Part 13 - Happy Birthday!

So March was an exciting month. Our second deck colab came out - to get to work with Small Stories was amazing. So chuffed! And even better that its been so well received. Thanks to everyone for their support and to Small Stories for the colab! : )

But March was also the Doric Skateboards Birthday.

March 31st 2017 was when we launched and to celebrate we set up a free skate at Transition Extreme to any and all. We also ordered cake (in the shape of a massive rowie), made up wee party bags and generally tried to encourage all sorts of folk to come down and have a blast! 

I spent most of the day of the bash feeling sick that no one would turn up - happy to say that wasn't the case! Really can't thank folk enough for turning up from all over the North East and beyond. And a special shout out to the folks that took gifts! Never saw that coming! : )

Really hope everyone enjoyed it! 

So that's now all over with its back to the drawing board. Whats next?

• New deck design? Aye.
• New hoodies? Aye
• New tees? Aye.
• New "other stuff"? Aye.

2018 will be another exciting year for us and if we can pull off some of the stuff planned i hope it can cement Doric Skateboards as a skate brand that's honest, fun and inclusive. 

Check out some of the pics from the bash below or check out the video from the day on the FB page and IG! 

Cheers for now - off to get my thinking head on! 

Part 12 - Where was I? Oh aye!

When i started this blog it was supposed to follow the story roughly speaking of where we got where we are, and then very conveniently dovetail with now. Then i could keep it more relevant. 

But i've dipped in and out of a few things since the last part which was Part 9 - Whats a Bon Accord?

I'll nip away and re-read that to see where i was. 

Ok, read it. Sorted. Ready to go. 

So the design is locked down - kudos to Nicola, my pal Craig and my brother Mark for their input. Worth mentioning here that you very quickly have to accept criticism and suggestions. Sometimes its right! Even though i think its important to have the courage of your convictions - you need to be flexible and honest. If something works better another way - do it. 

Although the Annie Street Dreams deck had a few colours in it, there was a degree of flexibility with the design. A millimeter here or there didn't really effect the image. However with this one i had to line up 4 screens with 4 different colours to create one image. Easy eh? 

So some of the first things i discovered was that overlapping the images was the way forward. No overlap means you have to get it BANG on. i.e. line up the screen to the image each time and ensure that its millimeter perfect. Not easy. Especially when screening on a curved deck! 

Also needed to think about which direction to screen. You pull (or push if you like it that way) the ink through the screen and that deposits the ink onto your deck. A squeegee is used but they aren't really soft enough (that i've found) to take on the curve. So i screened width ways - this has its own issues. The contact between the deck and the screen can be an issue and the pressure you put on makes all the difference. Too much pressure on the part closest to the screen means you are going to make a mess - not enough pressure on the part furthest from the screen means you arent going to deposit enough ink.

So its a balance. 

Overlapping images for sure - i'm in the midst of re-doing some of the images so that i can get the next one bang on - Irn Bru colour fyi.

Then i thought - why can't my squeegee be curved? 

So i chopped one up and......it kind of worked a treat! 

Still some work to do to make one perfect but its the way forward for me. 

Whatever works eh?

Some images below of the process - this doesn't include the ones of me crying when i messed things up..look out for the one i did upside down. Ha! : )

Part 2 - Learning

Where was I? 

Oh aye. Got the name, got the thinking behind it, got the idea for the first graphic. Logo is being designed. 

Need to learn to screen print. Just a small minor detail eh? ; )

Lucky for me i have a brother who has experience in it and a fantastic facility in the city - Peacock Visual Arts Studio. For a very small fee you can use the equipment there for a variety of artistic endeavours. But first you need to know what you are actually doing. 

I set up a one to one session with a chap there called James - he's patient and answers questions without you feeling daft for asking! After a 3 hour session i walk away in a bit of a daze trying to remember everything thats been said and done. He promises to be on hand to shadow me when i'm ready to go with my own designs. I fear it will be a less shadowing more me clinging to him for dear life..

One thing is clear and its something i suspected from the beginning - i can't screen print decks down at Peacocks. The shape and size of a deck and the method of lining it up to print (or "registration" as i would learn to call it!) means i need to build something bespoke. 

In the meantime I've also ordered the first batch of blank decks.

So, like the threads of a complicated film things are beginning to come together. Or so i think at the time but like all good films things are not always what they seem, and there is a Marvel-esq post credits sequence waiting to bite me on the arse for this first part of the journey.

Join me for Part 3 - Setbacks, where i'll consider why the lack of a window in my loft space was a good thing.