wouldn’t be difficult to rattle off a list of surf brands that proclaim they support the greater good causes of community, diversity, and inclusion. It’s the ones that follow through on these often unfulfilled value promises that are harder to come by, let alone look good while doing it. …

Friends have the greatest friends. It’s how I came to be introduced to Thembi Hanify, in fact. A buddy of mine (who you’ll meet in next month’s episode of watercolors) suggested I speak with Thembi as she is a surfer, designer, and the tastefully creative mind behind Emocean Magazine, a…

When I spoke with Mark in January, he was setting out for upstate New York to buy a motorcycle, his most recent means of forced meditation — but we’ll get to that. Mark Pernice is a designer, illustrator, surfer, and native New Yorker with a studio, Out of Office, located…

Welcome to watercolors, an interview series with designers, artists, and makers who also practice the fine art of sliding across the surface of the ocean. The hope of the series is to explore and discuss the waterscape where art and surfing overlap and how they flow into one another. It…

What’s the best way to name a company? That’s a rhetorical question. There isn’t one. In fact, Creative Director Eli Altman has created the comprehensive workbook Don’t Call it That (now in its third edition) and, in collaboration with Rose Linke, a stacked deck of naming cards designed by Out…

How to recognize calamitous conversations and what to do about them In disputes upon moral or scientific points, ever let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So you never shall be at a loss in losing the argument, and gaining a new discovery. These…

Yogurt isn’t a hat is something I never thought I’d say. But recently I found myself arguing with a screaming toddler, explaining that you can’t wear dairy. At least not after labor day. I do what most parents do after a wild tantrum and Google like mad. Any article about…