"Gordo, Starbuck & Dicky Mo" by John Culqui

Latest artist version by John Culqui came out beautifully! John has become a big fan of our handpanes and wanted his own to paint up. He did this one as a tribute to Moby Dick. Pretty classic.

If you'd like your own blank canvas let us know. Enjoy!

"Green Spring Flower Thing" On Display at Encinitas Library

My friend and local Eco Artist Rodney McCoubrey spearheaded this years community art project which is now on display at the Encinitas Library for a year. The project was made possible with the help of about 20 local volunteers and tons of kids and parents at this years EEDAY Festival. It was also generously supported by our local city art program coordinator Jim Gilliam who has been a huge support of our local artist throughout the year. Among the crew of volunteers where a few of my friends, Anne and Kirk Fagergren, John Gjata, Corey Messor, Steve Kwik, Mary Fleener, Marc Lathrop, Dave and Holly Lecour, Tak and Jamie Di Dio Aoyama, Jeramy and the high school crew, and Jan Rogers (she was like 6 people in one. you rock Jan!) to name a few. 

If you get a chance go to the library to check it out. It is displayed on the north side.

If you helped in this pat yourself on the back. You did great!!!

What I'm Watching - Hanging Five - by Christopher Cutri

My friend Ira Opper over at TheSurfNetwork.com is about a cool a guy as you can get. He's a legend for one and has been making surf films for decades. 

I've known Ira for 25 years and as a kid he used to let my friend and me hold up cue-cards for Corky Carol when he was making all the Surfer Mag TV shows in the 80's. As a grom that was the highlight of our summer.

Recently we have connected again over The Leucadia Project and he did something that blew me away. He handed over the keys to the candy store. If you have even gone to his site you'll know what I'm talking about. Basically he has about 600 surf titles and he has given me access to ALL OF THEM! Yes, folks I basically will not be sleeping.

Going forward I will be watching these movies and posting what I like. I love it. It's a dream come true!

For this week's movie I picked "Hanging Five" by Christopher Cutri. I hadn't heard very much about it but as I was going through titles it jumped out at me.

It turns out that it is was a really cool movie. It is about 5 surf artists, Andy Davis, Tyler Warren, Julie Goldstein, Alex Knost, and Wolfgang Bloch. All of whom are extremely talented. 

As a guy who digs art, creating things, surfing and documentaries I was hooked. Part of my favorite part of the film was watching everyone do their work.

Julie really got me inspired as you can see her wheels turn as she goes into this other dimension. It's like watching her spirit work.

Andy was cool as he is a local guy and I don't know him very well except what I've seen of his art and heard from others. In this film he is really open and is inspiring to watch.

Tyler is such a creative soul as well as an amazing surfer. He builds these worlds in his art that makes me want to stay for awhile.

I've always been attracted to Wolfgang's art even though I didn't know they were from him. He uses found objects and then paints on them. He is also very open in this film and talks about how as an artist sometimes you just don't know where the money is going to come from but it somehow always does. A pretty good lesson of having the faith to believe in yourself and the rest will be taken care of.

Alex is one of those pure creative souls that just lives in the now and just isn't afraid to be him. Photography, music, art, design, surfing, you name it. He is just him. It's brave really. It's inspiring to watch.

All and all I highly recommend it. It's not a surf film in the traditional sense which made it that much more of a find for a documentary junky like myself. If you are a creative soul searching for inspiration or are a working artist you need to watch this. Chances are that you are struggling with your own balance of money and creativity or responsibility and creativity.  I found it very helpful to hear their stories and connect the dots in my own life to what they have experienced. 

Ryan Mcbride's New Plane

Ryan is an avid body surfer. He and his buddies use paulownia wood planes back in Florida. He found our site and sent us a picture of a Christenson fish that he loved. It looked just like this but a Quad. He asked us if we could make a handplane that would be a mini me of that board. We took one look at the photo and said SURE!  It took a bit to get this together but we are super stoked on it. I wish it was mine! The fins where a fun touch and Ryan is going to give us some feedback as to how they work. 

Ryan is also the first one to own one of our new board bags we are making out of our friend Lisa Hetmin's left over fabric from her Cinch Sack product.  A wetsuit changing mat and bag in one. Which is really cool. Lisa owns the local Swell Stuff shop that specializes in wetsuit repair and sews all of our handles for us. You rock Lisa!!!  

All and all we are so happy with how this project turned out. Thanks to Ryan for supporting us and Lisa for her never ending generosity.

Thanks to everyone who follows us and all who have supported us along the way. We couldn't do this with out you! 

Enjoy. 

For More handplanes and fun check out www.enjoyhandplanes.com

A Word Of Thanks From Cyrus

"We sold out both showings of "Stoked and Broke" last week- only the 4th time in last 25 yrs that's happened :) thank you all who were involved, its a night we won't soon forget!"

Cy

Next Stop:

September 16, 2010

Newport Beach Lido Theater

3459 Via Lido
Newport Beach, CA 92663
949.673.8350

Show starts at 8:00pm

Tarp-Surfing and Pre-Party at Almond Surfboards

from 5:00pm – 7:00pm

367 Old Newport Blvd
Newport Beach, CA 92663
949.515.2102

Featuring:

Live Music By Levi Prairie
Almond Surfboard Raffle
Free Pop Chips and Honest Beverages

Little Black Wheels Has Arrived!!!!

One of the nicest guys I know, Mick Waters, just got his new film Little Black Wheels released via The Surf Network. Mick is an amazing filmmaker and is the ultimate independent. Mick shoots, edits and funds every project himself. He is one of the guys that keeps me stoked and inspired.

Today is a big day because after 8 months from his home town release in Au he now is released worldwide via download. To an independent filmmaker this is what pays his bills and keeps him going until the next film.

To support the roots of surf filmmaking please share the word that it is out. You can download it or watch it live from www.thesurfnetwork.com for $14.99.

See the review we did a while back here. This film is amazing.

Skye Walker - Painting a Handplane

Painting a handplane from Skye Walker on Vimeo.

Our friend Skye Walker did an art project with us. This handplane will be a part of a show that we are doing for Surfing Heritage Foundation to raise money for the foundation. This handplane will be displayed at an art show and then auctioned off with a group of others. 

Give it up to Skye for working with us and doing such a great job on the art and video. THANK YOU SKYE!!!!  You're amazing.

If you want him to paint you a plane contact us.

www.iamskye.blogspot.com

www.iamskyewalker.com 

www.enjoyhandplanes.com

www.surfingheritage.org

From the Archives - Noa Shimabukuro

Photo by David Gray

REMINDER!!! Stoked and Broke Tomorrow at the La Paloma 7 & 9 PM

Go get your tickets at Surfy Surfy to avoid the rush.

more info at www.korduroy.tv

The Greener Blue

We are making a new model for our friends over at The Greener Blue.   They are a website devoted to surf culture and ocean related environmental issues as well as a showcase for sustainable and eco-friendly surf products. You'll be able to buy them from their site and the Enjoy site once their shop is up and running. Their new site will be launching soon. We can't wait.  

The Greener Blue logo was designed by our friend and fellow blog master Glenn Sakamoto, creator of www.liquidsaltmag.com. Enjoy.

John Culqui

"Surf Pirate" by John Cuqlui... Arrgg

www.jsculquiart.com

Calling all Dog Lovers... We Need Help

My friend and TLP regular Loren Tolford needs our help. Please see below...

I am trying to find a foster home or possible adopter for my father's dogs. My father recently became ill, and is in the hospital. He lost his job, and his house, and does not have a lot of money. His dogs are his best friends and all he has left. They are currently in boarding. Unfortunately there is no one available in the family to take his pups. I own 2 rescue Pitbulls, and rent, so I can not have more animals. We love them so much and are willing to help out with their care. Such as:  walks and food.
These DOGS ARE AMAZING and we want them to be adopted together eventually, to someone who knows all about the upkeep and temperament of a Bloodhound.
Info about the dogs:
Beauregard, is a beautiful Bloodhound, and Diva, is a Shepherd mix.  Beau is SO goofy, and always ready for an adventure:)
Diva looks to be mixed with a lab and has short hair. She is such a love bug, and is great off leash, listens very well. Ages around 4 and 5. We REALLY want them to go to a   home together. They are both very intelligent, sweet, amazing, and goofy. They are both good around cats, other dogs, and older kids ( they jump when excited) It is important that there be a secure back yard because Beau's nose makes him want to explore at times:)
They are very social and have been going to the Escondido Dog park almost everyday for the last year. Beauregard loves water and swimming pools also!


These dogs are part of our family and need to continue to be treated as family members in their new home.  Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!!
Email (laurentolford@yahoo.com) is best but feel free to call Lauren at (760) 212-7873 

Live'n the dream

Kipp and I have been busy with the handplane project. We are having a ridiculous amount of fun with this. You can see more over at the enjoyhandplanes.com blog. We feel like we stumbled onto our 12 year old boyhood dreams of shaping, surf photography and surfing. It just turns out that what we thought was a dream about a 6'0" thruster was really a dream about a 1'3" handplane. Oh well, we'll take it. We are self actualized and live'n the dream!

The best part though is knowing that the 12 year old boy in us was a genius. He knew how to make us happy. He knew that if we made things with our hands all day and played at the beach with those things we made we would be really stoked. We would get up in the morning and run to work and do it all day without the foggiest idea that it WAS work. Brilliant. I just hope the 60 year old me is that smart.

Stoked and Broke Premier Sept 9th La Paloma

I am really looking forward to this movie. I'm a huge fan of Cyrus Sutton, Ryan Burch and filmmer extraordinaire Jack Chellemi. These guys are doing such amazing work with Korduroy.tv. You can buy tickets at Korduroy.tv  and at Surfy Surfy Surf Shop. See you there!

LeucadiART Walk TODAY

Today is LeucadiART Walk! As a Leucadian and art lover I have to say it is one of my favorite events of the year. We are so lucky to live is such a truly amazing environment as Leucadia, for it supports and fosters some of the most creative and inspiring people I know. We are blessed to live among those who inspire us, and this event pays homage to their contribution to our community.

Here is to our community artists, who do what they love and show us the world through their eyes. We support you and respect you.

I hope to see everyone there. Come out and support your friends and neighbors, and if you have a little naked wall space, show some love to your fellow Lecuadian and buy some art! Your home will thank you for it and you'll feel good knowing you supported our community of artists.

One man's (or woman's) trash is another's man's treasure

My friend Justin owns Falcons Body Board Shop here in town. We've teamed up with him in a program to reuse old fin boxes from his customers purchase. After the sale he asks them if they want the box, if not, then he gives them to us! Works out great. He's been selling a ton of fins this summer and we have been super stoked on getting all those boxes to ship handplanes with. A win win for sure.

If you own a business, we encourage you to look around at  your neighbor's business and see if there is anything you can pass along or you can use from them. Every business has waste and as they say, one man's (or woman's) trash is another's man's treasure.

Da Birds

99.9% of the time David shoots waves. Usually really big and barreling waves.  Every now and then he takes a shot of the other stuff that happens at the beach, like this flock of pigeons he took while we were shooting down in La Jolla on a huge swell. There is something that is mesmerizing about this photo. Enjoy.

Photo David Gray

Listen to Jon Swift and Support Paul Ecke Central: School as a Garden program.

Summer Fun on the 101, Festival of SURF MUSIC will make a stop at Ducky Waddle's Emporium of Friday August 27th with a musical performance by Jon Swift. Listening to Jon's music is like sitting with a close friend who has just come home from a long journey. Melding carefully crafted words with delicately orchestrated compositions, Jon writes lyrically-driven spirituals disguised as modern day folk songs. Jon recently completed and recorded the score for Rob Machado's new surf film, Melali. Seth Pettersen will open. Doors open 7:00 . Donation $10.00, proceeds benefit Paul Ecke Central: School as a Garden program.

For additional information on Summer Fun on the 101, contact
Jerry 760-632-0488 or visit www.duckywaddles.com

Ducky Waddle's Emporium, North Coast San Diego Art Gallery, Book Store
and Center for Cultural Studies.

The man behind the curtain. JP Marengo

Photo by John Slavin 

Here’s a shot of long time Murphy Surfboards team rider JP Marengo. JP is a La Jolla reefs local who knows those breaks place like the back of his hand. He paddels out and surfs the biggest days of the year on his longboard, getting huge barrels. He inspires me. Cool guy too.  Go check out the Murphy blog, they have tons of great shots of him. 

I Love Summer South Swells

Even when the water temp is 59 degrees.

Here's an old photo, but it sums it up. This summer has been odd to say the least. Lot's of rubber  in the water. 

Photo David Gray

Floral Collage

Floral Collage

By RM Lewis 

These photos where taken by my dad who is a huge inspiration to me. He's not only a model for a loving father but also as a creative soul. When he retired he fell back in love with photography, a passion he had while growing up. When he goes out to shoot he always looks for the absolute beauty in everything, a quality that I admire. When I look at his images I just feel good. Enjoy.

Rodney Showing at Quail Botanical Gardens Sat and Sun

My favorite eco-artist and all around good guy, Rodney McCoubrey, will be showing his work this weekend. Go check it out and support your local artists and eco-warriors.

San Diego (Quail) Botanical Garden's event:  

Garden Expressions 

August 21-22, 2010

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

www.SDBGarden.org

Eco-Parents Rejoice.

My friend and local surf mom Alyssa Rodas has come up with a brilliant locally made product line for all you eco-friendly parents out there. They are called Semilla Snack Bags and they are reusable/washable bags you use for your kids snacks.

Anyone who cares about sustainability and ecology thinks about what they throw in the trash. They also can't help but cringe at the amount of waste that goes on in the single pack snack industry.

As parents and consumers we have an important role in shaping the future of how our society produces it's products and how our kids are taught about the right way to treat our planet. How we buy and use our products teaches both the companies and our children about what is right and wrong.

Luckily we are all getting wiser to the need to balance convenience with ecology and our choices at the markets are now shaping what companies are producing. It's only a matter of time before an all waste society blossoms into a no waste one.

Until then use your power as the family shopper to make your own home as waste free as possible. While doing that support your local businesses and surf moms (and dads) by supporting them in their efforts to produce eco-friendly products.

Learn more about Semilla Snack Bags and get a Lecuadia Project discount of 15% off by entering "amigos" in the coupon code at checkout. Good until September 6th.

Thank you Alyssa for giving us parents an alternative to plastic bags and waste!

Lauren Tolford

My friend Lauren at work.  Check out Surf Du' Jour for more on her.

California Daze Art show Friday night! Featuring Skye Walker

Come on out to the Green Flash Gallery in Cardiff (111 Chesterfield) this Friday, August 20th for the 

"California Daze" group art show. Show goes from 5-10pm and is sure to be a fun event!!

Artists include:

Matt Beard

Julie Goldstein

Liz Lantz

Skye Walker

Ash Francomb

Heather Brown

Kris Degrazio

Susan Wickstrand

Kevin Roche

Ashton Howard