New Year New Studio

Around February last year I approached Mark Kemp of FortyTwo Studio about the availability of one of the spaces in their new office - the old Church Centre at 35 Mid Stocket Road. Intention was to migrate the whole Doric HQ there.

“Hey Mark, would you consider us as a tenant in your building?”

“Aye, lets talk”

And that’s how it started.

I’d been in the building a fare few times before. We did some photoshoots there when Mark acquired the building just as COVID hit. And whilst I absolutely love the building and all its brutalist features, I hadn’t considered the idea of a “studio” in a while. But in November 22 I posted a pic of a screen print studio (pic below) and how i’d love to have something like that, maybe combined with a shop one day. And whilst the Studio at 35 isn’t a shop, it’s a firm base for us to grow, collaborate and generally develop as a business. And it isn’t in the flat at the top of a ladder in a windowless loft (jokes, I love you loft!).

And so on the 13th December I got handed the keys to our new kingdom!

If you’ve seen our loft you might think how on earth I managed to fill the space. Well I spent from February to Dec sketching - with pencils and in my mind - about where things would go and what it would be like. My original sketch is down below too and isn’t far off!

And so during Christmas and New Year I gathered together my one drill (try pre drilling, counter sinking and screwing with one drill dozens of times!), my two hand saws, scrap wood, new wood and a bucket of enthusiasm and got to it. We build 5 tables for packing orders, curing ink, sorting ink, general messing about and storage. We inherited FortyTwos old table and used that for our screen print press’s. Our old desk came down from the loft and is now a desk again - this is where the print press was before! Countless trips back and forth, a few trips to B&Q (I grew accustomed to the burger van cheeseburgers) and by first week of Jan I was pretty much good to go!

We are of course still settling in and have plenty to do - plants, more shelving, deck wracks, sort out storage, recycling bin - the list is endless. And so this weekend we’ll get printing.

I can’t emphasise enough how different it is already, never mind the printing aspect.! My plan is to simply do what I did before but improve on the process, make good use of the space to print more in each run when needed. I’d also hope to open the doors to visitors at some point - we’ll work out what that looks like later in the year!

Maybe one day i’ll manage to print for other folks too. I have to be realistic and know that whilst working FT and doing Doric I can’t really commit to too much other stuff at the moment!

Thanks to everyone who’s supported us over the last 7 years. I don’t rush anything in life and this is no different! But this is like Stage 2 for Doric. Lets see what its got in store!

Why We Hope You Support Us - Part 5

Part 5 of our look at why we hope you support us.

Celebration.!

Our intention from day 1 was to celebrate as many aspects of Aberdeen that we could whilst also encouraging people to get on a skateboard.

And we’re still going.

From the people:

Annie Lennox, Michael Sheard.

The Places:

Northfield Tower, Co Op building.

The culture:

Scotland the What?

The food and drink:

Bon Accord, butteries.

And so much more.

It’s easy to bash yer city and it’s easy to be cynical about stuff. Everyone does it because nowhere is perfect. But there’s plenty to celebrate in our city. And plenty to be excited about riding a skateboard too!

It’s quite an amazing thing. A kids toy reclaimed and almost repurposed to become something th can be uniquely different to each others person who uses it whilst interacting with the environment around us. What will historians make of it in 1000 years time and will it still be a thing?!

Who knows. But for now we’re still excited to share our designs inspired by Aberdeen and the humble skateboard.

Why We Hope You Support Us - Part 4

Part 4 of 7 of our series on why we hope you support us.

Opportunities.

With Doric I’ve been afforded opportunities that I never thought I would. It’s been humbling, exciting and a little scary.

I’m not the person to put my hand up and “do stuff” - shyness has definitely held me back! But I’ve been lucky with Doric. And so one of our intentions early on was to ensure we work with people to spotlight them and hopefully give them opportunities similar to those I have had.

We’ve worked with easily 30+ local designs and artists. From illustrators to film makers we’re keen to engage with people who engage with us or approach those we like and see if they want to work with us!

It’s quid pro quo - we also get something out of it. And for the vast vast majority it’s been a total pleasure to work with people. And some have become firm friends and long time collaborators.

And so a big thanks to everyone who’ve given me opportunities and made it easier for me. And to those who’ve worked with me on things - I hope it’s been fun and worthwhile!

Why We Hope You Support Us - Part 3

Part 3 of our wee series on why we hope you support us.

Gatekeeping.

A word I didn’t know - unless you were literally talking about standing beside a gate and making sure people didn’t get through. Didn’t know the metaphorical version.

And it was something I didn’t expect when I started Doric Skateboards. There are some gatekeepers in this city (and beyond nae doubt!) and you’ll find them in all cultures. Defending “their” place in the world but in reality it’s just insecurity. I get it. We all have a bit of that.

But I’ve set out to share all aspects of what we do, how we do it and why we do it.

I want to share so other people can set off and do something they want. I’m not difficult to get a hold of and I’m confident I’ve answered 99% of all questions asked! I’m a very curious person so when someone else displays the same I’m keen to make sure I answer what they want to know.

I draw the line at some things - some folk are a little too direct wanting to know cost price of thing etc. I’d also encourage folk to try to solve problems themselves before asking for the answer. You won’t learn as much. But I’ve been at those dead ends before too so I understand!

The quote in the pic might seem rather twee but I like it. It’s from Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke of yer curious.

Tomorrow in this series Part 4 of 7 we’re talking Opportunities.

#aberdeencity #organicclothing #tshirts #clothingbrand #aberdeenshire #organiccotton #design #organiccottonclothing #skatelife #skatewear #aberdeen #bonaccord #organic #Doric #scotland #skateboardingisfun #skateboard #scotlandskateboarding #skatefashion #nostalgia #tshirt

Why We Hope You Support Us - Part 2

Continuing our deeper dive into why we hope you support us or some encouragement to do so!

Part 2 - Giving Back.

Here’s the awkward one. If you talk about this too much then it lacks humility. But if you don’t mention it at all then how will customers know where some of that money and effort goes?

Our first day of launch in 2017 saw us donate prizes to War of the Thistles thanks to Zee Yule for including us. The wonders of Facebook skate groups meant he knew what were up to. Roll on 6 years and we’ve donated tons of stuff including cash to all manner of skate events in Scotland including many fundraisers for skate parks.

We sponsor a few folk too. And are about to add someone else. More on that another day.

We big up other local businesses. Food, drink, craft, design, whatever. If you’re not a dick with us then I’ll assume you’re ok and am happy to share!

And without the support of you folks we wouldn’t be in the position to contribute to local charities like Mental Health Aberdeen and CFine. Worth pointing out again that we don’t expect you guys to front the contributions whilst we stand with an oversize cheque. We’ll also chip in cash and goods.

I’m also a fan of crowdfunding type things and happy to chip in. Might do one myself one day!

When we started we did a few skate nights at TX. This has laid dormant for a long time now but next month we’re going to organise something very informal.

Next up on why we hope you support us - Part 3 of 7 Gatekeeping.

#aberdeencity #organicclothing #tshirts #clothingbrand #aberdeenshire #organiccotton #design #organiccottonclothing #skatelife #skatewear #aberdeen #bonaccord #organic #Doric #scotland #skateboardingisfun #skateboard #scotlandskateboarding #skatefashion #nostalgia #tshirt #aberdeenscotland #tshirtdesign #doric

Why We Hope You Support Us - Part 1

The other month on Social Media we wanted to highlight some of the reasons you might want to shop with us.

Some of you will hopefully know these already but I wanted to go a bit deeper.

Starting with a Blog Post about Post. : )

We include postage cost in all our stuff - it keeps things simple for us and I hope for you too.

We also value the fact that you have spent money with us. And so I try to get your order out very quickly, sometimes the same day.

We aren’t waiting for more orders or only posting once or twice a week. It’s not hard and it’s kinda the whole point!

So that’s part 1 of this series of why we think you should shop with us. It’s not a very exciting one but it’s key.

And while I’m here. This parcel box on Carden Place is a god send. If you are the absolute tube who consistently jams it up with your over sized boxes then I really hope ye catch yer jacket pocket on a door handle soon.

Part 2 of 7 tomorrow - Giving Back.

Markets

Markets 

With the release of some details about the Christmas market stuff last week there seems to be a misconception in Aberdeen surrounding it. I’ve noticed this on shares of it and comments across every platform and post. Here’s some of my thoughts.

I’ve been selling at a version of them for about 6 years so just like old Pete Beale from Eastenders I know my onions!

First off there’s a difference (to me) between the “Christmas Market” and the “Christmas Village”. 

The Christmas Village is the one most recently found on Broad Street and operated by a contractor- usually Codonas. This consists of rides, hot food, hot drinks and booze to drink then and there. On occasion you’ll find a couple of stalls run by local sellers - candles, jewellery etc - although this is maybe going back a few years.

The Christmas Market can be traditionally found in the Quad at Marischall College. This has been run (in my experience) by Charlie House last year and will be this year but previous to that we’ve been at events run by Look Again (HAAN Market) and Codonas. 

Every year there is a call to locals to get signed up and sell yer stuff. This can range from arts and crafts to bottled food stuffs.

It’s a simple process and is good value for money - again, from my experience.

Running alongside this will be things like Curated Aberdeen - also run by Charlie House and again all proceeds from fees going to their charity. This one is indoors and can be found in the Bon Accord Centre. I’ll be at this one as for me it works best for setting up what I sell. And it’s indoors!

There will also no doubt be others that are independent of this - usually one at the Art Gallery and numerous pubs/organisations will have their own ones. I try my best to share what’s going on even when I’m not involved and will do again this year as and when.

So what’s the takeaway from this?

For the time we’ve been going (7 years) we’ve always been at some Christmas Markets run by various folks, the rates have always been reasonable, we’ve always done well at them, it’s easy to apply generally no matter who’s been organising and they’ve been fine to deal with! 

If ye make stuff then get involved. Add to the atmosphere and help create something,

If yer a local then please do visit these things.

A vibrant city needs these markets - doesn’t matter who organises them. There isn’t just an onus on the public to come and visit/spend money. Organisers need to be on the ball and make sure they do their best to encourage folk to take part - which they do in my opinion.! But there’a also a responsibility on the makers of Aberdeen to take part and make the effort. It's good to see multiple events take place but at times I think it can dilute what could be a bigger, more diverse and accessible affair. Maybe that would help avoid the confusion between what the Christmas Market is and who benefits.

And for now that’s my tuppenceworth on this.!

See ye at the Christmas Market in December. : )

Podcasts and Stuff

This month saw us release our latest collaboration, this one with Glasgow Podcast Board to Death and design by Jonny Paterson.

Podcasts have been important to me for a very long time. I enjoy the company and the variety.

Over the years i’ve been lucky enough to be asked on to a number of podcasts and even hosted whilst one was on a break (thanks again Ica!). I’m also due to be involved with another podcast very soon - more on that later! Dream come true stuff for me. And so when Jonathon of BTD podcast asked about doing something I was more than happy to get involved.!

Board to Death has covered many a subject and is well marshalled by Jonathon with a structure that keeps it on track - the world doesn’t need more 4 hour long rambling podcasts ! Addition, gatekeeping, mental health - all subjects that make for good listening and hopefully good learning.

It’s not easy keeping something creative going. The return on your investment of time and money isn’t always tangible. Not everyone will like it - some will go out of their way to let you know. But mostly people will be supportive and it’ll provide something positive to someone including yourself. It’s certainly done that for me with Doric Skateboards. So massive well done to all those out there doing their thing - and especially to Jonathan for trusting me with this. Stoked.

I’ll be making an appearance on Board to Death this Summer where hopefully I won’t make a tit of myself. I tend to talk and talk nervously when I get going in most situations which can lead to me saying silly things and lots of self deprecating stuff.! Canna help it.

If you want to help keep their podcast going you could purchase one of the hoodys or tees in the collection - it’ll go a long way!

Linked here.

Thanks for reading and thanks for the support.