Getting a call from a buddy that the conditions are looking good is the best. Teddy is super dialed into the swells and tides up at Creek so I knew it was going to be on. I prepped my gear, hit the hay early and woke to hit the road at 5am the following morning. I pulled into the predawn parking lot to find Teddy suited up and ready to hit it. We walked down to the beach with the genuine stoke of two full grown grommets.
We found the conditions pristine for a tubular breakfast and Teddy quickly got to it, proceeding to tuck into about 15 hollow ones back to back. It looked fun. His board of choice this morning was the LFNM by imperfects and it looked to be handling well under his feet. I decided to shoot Black and White and I’m glad that I did. Here are a few highlights from the morning featuring Teddy Upshaw and the LFNM.
CAPTURE THE FLYING PIG (AKA THE SONG IDEA)
I quickly realized that if I don’t record the ideas, they will be lost forever. It doesn’t matter if I’m at home, on a plane, in a restaurant, or driving; if I think of it, I record it. This is the capturing of the flying pig. It flies overhead, and you start freaking out. “Was that a flying PIG!?” Yes, it was. You need to snap a photo of that majestic winged creature before it vanishes into thin air. That goes for lyrics as well as chord progressions. As soon as I like the sound of something, I hit the record button on my voice memos app and catalog it. If it is lyrics, I write it down on whatever is available. With the number of ideas floating around in my head, it has been essential for me to do so I can remember! My phone has thousands and thousands of such voice memos.
DISCIPLINE
Think about paintings or sculptures, or poems. It takes practice, and it takes discipline. You’ve got to love it and keep a long-term mindset. Masterpieces don’t happen overnight. It feels funny to put the word creative and discipline together, but the two are inseparable. When it comes to finishing something you have started, there is a point where you are tired, discouraged, or distracted, and you have to focus to see it through. I can’t say I always succeed at being disciplined, but there is solace in taking small steps to traverse a great distance. In other words, baby steps. It takes dedication to become good at something. There are numerous low moments along the journey, but the joy of playing music and sharing art with others keeps me moving in times when I’m discouraged.
INSPIRATION AT 8AM
I remember reading about one of my favorite authors. Someone asked him about inspiration and his writing process. He responded by saying that inspiration comes every morning at 8am. He would wake up daily, no matter how he felt, and start writing. Some days he would write great things, and some days, not so much. Regardless, he would wake up and start writing. I am inspired by that in my songwriting process. I try to write daily, in the morning. I’ve written many bad songs in the process, but it takes the bad ones to get to the good ones.
Tom Morello says, “Making music is like a sausage; you don’t want to see how it’s made, but you like the end product.” Making a song can be a messy process, but somehow beautiful things come from that. Hmmm. Kind of like being human? Kind of like embracing imperfections and re-phrasing that to I’M PERFECT. Embracing that has been huge. Being okay with failing or writing bad songs is the key to writing good songs.
WHERE IS IT FROM, WHERE DOES IT GO
As far as where songs come from, it’s not something I can fully explain. A lot of the initial inspirations seem to come from subconscious thoughts. I start singing, and the blueprint for the tune is there. Sometimes the song comes fast, and it’s done in a day; sometimes, it takes months or even years. I’m currently finishing up a record that has taken me 4 years to make; good things take time. Don’t let the process get you down. Once a song is finished, you have to let it find its own identity in the world. Comically, I think it’s like having a child. Let it find its way; they do take on a life of their own.
Dane Danner + Imperfects: December 2020
Mike Lynch: As an appreciator of all things quality in the world of illustration, I have sincerely looked up to you for many years. What you have achieved as an Illustrator, particularly, is absolutely radical. Can you tell us a little bit about how you became an Illustrator? Why you chose that path?
Dane Danner: I could always draw… that was my thing I guess. Some people are good at math and some English. I was not as good at those subjects (or at least I didn’t have the energy when I was younger to apply myself to schoolwork) so I spent my time doing extra credit to make up for my shortcomings. Extra credit usually meant art projects… I also would trade drawings for stuff my parents wouldn’t buy me… or I’d sell drawings. An Illustrator is a hired gun. I was good at drawing what people wanted. But, I suppressed it. I didn’t look at comic books or graphic novels and never really knew what an illustration career was. I liked the VCJ/Powell drawings and the Jim Phillips/Santa Cruz stuff I’d seen on friends' boards, but I never really thought about what went into making production drawings happen? No one I knew made a living drawing… It seemed like more of something to do to pass the time and maybe impress someone here and there. People asked me to draw stuff all the time in H.S. I’m not sure really how they picked up on my ability? I never took art classes in high school. My elective was study hall. So I guess I became an Illustrator at a young age meeting the wants and demands of my peers. I still never really understood the difference between being an artist and an Illustrator. I thought illustration was more about the style… kinda that cartoon style that you saw in books. I even got my bachelor's degree in it and didn’t know what it was. Then I had a conversation with Robert Williams and referred to him as an Illustrator. He got pissed and stopped me in my tracks. He explained that he wasn’t an Illustrator because he operated based on his own timeline, his own ideas, and sold his work to whomever he wanted. He was an artist! I was not. I’m ok with that. I couple my drawings with graphic design to get exactly what a client wants. The joy is pulling the image out of the client's head. I‘ve told this story over and over… but it’s true. The illustration path chose me…. I could draw and could really listen to what someone wanted. I also constantly over-deliver because it’s easier than doing the whole project over. Insurance policy I guess.
Mike Lynch: On the basis of Art, how does Skate tie in for you? Is Surf an equal part of this?
Dane Danner: Surfing is everything to me. It’s something that grabbed me very young. Everything I’ve done in my life is devoted to being in the water amongst waves. Sounds corny. You can’t surf if the ocean doesn’t cooperate, you need to have at least a small understanding of Oceanography. My wife expanded my joy of surfing by taking me snorkeling in Hawaii. We also do a lot of whale watching. The Gray Whales are going South right now, we saw them yesterday off Cardiff. I’ve worked on the sport boats too… but while I was out on the water or under it I’m still thinking about surfing. I’m still thinking about waves and how the bottom contours of the beach make the waves and how the whales can navigate through the water. This all leads to hydrodynamics and the desire to build my own boards… and then my kids came. The kids wanted it all, the water the boards, and the art on the boards. My kids are really the driving force behind my attempt at art. Skateboarding… well that's what you do when the surf is flat. I started skating after getting bad ear infections at T-Street in San Clemente. While drying out, I needed something to do that kept me in surfing shape but also sharpened my skill of standing and riding. I’m not talking about riding down the street. I needed centrifugal force and I found it in the pool… of course. The pool linked it all together and while learning, I made a pact with myself to keep skating until my kids surpassed me. I was surprised to find that not only did skating prepare my kids for surfing… but life itself. Confidence came from navigating the busy skatepark or sidewalk. Respect came from watching the elders take their runs and of course the ability to balance and get out of trouble at high rates of speed. The determination came from paying your dues, learning that nothing in life comes easy and you have to work/try to be successful, and sometimes it hurts. It has translated to everything for them, soccer, baseball and of course surfing. Surfing gave me the feelings I desired… but skateboarding brought out the diversity, the music, and the art into my life. No one gave a fuck about what you looked like at a skate spot… all that mattered was if you skated. Since resources were plentiful (unlike waves) people were a lot nicer too.
Mike Lynch: Being a Father is easily the most epic thing I have personally accomplished; I think we both share in this sentiment, yea? Do you find it fulfilling to share your work with your kids? If so, how do you approach this matter?
Dane Deck | Deck Only
In collaboration with our Brother from Another, Dane Danner, this is probably our most prideful piece of rideable art, to date.
Dane Deck | Complete
This completes come setup with a Dane Deck, 169 Independent Trucks, 53mm White Imperfect Wheels, Shorty's Hardware, Independent Risers, Jessup Grip and Bones Reds Bearings.
Dane Danner: Yea. I just wanted to make some buds! If it wasn’t for their mom they would probably be mean as shit too… haha. I ended up with two boys which are cool. It would have been nice to have a girl in that mix because I think the world is wide open for girls right now. I run stuff by my kid all the time. I always show them the process because they should know that everything worth doing has a process. You have to struggle and sometimes you fail before you get good at something… it’s all about the doing. My skillsets have all bled into one. Working on cars and doing bodywork has helped my surfboard building as well my graphic design and vice versa. There is no need to stop doing one thing because you got into another. I think that’s what’s wrong with society today. People change up what they are into too often and go all-in on their new interests, instead of building on their talent and growth. The world would be more diverse if everyone just did themselves rather than trying to fit some sort of mold. My sharing process with the kids goes something like this… hey, I’m gonna fix a ding in this board. Do you want to watch… or no? Well, it wasn’t a question! After that kind of harsh exchange, it’s up to me to make it fun and teach. Kids… they don’t really know what they want right? But in all seriousness, it pays to keep an eye on what they like. As a designer I’ll take every advantage I can get.
Mike Lynch: With the strange state that the world is in, where do you find your balance? Where did you find your balance in years past as compared to now, 2020? Has this affected your Art or driven your mentality to create?
Dane Danner: Well there is definitely a lot of work out there right now. People are reinventing themselves and companies are finding new ways to operate, because of that, they need art and design work. In my opinion, 2020 has shaken everything loose. It’s provided the motivation to learn new or expand skills and some time to rest and reevaluate. Being creative and cooped up for months can be a blessing and a curse. I know that I got my project car up and running after sitting for 15 years. I also have read a ton, tried to get better at making boards that perform based on specific conditions, as well as sharpening my design/illustration skills by learning new methods. In my experience, I felt fortunate that during 2020 people slowed down enough to collaborate and help one other grow. 2020 was an opportunity for talented people to move up on the board. That first round of unemployment was pretty fair money wise in my opinion and gave people the means to exhale for a while… also I think sheltering in place brought some quality of life back. I know we took a look at our environment and got organized a bit. Seeing your house in the middle of the day is a trip with… different light, different perspective. The only thing I find that helps a creative block is to clean up and get organized! Maybe Covid -19 helped facilitate this condition. The bottom line is the client's needs and budget drives my creativity… so as long as I have a job to do I’ll always be creating. That goes for my wife and kids too… they are always wanting me to make the stuff.
Mike Lynch: To collab with THE Dane Danner on a Skate has been an actual dream come true for me – thank you for this opportunity Dude. On that note, what does collab mean to you? Do you enjoy collaborations with other artists and brand concepts? Further, where does the inspo for our collab originate?
Dane Danner: Ok well this project was actually art. I wanted to barter with you instead of a payday. Your board building skills against my skateboard graphics. That helped to kill the ‘gun for hire’ feel of illustration work. The 10’0 longboard you made me is great! I don’t ride them often and could never afford a brand new one! Some guy ran into me the first day I rode it! No big deal, I took it home and patched it up. Also, you were pretty cool with me coming up with the concept, color-way, and general purpose of the board. I ride 169s so the board width was determined early on. I always liked the scalloped outline of the Aaron Murray boards and your outline brings that to light without outright copying anything. I took a hacksaw to the nose and moved the front truck. Then we tested it. And Watson reproduced it nicely. This is how a board should be made. I think this was my first collaboration ever for a skateboard? My name is on it and we truly collaborated on it during its entire path. I could only hope it sells out so we could maybe do another colorway? As far as the actual content goes and what it meant to me personally, well… I’ve always liked the idea of a spiritual force regulating paradise. My version of paradise would be a lush tropical location rich in waves and hospitality. Paradise is usually held in check by an opposing force such as a volcano that has the power to completely wipe everything off the map. Because of this, the people in paradise live every day like it was their last, and foreigners are welcomed. The only problem of extending this type of welcome to outsiders is their own outside ways. Greed. I’m of course speaking of Hawaii and more specifically Aloha. I have been fortunate to travel to Hawaii many times and I have seen what the outsiders have done to the land and people. The Hawaiians have given until there was nothing left to give. These special people have many legends and traditions. On the darker side is the legend of the Night Marchers. It’s about ancient Hawaiian warriors who appear and night and seeing them means your demise. I had a friend growing up who spoke horribly about the Hawaiian people. He would visit his parent's golf course condo and surf the main spots. He always had stories about confrontations in the water with the local Hawaiians. The spirit of Aloha was not awash on him and he somehow rationalized his residence with rights to waves. I imaging a regatta of warriors paddling through the lineup regulating visitors who do not reciprocate the spirit of Aloha and instead overstay their welcome. It is said that Aloha is free and so are the beatings.
If you don’t mind I’d like to talk a little story… I always have a story and usually wake up in the morning with a wisecrack that I intend to unload on someone during the day.
Last year I sat out at Honolua bay in a daze. What I know now is I probably had Covid-19 but refused to let my sickness in paradise hamper my vacation. I climbed out of bed after sleeping for two days straight and drove to the bay. The surf was overhead and crowded. I got changed near my car and prepared to climb down the cliff. After securing my rental car key around the small loop in my board shorts, I proceeded to slam my fingers in the car door. So severely was this mistake, that I had to untie the car key with one hand to unlock the door in order to free my fingers. Upon opening the car door my smashed finger erupted in blood. In a pained daze, I played it cool and closed the car door, secured my key, and climbed down the cliff. Although the water didn’t take the pain away, I immediately felt better surrounded by it. Chumming my way to the point I bobbed around trying to remember where to line up. I have surfed Honolua many times before but never made the entire wave from the top. It’s a tough wave to navigate especially on your backhand. After about an hour of trying to get one and hooting at others taking off, my turn came. A set rolled through which left me and a local Hawaiian at the top of the point alone. Everyone else had gotten a wave and were making the long paddle back out. As I’m sure you are thinking, there was one last wave and the local guy sitting further out nodded at me to go. That was the first wave I have ever made all the way past the cave and into the channel. It took me a while to make it back up the point to thank him. I paddled straight up to him and told him he made my trip. He smiled and said something like ‘o, you’re on vacation?’ I bobbed around for another hour next to my new friend and got another good wave. Then I went in tired from being sick and injured. Thankful to have experienced Aloha. It took 9 months for my fingernail to grow back. A constant reminder of that amazing wave I was given at Honolua Bay.
Back to your question...Collaboration means that a company is bringing me forward to help my career as well as sell their product. The only way to truly grow is to prop others up around you. I enjoy collaborations because it is an opportunity to express myself through my work without being directed. Being able to sync up with brands that I actually align with is very satisfying. Inspiration comes from whatever feelings I have in the moment or ideas I have that I haven’t previously used.
Mike Lynch: From both an abstract and a literal perspective, what does Imperfection mean to you?
Dane Danner: That's easy... the finest things are made by hand. You can be rich beyond your wildest dreams… and I’m not talking monetarily rich! I’m talking about the kind of wealth where the individual creates something that no one else in the world has. It’s easy… and not so easy. As a kid, I was always making my own stuff because I couldn’t afford the latest and greatest. People would ask… where did you get that? When I made something better than what could be purchased, people wanted it. But the human hand is only so precise. It’s inevitable that an imperfection in my work would rear its head. Why do surfboards have pin lines? It’s a cover-up… it’s not an embellishment… it’s a mistake. So why does it cost extra? Because the imperfection made for a unique opportunity and that esthetic is now regarded as fine detail. The only way we can be unique in this world is because of flaws. Why is that patina or barn find ‘properly aged’ look so in right now in the hotrod and custom world? Well, because a paint job is now $15K. Fifteen thousand dollars is enough money to make someone reevaluate a project. Maybe go with the old thing looking … well old? Nothing is more unique than the panels of a pre-74 vehicle kissed by the sun and aged properly. These things are imperfect. In an age where everything is made to be disposable, it’s the time tested methods from yesteryear that made things last. These things are created by hand and if you look closely each one is unique and each one is imperfect.
July 24, 2020
I think my parents kinda pumped the idea of being an artist into me from a very young age.
For me, it always felt like a natural extension that I probably took for granted for the majority of my youth. I liked making things.... but I was too preoccupied with everything else my teenage years provided to take it seriously.
That was until my junior year of high school when I enrolled in the art program at my high school. My teacher Ms. Karr (Saint) embraced me and challenged me to push whatever was brewing in my noggin.
At the end of my senior year, she helped me submit an AP art portfolio and, to my great surprise... I got a high score.
I think after that I felt like art was a means by which I could accomplish things.
A story in 3 Photos.
If I have the time, painting a big canvas w/ acrylics is my favorite. These days it seems like I end up sketching 90% of the time.
Pen and ink never fail to fight boredom.
We were at the house with the ramp!
I grew up in the suburbs of LA and my parents were always the type of parents that didn’t mind all the kids hanging out at our house.
You throw a quarterpipe at the end of the driveway and all of a sudden a community develops around it. Skateboarding was a vehicle that led to friends, freedom, long hair, and sometimes.... girls.
Well first, thank you!
Getting my first tattoo was kind of an obsession. I was at the shop on the day of my 18th birthday. However, I wasn’t adept at the process of working with an artist or choosing from their flash so I showed up with my drawing and asked for that.
Looking back I probably should have let the artist just do his thing, but it sparked the desire to draw more tattoos.
When I was 19 I attempted to apprentice at a tattoo shop in Venice, but found that working 10 hours shifts for free and getting bullied by a head artist who I’m pretty sure was smoking crystal meth hourly wasn’t a winning formula. Instead, I went to design school, but I never lost my love for drawing in that style.
They do indeed.
My dad is also an artist/ musician/ designer. Mom is a stylist. Brother is a musician. I sometimes have to stop and think about how lucky I was to grow up in a house where making something cool was like getting a Harvard degree.
I think I touched on it earlier, but skating was a bonding element for me throughout my life.
When I was young it helped me make friends and gave us all a way to get into trouble or get to the taco place that was a little too far on foot.
When I got older it stayed the same. “Do you want to skate to the bar and grab a beer and a burger?” sign me up every time.
Maybe that’s what it’s been... a constant. A constant that is always linked to a good little adventure.
Woof, a whole lot.. but these 3 on repeat. ‘Sleepwalk’ by Santo & Johnny | ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ by King Harvest | and probably the most listened to ‘Love and Mercy’ by the great Brian Wilson.
Kaspar Heinrici and I met on a beach in Nicaragua more than 8 years ago. After one too many Tona's, fresh ceviche, and the best day on the water either of us had ever experienced, we somehow ended up drawing patterns in the sand with broken branches. Kaspar and I chatted that day for quite some time. When I discovered his interest in geometric pattern design, I knew we would be pals forever.
Fast forward to the present time, Kaspar and I have chatted about doing something creative together, and it just felt right to do something involving both of our first loves, skateboarding. I designed the little spear skateboard more than a year ago, and Kaspar quickly followed up with an epic Vibeman kaleidoscope feeling sketch. That turned into a vector and now we have the Kaspar Little Spear. From there, we decided to enjoy the slow process of designing. Creativity is most enjoyed when you are not creating for a deadline, rather creating to create. This capsule is the antithesis of any creative deadline, it is born out of pure love for the hobby and perhaps even, selfish enjoyment.
We finally landed on a few pieces we think are really special, as they pay homage to Kaspar's professional screen-printing background. Please enjoy our limited series capsule collection, which we are calling 'Vibeman for President.'
KASPAR VIBEMAN X IMPERFECTS
As part of our collaboration with Kaspar Heinrici, we put together some vintage wash sweatshirts and accompanied them with an oversized 4 color Vibeman embroidery hit as well as a special hand-sewn collab tag.
When did you realize you were an artist?
I was born directly into the art world, but resisted becoming an artist. My parents lived in NYC in the 70s and my father is a fine art silkscreen printer who actually just shut down his studio this year to retire and my mother is an architect. The irony is that while I worked in galleries and museums for years, my understanding of “Art” made me strongly resist the idea of being an “Artist.” It was a long journey before I could comfortably refer to myself as an “Artist”. I always felt that to be an artist was to lack discipline and to live at the mercy of patronage even though I constantly had a sketchbook and would continuously fill it with visual ideas as an artist might.
Before I would self apply the term artist I had to pursue other fields that I thought would qualify as being more rigorous. In college, I studied cultural anthropology and spent months studying in Nepal. I was obsessed with different worldviews and how that affected the objects that people made. I wanted to understand the intersection between function and decoration and what attracted people to objects for purely aesthetic reasons. After college, I lived in Vienna working at an art gallery and spent nights making sculptures that I deemed “architectural models” I would make drawings that were highly graphic so as not to veer into “Art.” In my late 20’s I had to figure out what it was I doing if I was not an artist. I tried taking graphic design continuing education classes, but I kept bringing in three-dimensional models until the teacher said there was a name for what I was doing and it was called, “industrial design.”
At 27, having never taken a drawing class (which is a foundational skill of industrial design) I decided to try for an industrial design graduate degree at The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Many people, including Alumni of Pratt, told me I would never learn to draw well enough to use drawing as a working designer. This only spurred me on. I had spent years in galleries and museums studying line weight and perspective and now it was time to put it into practice. I could sit in on a fashion drawing class and do 10-second figures or work the shading on the surface of a vehicle rendering for hours. Pratt really is more of an art school and the things we made always looked like they would be more acceptable on a pedestal in a conceptual art show than as a product on a shelf, but it was enough to convince myself that I was still not an “artist” I was a designer.
When I graduated I began designing watches. Watches are an amazing product because they are highly technical and yet they are pure fashion. It's rare that anyone wears a watch to actually tell the time. This thought brought me back to my cultural anthropology, if people do not buy objects for their function then what is it that attracts them to these human-made objects? I had handled paintings and sculptures worth millions of dollars in galleries and museums simply for their aesthetic value and figured I could bring that value to product design. When I would work on a steel watch finish I would think about the luster of a brushed aluminum Donald Judd sculpture. What is it that makes someone choose black plating vs gold or rose gold? Brushed vs shiny? Finding new ways to combine leather, steel and the graphic design of dials was a passion that consumed me for a decade.
I think it says something that I designed women’s products. In general, I am attracted to bold colors and unexpected shapes. In my opinion, designing fashion products for men involves a lot of black, blue, and brown in pretty traditional forms. After watches, I took on jewelry and eyewear always looking for something new to do. We got into smartwatches and the possibilities become endless when you pretty much have a phone on your wrist. I was managing a team, we were producing fantastic products that lifted the bottom line as well as fantastical conceptual limited edition projects that would have been at home in a Pratt critique, but somehow it began to lose its sense of purpose for me. I wanted to do things that had more of an immediate impact on people’s perceptions and less of an impact on the environment.
In 2017 my wife and I quit our jobs, we were living in Dallas, TX at the time. We drove to Baja to visit my sister and brother in law, he gave me a surfboard, we drove up to Tofino Canada and I tried to surf every break along the way. We ended up traveling for an entire year around South East Asia and then Europe. When you do something like this your brain chemistry changes. We were down for whatever, literally whatever we imagined. “Hey wouldn’t it be cool to go to an ashram in India?” Next thing you know we land in India with no local currency, no booking, and no idea where we should go. Rather than routine, the world starts to present itself as an opportunity, you can pull a thread and see where it goes. Along the way, I would imagine filling surfaces of buildings and public structures with my drawings. It seemed to me that taking grey urban spaces and giving them life through art was a much better way to practice design (or was it art now? Did it matter anymore?). Public art reaches so many people, it does not ask for compensation and it does not require destroying so many of the world's resources for everyone to experience it. I began photoshopping my art onto walls and posting it to Instagram as “mural proposals.” A friend of mine through skateboarding who builds parks saw one of these “proposals” and knew I had some free time. He was building a skateboard park in China at an international school and wanted the space to inspire the students by reflecting the style and freedom of skateboarding. Would I go to China to paint this skatepark? No pay, but airfare, lodging, and food for a month would be covered. When you find yourself accepting an art commission for no monetary compensation simply to experience a new place with new people and see what you can make for making’s sake…that was when I would finally have considered myself an artist
KASPAR VIBEMAN X IMPERFECTS
At the center of our friendship with Kaspar, is a pure love for Skateboarding. Kaspar is a rad distance skater who has set records pushing for literal 'days' long - we respect that. In an effort to combine our love for bombing hills and having a pocket skate always at the ready, we designed this Little Spear. A special couple slabs of maple, made right here in San Diego featuring the all over Vibeman print, wheel wells and a lifted diamond tail with a flat deck. Very limited run.
What is your earliest experience with 'Art'?
Man, I’m going to be putting Art in quotations a lot! I remember going to art openings as a kid and making a dinner out of wine and cheese. I remember going to a place called the “Art Barge” out in Napeague, NY to do finger painting or build things out of driftwood. When I was 6 or 7 my father took me to meet Keith Haring and he gave me a barking dog shirt. It is turquoise with a red outline and yellow fill. I had a Robert Indiana print on my wall growing up and the way he rendered the reflections of numbers in water still stick with me. Our house was filled with masters of the NY pop art world sprinkled with some of the hardcore Actionists of the 60’s Viennese art scene. It was easy to take it for granted. I grew up analyzing visual phenomena, memorizing color relationships and effects but didn’t realize I was living in a museum of silkscreen prints. I was experiencing the aesthetics of “Art” but I also sensed there was a politics to it as well. The marriage of value to aesthetics always sets up a power dynamic and I think that is what made me keep a healthy distance.
What is your preferred medium?
My specialty is color, so whatever allows me to express color. The way colors interact and layer in transparency is central to what I usually make so markers, watercolor, and more recently natural pigments. Often the colors I use represent shading or infer depth through a change in value and hue (a shadow usually reads as the complementary of the object itself or its adjacent surface).
I like to find a medium between precision and serendipity. In design drawing, many people think that one dreams up an idea and then draws it, but if that were the case then every object would be the boring first idea that someone had in their head. To me, the act of drawing itself should inform the idea. A messy line or an unintended spatter becomes an innovative new part of the idea so that your preconceived ideas are interacting with your marks in real-time and becoming something that you could never have predicted if you just tried to imagine something and draw it. Drawing is not just rendering, it actually engenders ideas that you are not aware exist until you start to fill the page and give meaning to the marks.
The problem with paper is that it is very limiting in size. I find my patterns and visual concepts work much better when they are able to alter the environment at the human scale so that one feels enveloped in them, that’s why I love painting very large walls.
Can you tell me a little about your upbringing and how skate was a part of that?
I have a funny picture of me at the age of 6 standing on a Walmart style pool deck with colorful grind guards in front of the Christmas tree wearing a double-breasted blazer. The incongruity of this photo is always arresting to me. When I was 11 my parents divorced and we moved to Eugene, OR. That’s when I started to skate, but I skated mainly for transportation. We lived at the top of a huge butte and most places in town were downhill from my house, so I learned to power-slide so I could speed check down the hill on my (at this point upgraded 90’s style) pool board. I’m not sure when I discovered longboarding, but I realized that it was an efficient way to get around. With a skateboard, I could be gone all day and be autonomous, so it was a big part of becoming independent and exploring around Eugene.
Years later when I moved to NYC in 2003 a guy I met asked if I wanted to participate in a longboard race, which at the time I didn’t know existed (because they didn’t at the time this was one of the first in NYC). I got a third. A few months later was the second running of a race that is now known as the Broadway Bomb where I also got 3rd place (do a youtube search for videos of this now infamous race). At this point, I have been racing skateboards for almost 18 years. I got into downhill tech sliding on Watchtower Hill in Brooklyn, I started racing downhill out at Maryhill in Washington, I got into Houston style full contact garage racing when living in Dallas for seven years, but I always come back to long-distance racing. My more recent skateboarding adventures involved setting a world record with a team of 3 others from the US in the 24hr Dutch Ultramarathon in Amsterdam in 2019, then going to a marathon distance race in Beijing, China. Skateboarding is a constant that spans every age and has introduced me to people and places all over the world. When my wife and I traveled for two years I even brought a tiny 1975 plastic banana board that I used to get around. I guess you could say that I could survive on waves or skateboarding and art supplies.
You seem to be an epic study in pattern style sketch - where does that come from?
You got me there. In high school, I would do a lot of radial symmetry pattern making and I would doodle patterns, but it was in graduate school that I embraced it. I had a professor named Martin Skalski who took color theory and extended it into patterns and textures linking them all to a relationship with three-dimensional surfaces. Patterns are how we navigate in the world, the way we order things is based on conceptual patterns. I like to make visual patterns that are sensitive to the three-dimensional surfaces they exist upon. I was not convinced creating patterns represented a sophisticated art form until I lived in Vienna and saw the work of Koloman Moser and Josef Frank. I have an archive of some of my favorite sketchbook pattern studies on my website http://www.kasparheinrici.com/mural-design#/sketchbook2-1/
For my graduate thesis, I created three-dimensional patterns that acted as padding for skateboarding gear while adding extra visual stimulation to the performance of tricks when the athlete spins or moves. The videos of me skating in the prototype are still pretty funny to watch.
If I had to pin it down I would say patterns are where art meets design, because it is a repeatable artistic phenomenon. Creating patterns is like taking an artistic concept and boiling it down, codifying it into a repeatable event.
KASPAR VIBEMAN X IMPERFECTS
The Vibeman, by Kaspar, is a representation of all things good - a reminder to keep moving, keep skating, keep surfing, and stay creative. Very limited run of these special pull-overs.
Does artistic endeavor run in your family?
It seems to.
August Heinrici @august.heinrici: My brother is a self-taught architect, but went to school for fine art. When he was very young he started building whole cities in the sand from materials found at the beach that had people stopping to marvel at them. He went to art school, started doing landscape design, got into residential development, started designing and renovating his properties one at a time in L.A., and continues to do the same in Barcelona. He is compelled to design absolutely everything often down to the hardware that he will have local craftspeople make for him.
Aleka Heinrici @busca_alma: My sister is a family doctor specializing in recovery medicine, but does not fit the description of what you might imagine for a doctor. Her Instagram profile reads “Healer/Kitchenwitch/M.D.” Imagine a tattooed tiger mom, who followed the Grateful Dead rather than go to high school and still managed to get a medical degree at OHSU. Her medium is music. She has been singing and songwriting since I can remember and can still make heart-wrenching recordings just using her phone and a guitar.
Elizabeth Spurgeon: My mom’s most artistic talent is in watercolor and painting which she has been doing her whole life. She used to hand watercolor all her architectural renderings. She is now an architect who is currently renovating a church from the 1800’s in Nevada. Her obsession with design details is rivaled only by my brother.
Alexander Heinrici: My father I would not characterize as an artist, but he is a master of color and visual perception. His job is to take the work of artists and recreate it as a silkscreen print, which is an art form in and of itself. Silkscreen takes years of experience to truly master and he is one of the few people left with the level of experience to be considered a master printer.
Alexandra Filippelli @theroughlycut: My wife is a ceramicist and archivist. She writes and draws on a daily basis in her journal. She makes pottery, embroiders, takes photographs gets crafty AF on the regular.
Why do you enjoy skating? What does it do for you?
For me stepping on a skateboard is like stepping into the water. I feel at home. Time can go by with no skating and then I jump on board and wonder why it has been so long? I have skated for 24hrs straight, I have skated 188 miles over 3 days. It becomes an extension of your own body. There is an expression in skateboarding, “walking is for suckers” and it’s just true. If you can have the feeling of gliding and flying over the earth, why would you walk?
Skating is art. The primary proof of this is the lack of rules. You can try to make rules or curriculum for skateboarding, but at the end of the day you only learn through action and I feel it is the same for art. The freedom of expression that exists in art also exists in skateboarding. That freedom disregards all rules. There is no right way to skateboard there is just a personal curation of movement that everyone establishes for themselves.
For example, the pattern I did based on the Vibeman who surfs, jumps, bends, and breakdances is based on the idea of curated movement. I think of skateboarding in this way. Whereas art is a curation of visual concepts like color and form, skateboarding is the curation of movement. Every move that can be done on a skateboard is done differently by different people and expressed in a different style. This relationship between visual art and physical motion is something I try to bring that into my art.
When I painted the skatepark at the International School of Ningbo in China I created patterns that flowed with the surfaces, speeding up and slowing down visually, expanding and contracting in a way that corresponds to the forces that the skater is feeling. When you skate the pump track there if feels like being in a videogame, because the graphics underneath your feet correspond to your speed and the angle of your body as you flow around the transition.
Who are you listening to 'music-wise' during the 'demic?
Things that make you feel good!
I like to put on William Onyeabor or Steve Monite and feel the Nigerian afro boogie or just get nostalgic for listening to the radio in the early 90’s and rediscover bands like Dee-Lite and Digital Underground (the first time I ever heard 2Pac on “same song”) and then the mix might veer into Bobby Brown and Bel Biv Devoe…Montell Jordan, ok by then I usually have to change it.
Where did the idea of the “Vibeman” come from?
I have always been interested in human movement. I used to take dynamic acrobatic classes at a circus school. For workouts, I would prefer to find a tree and look for ways to interact with it rather than do set movements from a workout routine.
In graduate school, we used to do a drawing exercise where we would draw a box in perspective and then have 10 seconds to fill it with a figure. It is exciting because you don’t know what you are going to draw and you don’t have time to think about it. It is pure unconsciousness. My figures would always become geometric and stylized and I guess I always felt bad keeping them caged in the box. These figures had a vibe and they wanted to express themselves, so I began letting them break out and they started to creep into product designs and artwork and patterns and now they have danced onto the bottom of an Imperfects deck!
For this particular execution, the idea was to create all the secondary colors necessary by layering primary colors in transparency. This is where the Imperfects attention to detail comes into play. A traditional manufacturer would have done a 4 color separation and you would see a dot matrix to establish all the colors. Imperfects executed the design exactly as intended with the green being created by the layering of vibrant yellow and blue. The darkest shade in the design layers another darker blue over the green to get a deep forest green. If you look closely at the design, the seemingly simple palette creates all kinds of sophisticated colors. To create a sense of movement I offset the exterior lines which could easily get messy if not registered properly during printing, but the manufacturer registered the layers perfectly so that each color layer is perfectly aligned.
Author: Keaton Raftery / Published: Apr-23-2020
As we left Ashford Castle and headed through the small town of Cong, I was already in awe of the aging architecture and lush greenery that surrounded us. I made a comment on how beautiful the countryside looked and Mike kept telling me to “Just wait, it gets better.” This was Mike’s fifth time in Ireland; my first. It was a radical change of scenery considering we had just come from Dublin. The pubs, coffee shops and fashion districts of the faraway city were nothing short of inspiring, but the countryside quickly became my favorite place in Ireland. The tranquility and beauty stretched as far as the eye could see. The rain didn’t seem to bother me; it added to the experience and made everything so damn green.
After a winding two hour drive towards the west coast, the beaches of Bundoran finally popped into view. We started to get a bit antsy as neither of us had seen the ocean in over a week. As we pulled up along the seawall, we began seeing little black specks appear in the water; surfers. As many as 15 sitting on two different peaks enjoying glassy shoulder high conditions while braving the frosty Atlantic water temps. After 30 minutes of watching sets roll through and highly contemplating renting boards from a local shop (we regretfully left ours back in San Diego), we decided to continue north to our destination; County Donegal, the home of Magee Woolen Mills.
We were greeted by Patrick Temple, Magee’s current Chief, as we pulled up to the factory for a tour. Patrick warmly invited us in to start the tour off with a viewing of the copious amounts of swatches strewn about a conference table in an upstairs office. We flip through each swatch one by one and start piling up different herringbones, linen blends and flecked tweeds to review. Once we narrowed our selection down to less than 100, we continued on downstairs to tour the rest of the facility.
As it was noon at this point, most of the staff was out for a lunch break, allowing us to get up close and personal with the looms as they continued to weave, unattended. Patrick walked us through each machine and explained the process of how each station works from hand-weaving fabrics to the industrial looms. He explained how ethical and sustainable practices are a core belief of the Magee way. Magee uses natural fibers in their fabrics such as wool, linen, alpaca, cashmere, mohair and silk to name a few. All of these natural fibers are biodegradable and renewable. All warping, weaving, and finishing of fabric is done in house allowing the highest quality of fabrics to be produced. They are actively planting forestry to help offset any carbon emissions their factory puts off. At Imperfects, we only wish to work with companies that strive to be as environmentally conscious as possible. Magee has gone above and beyond to make certain they are doing all necessary means in order to achieve this.
Once the tour was completed, Patrick showed us the upcoming product line that Magee has in the works - a fresh perspective from a company that has been thriving for well over a century. They continue to create timeless garments from bespoke suiting to overcoats to flat caps. Seeing this apparel line helped us bring a new inspiration into designing our AW20 line. We ended up choosing over 50 new swatches to add to our design library; almost all of which Magee has been making for over 100 years. We are currently waiting for fabric to land stateside so we can start manufacturing!
After a shake of hands and a couple more laughs, it was time for us to leave. Per recommendation from the locals, we stopped at the Olde Castle Bar on the edge of Donegal Town for some fish and chips and a quick pint. A lovely older gentleman warmly greeted us as we walked through the door and plopped ourselves down in a booth now safe from the cold of the outside world. His friendly demeanor quickly turned quite sour when Mike attempted to order a Murphy’s. His response sounded something like “Oh, I’m afraid you’re on the wrong side of Ireland to be orderin’ one of those boy-o” (in our best Irish accent). I abruptly ordered a pint of Guinness, hoping my answer will bring on a better response. Mike follows my choice and we both order our meals.
Once our bellies were full of beer and food, we started the trek back to Ashford Castle. This castle has always drawn Mike in, due to the complex yet tranquil ambiance within the walls. The Castle, as we’ll call it, offers many unique experiences from golfing to fly fishing, falconry, off-roading and clay shooting, all on the castle grounds. The Castle also provides a plethora of indoor activities such as a Cinema Room, a handful of restaurants to dine at and our personal favorite, the Billiards Room, which hosted vast selections of worldly whiskeys and Cuban cigars. In my opinion, the Billiards Room is where Mike gathers most of his inspirations from. Nothing gets the man’s creative juices flowing more than a nice Irish 25 year and a smooth Cuban cigar. The decor and thoughtfully curated paintings in the Billiards Room are extremely detailed yet calming. The silk covered walls complemented the grand assortment of antique leather furniture. The mixture of fine whiskies and the hand-carved oak and mahogany amenities would likely be a wet dream for Ron Burgundy.
After a pour (or 3. Or 4.. OK and a couple of Guinnesses) Mike introduced me to the ways of fine cigar smoking on the terrace. We enjoyed a couple Cubans and reminisced on the day’s accomplishments. Mike explained to me in further detail, why we embark on these international tours; why he continuously returns to Ireland and Japan. These countries manufacture some of the world’s highest quality of fabrics but more importantly, hold inspiration for our next line of apparel. How our surroundings are pieces of art applicable to our projects back home. How the architectural design and garments and fabric assembly all hold influence for Imperfects.
As we smoked down to the foot of our cigars and savored the last few swigs of whiskey, it was time to call it a night. Sleepy eyes would greet us in the morning to begin our journey home. As I sat back in my plane seat, I couldn’t help but smile at the inspirations and ideas floating around my brain. I now know how and why Mike finds inspiration in these far off lands. It’s not just the sights, designs or tangibility of them - It’s through The Human Experience.
5 times so far. Twice as a young lad, once with my wife and twice in the last 2 years.
The natural beauty of the place and the natural kindness of the people. I happen to be close to 50% Irish as well so I have a natural affinity for Brown Bread, Beef Stew, Whiskey and Guinness.
To learn more about the making of natural fabrics and fibers in Ireland and to find an Irish supplier of these things for our brand. Also to visit a 100% made in Ireland trade show.
Tough to answer but would have to be a tie for number 1 between a small port town called Dingle and a place called Cong (where there is a place called Ashford Castle which I love visiting).
We are from the Ring of Kerry, as they say. We have family in Listowel, Ballybunion, Kilarney and even Cork.
The intricacies of the place and the quiet you can attain from it. It has a history unlike any other place I’ve been to - most recently owned by the Guinness family - and a seriously enriching setting. Its tough to put into words but basically everything good in the world can be found at Ashford and it serves up the best pint of Guinness you will ever have. The whiskey selection is only trumped by the people who know everything there is to know about those whiskey’s they are serving you. There are cuban smokes on tap. Every square inch of the place is designed with detail and intense care, it’s never ending inspiration.
I came across Magee when I was about 15 years old and in Ireland for the first time. I was given an irish bag boy cap and the label inside said Magee Weavers 1866. I fell in love with Tweed in that moment and wanted to work with them somehow in some way at some point in my life.
We are designing a group of pieces that pay homage to both blue collar and white collar wardrobe back in the early 1900’s of Ireland. Mixing a beer maker’s chore coat with a doctor’s overcoat. A high waisted wool trouser that you can skate in. Tweeds are incredibly robust and comforting at the same time so we intend to design fashionable-everyday-functional workwear pieces.
At the moment a bottle called The Irishman 17. Finished in a proper Sherry Butt (Cask) the irish way and only purchasable in Ireland (meaning its made for the Irish), this whiskey opens up and smells like Maple Syrup, morning dew and dried tobacco. It was matured and bottled in 2002. Its damn good.
Absolutely, when this pandemic comes to an end, I’ll be planning a surf trip to Ireland to make a short film about our new apparel line and all of the goodness that comes with that.
A maestro of style with a steady brush stroke, a full on modern muralist, one of the coolest cats the creatives have ever known, Jonny Alexander is a literal living legend. In our eyes, there is Jackson Pollock, there is James Dean, there is Neal Armstrong and then there is Jonny Alexander.
This dude, our good pal, is one of the most talented down to earth humans we know so when the conversation regarding collaboration with him on a special collection started to form into a reality, we felt it best to get existential with it and describe 'why.' Not only why we do this thing called, Imperfects, everyday but also why any of us should chase our dreams.
Furthermore, why we should all take our imperfections as our greatest strengths. We sat down and chatted with Jonny about all things perfection vs. imperfection and the content that was produced due to our outer space mindsets coming together is actually pretty damn everyday cool. We hope you dig.
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Where did you grow up?
It all started in Palmdale, CA. We were next door neighbors to Afroman (The Rapper), no kidding. After heavy drug activity in our neighborhood, we moved to Encinitas, CA. This is where I was introduced to my first true love, skateboarding.
What age did you start surfing?
I was 14 when I tried to surf for the first time. My skate pals, one of which who was from Hawaii, brought me down to Blacks one day and I was baptized, literally and figuratively. After a terrible first attempt, my pals thought it was only proper that they brought me to D-street. One of my buddies gave me an old beat up Tony Staples potato chip and I would take it out every day for about 2 weeks, then I gave up on surfing altogether and went back to skateboarding and football. It wasn't until many years later, post college athletics, that I came home and started seriously surfing. I would say at age 22, I became an actual member of surf.
When did you start shaping?
I started shaping at age 22. My interest in shaping surfboards was just as strong as my interest in surfing them, from the onset. It seemed I could never find exactly what I wanted to ride so I felt like I had to make what I was looking for.
Who taught you to shape?
Tim Crozier of Blackbird Surfboards in Leucadia, CA.
What inspired you to start shaping?
Firstly, the need and want to bring retro shapes into the modern world. Secondly, I walked into a local moto/surf shop one day and came upon one of Tim's planing hulls and the natural flow of the shape, got me so enthused to sculpt my own little stubby version of this thing people were referring to as a Mini Simmons. So I guess you could say, the Mini Simmons got me inspired to start shaping - the idea of the planing hull as the first short board in surfing was so interesting to me because I enjoyed riding stubby weird short stuff that reminded me of skating.
What shapers are you most influenced by?
Wayne Rich, Terry Martin, Donald Brink, Danny Hess, Bob Mitsven.
Where do you mostly surf?
A local spot.
What boards are you currently riding?
Something I call 'The Little Fucking Nightmare' - I've been trying for years to blend the shortboard with the fish and I think this one finally got there. It's a proper shortie in the front half and in the overall template but maintains the volume of a performance fish and has a hybrid style swallow tail with a single exit channel. Its a fucking rocket and a nightmare because its really fucking hard to shape (for me).
What is your favorite part about surfing?
Not knowing the troubles of the world while I am in the water and the natural expression that surfing demands from you.
Any new shapes coming out soon?
Yes, a shit load.
Most challenging things about shaping?
Rails. You are not a real shaper until you know how to take clean design into the 3rd dimension, rails.
What do you want to see/help change within the surfing/shaping community?
Recycling. I want to find a way to close the loop on these terrible materials we use.
Where’s the surf industry headed now?
It's heading back to craft. The underground shapers and board builders have kept this thing so strong that it can truly whether anything the world throws at it. Computer shapers, Chinese manufacturers, pandemics, none of that shit matters when you compare it to the strength of the shaper's relationship with creativity. It's just so intrinsic to those who properly learn the skill that it becomes something you can never walk away from. Furthermore, surfing is the best habitat for fun and people will always support fun in one way or another.
]]>Test pilot @hmblgoods, on a perfect California Day with twins.
Video: @walshyvibes + @enrightdigital
Music: @hmblgoods
]]>Simply put, Gabriel Novis is the man. He boasts nothing but positive energy and reels in your focus with his outward creativity. He's a trippy surfed out producer/ director living in LA and we linked up with him recently to surf, drink beers and just laugh. To have this cat rocking our threads feels incredible, having him surf our handmade shapes, insane. But drinking beers with Gabriel is hands down the best. Felicidades to this Brazilian mastermind.
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