“Hello Kitty + Skateboards = Art - Orange County Weekly” plus 1 more |
| Hello Kitty + Skateboards = Art - Orange County Weekly Posted: 27 May 2010 04:04 PM PDT Hello Kitty + Skateboards = Art[Trendzilla] Girl Skateboards all decked out, Sanrio-styleBy VICKIE CHANGpublished: May 27, 2010I don't know how to skateboard, and I just purchased a skateboard.Now, before you point fingers and say, "poseur"—feel free, though—know that it's being mounted on my living-room wall as I type this. Nine months ago, I visited Royal/T in Culver City (which, most of the year, is mainly a Japanese-inspired maid café, which is an art and café space where the servers are dressed in cosplay maid outfits, about which I have no comment) for their exclusive 35th-anniversary celebration of one of the most famous Japanese imports: "Three Apples" was an art show paying tribute to Hello Kitty. ("Three Apples" refers to the cartoon cat's precise weight.) And that's where I spotted said skateboard deck. It was a collaboration between one of the most respected skateboard companies around, Girl, and that familiar, mouthless white cat I'd grown up with. I signed up for a pre-order and waited. And waited. Girl Skateboards was formed in Torrance in 1993 by a few names you might recognize: Rick Howard, Mike Carroll, Spike Jonze. It's no secret that famed film director/hipster Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are) is a diehard skateboarder himself, having started out as both skate photographer and skate-film director. And while there have been tons and tons of streetwear collaborations with Hello Kitty—most resulting in trashy merch suitable only for overweight teens, Invader Zim fans and Hot Topic—this one's actually worth spreading the word about. The 8-inch-wide decks ($64.99) are drawn in the style of "classic" Hello Kitty: the more oblong-headed look the cat sported in her earlier stages, when the color schemes stuck to primary colors and not hot pink and sparkles. She is surrounded by commonplace objects (in the Sanrio world, at least) such as lions, sailboats and bottles of milk, and it reads, "GIRL" and, "Mike Carroll." The top side is solid red, with Hello Kitty sitting on a skateboard holding an apple. Along with the decks, Girl released sets of collectible wheels ($31.99) in white (51mm), red (50mm) or blue (52mm). T-shirts, of course, are also available, in men's sizes in royal blue, black and white ($20). All the merch is still available for purchase at Japan LA in Los Angeles (648 N. Fuller Ave., Los Angeles, 323-934-5201), but I'd stick to shopping online at japanla.com. Finding parking at a store just off Melrose's main drag? Good luck. This column appeared in print as "Hello, Ollie."
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| Top female skateboarders and snowboarders liven up Venice Beach with ... - Examiner Posted: 27 May 2010 05:23 PM PDT This past Sunday, just a few yards from the world famous Venice Beach boardwalk, leading female names in skateboarding, snowboarding and inline skate competed in the third and final leg of the 2009 Supergirl Jam. Hailed as the action sports industry's only large scale, all-girl's competition and lifestyle festival, the event reportedly entertained 50,000 viewers throughout the day with inline best trick, snowboard rail and skateboard street contests. The inline category had only eight competitors. Although the low number alone may not be an accurate evidence of the current shape of sport, the popularity of this modality has dropped significantly since its peak in the late 90's (the X Games, for example, axed the discipline in 2005). At any rate, Coco Sanchez swept the gold medal with a disaster to sweat stance. The snowboarding contest was, without doubt, a novelty on the Venice Beach shoreline. About 80,000 pounds of snow were poured over the drop-in ramp, at both ends of the 35-ft. long rail. The SoCal summer heat was the problem to deal with: even with the creditable efforts of the Mtn. High Snow Resort crew, the snow over the fairly short and narrow landing area quickly became slushy, creating watery patches on the edges and mud spots on the sides. Needless to say, when bailing a trick, nearly all of the girls ended up with their butts in the puddles and the resulting fashion aesthetics were less than pleasing. But the wet and saggy pants did not obscure the commitment and ability of these women – overall, the competition was certainly impressive and engaging. Laurie Currier cashed in big, taking home two checks: $5,000 for first place and $1,000 for best trick (a hard way front one/hard way front one out). Later, the attention of the viewers shifted to the skateboard course that was divided in three sections. The challenge started with 24 girls in section #1. The top 16 then moved on to semis on section #2 and the top eight went on to the finals on section #3. In all segments, the girls alternated one attempt at a single obstacle. This format, along with the lack of gradient transitions in the course (there were only banked slopes), may have hindered the chances of an overall better exhibition – a significant number of contestants struggled with landing their tricks and a relentless number of bails became patent. Nevertheless, regardless of any limitation of the course, this was a streetstyle contest. Alexis Sablone was in full force mode, tearing up all obstacles with determination and variety. Considering all the tricks she pulled off, she definitely deserved more than the third place final score. At least, a kickflip over the banks all the way to the flat earned her the $1,000 best trick reward. Vanessa Torres finished in second, showing style and confidence over the numerous ledges (and quite a footwork on the flatland during breaks). Looks like the previous prelims and semis scores were discarded before the finals. That is likely the reason that, ultimately the first place was awarded to Amy Caron. At any rate, she attacked the various rails with an assortment of boardslides and grinds, always showing audacity and resolution.
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