Interview: Jason of Board Games
Jason is one very clever cookie. His Etsy store Board Games is full of amazing creations for kids all made from recycled skateboards.
Tell us a bit about yourself, who is Jason?
I’m an artist residing in Portland, OR.
Have you always been a creative lad?
Yes. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.
Do you dabble in other creative mediums?
I do a lot of painting and drawing. (PSST… you can check out Jasons paintings here! www.greenelbow.com)
Tell us a bit about your process.
I often sketch out ideas. Most of the time, I just work it out in the shop. There’s a lot of tinkering involved when working with recycled materials. The limitations of a particular material can be challenging yet quite rewarding when I can use them to my advantage.
What is your workspace like?
I have a small studio in our old garage. There’s only one small window, so it feels much like a cave. A dusty plastic curtain separates the mess in the wood shop from the chaos in the painting studio. I love it.
What inspires your pieces?
I’m often inspired by whatever my son is into. He’s five now, but when he was younger, he really loved watching tops. I also think about classic toys like yoyos and slingshots that I enjoyed playing with when I was younger. Honestly, I still enjoy them.
Do you remember the day you looked at a skateboard and saw it as a material rather than a cool mode of transport?
I think a lot of skaters save their old boards. Maybe it’s nostalgia or a collecting instinct. Anyway, I always try to make something with what I’ve got before buying it. I’ve always had used skateboards laying around, so it wasn’t a stretch for me. When my son was two, he needed a small chair, and I thought the curve of an old skateboard would work well as a little chair. So I made him one and soon started selling them. After that, I just started playing around to see what else I could make from skateboards.
When you look for a board to use what do you look for?
I’m not too picky about what I use. I get most of the used boards from friends and skate shops, and I like using boards that have a little history to them. That is to say, scratched and worn in a way that the graphics almost look like a smeared oil painting. However, sometimes the graphics fit with whatever I want to make or vice versa, so it can be nice to have some of those original graphics still visible. I just made a small car out of a board that had a picture of a car. Super creative, right?
I think one of the greatest elements of items that are made from recycled skateboards are the layers of coloured wood. So unique to using a board rather than just any old piece of wood. You can see this really clearly in your tops.
Yeah, the layers work well for the tops. Most boards are made of seven layers of maple which is a beautiful wood to work with. Often, companies dye some of those layers, so you get these colorful layers to play with. Tops have been around forever and have long been painted with bright colored stripes. I guess it’s a case where the material fits the form well.
Do you have a favourite element or feature that your unique material brings to the pieces?
I’d have to say that unique material makes for unique objects. I love the fact that each item I make is one of a kind, no two are the same.
If you had to choose one of your pieces to be your favourite which one would it be?
I did make a yoyo once that had a portion of an Ed Templeton (the pro skater/artist) drawing. It made me smile each time I picked it up.
Do you sell your pieces at markets/in stores or just online?
Yes. I do both.
Does selling in person interest you?
I’ll sell at a craft show every now and then. It’s super fun to see kids and grown ups playing with the toys you made. I don’t get to see that when selling online.
Do you have any advice for people thinking about doing the same?
Definitely think about the physical presentation of your work. It can make a huge difference and set you apart from others. Online, it’s easy to isolate your pieces, but at a store or market, your pieces are competing with everything else for the customer’s eye.
What do you do to get yourself out of a creative rut?
Take a break, go skating, and come back to it later. Sometimes ideas need more time to ferment.
Any other etsy sellers you admire?
I just love Etsy in general. I could go there every day and find something different I like. It’s the whole community of makers that I admire most.
Last one, if you could have any kind of creature for a pet would it be and why? (real or fictional.)
A mantis shrimp. They’re so freakin’ cool.
Aside from making awesome skateboard toys Jason is also an amazing artist. Check out his paintings here. www.greenelbow.com
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