Artist Profile // Brandon Els

Brandon Els, aka The Blind Kid, loves creating his own characters. The kind of characters that have no eyes, razor-sharp teeth, skateboards and cheeky personalities. Ask him why he illustrates and he’ll tell you it’s because it connects every sport he loves – surf, skate, snowboard and wake – and that thousands of people riding boards with his designs on them is pretty rad.

Growing up in South Africa with the privilege of being able to purchase fireworks, Brandon Els destroyed more than he created and has since been making up his creative karma for clients such as Yamaha, Fuel TV, Dragon Alliance, Mastercraft Boats, Body Glove & Fyve Snowboards & Skateboards.

http://www.theblindkid.com

Artist Profile // Courtney Brims

Courtney Brims

Over the years Courtney has made her mark on brands such as Element, Hurley & Something else to name a few.
Courtney Brims grew up in the outskirts of Brisbane drawing pink unicorns and prehistoric birds, collecting dead beetles and making costumes.

Graduating from Queensland University of Technology with a degree in Interior Design Courtney turned her drawing arm to full time art and illustration in 2008.

Influenced by the theatricality of vaudeville circus and storytellers of old such as Beatrix Potter, Tim Burton, The Grimm Brothers, Lewis Carroll and Walt Disney, Courtney pays homage to the odd, the bizarre and the eccentric.

Her graphite pencil drawings depict a sweet and sour wonderland of stray creatures and lost damsels and explore the world of reality and fantasy most of us left behind in childhood.

Check out her work here: http://www.courtneybrims.com/

PENNY - VIVA VACATION

Ozmosis was the major sponsor of the Melbourne leg of Penny Skateboards 'Viva Vacation' tour that hit sunny Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. Along with the loads of giveaways on the day, there were two major prizes up for grabs, $1000 for best trick and $500 for the highest hippy jump which was won on the Melbourne leg of the tour. The winning jump was 134cm! There was also a sausage sizzle on the day and a Red Bull DJ truck spinning tunes all day.

There was some high quality skateboarding on the day and loads of fun had by everyone. Below is a video Penny put together of the east coast part of the tour. It was great to be a part of such an amazing event and look forward to next year.

Check out the pics we captured of the day below!


Viva Vacation - from Penny Skateboards on Vimeo.

DESERT AFFAIRS

Below is a story written by Ozmosis team rider Georgia Fish about her adventures into the desert chasing waves.

The further we drove, the deeper into the desert we went. Barely a woman in sight, only men, in long white robes... playing cricket, or walking to meet their duties for the day as the sun rose along the flat, dry horizon. Stopping at a petrol station, every eye stared intently as we walked by. Our features being unfamiliar, blonde hair, blue eyes. Something that is not quite so familiar over there.
Finally we reach a sign 'Wadi Adventure Park'. It looks familiar from the masses of youtube clips we had been watching on repeat for months. Pro's such as Dion Agius and Chippa Wilson surfing this so called 'Wave Pool' in the desert.

Walking in, the first thing that caught my eye was the back drop of this pool. It looked as though someone had spent years painting it to perfection. These striking mountains of dirt, reflecting the orange of the sunrise, stared down over the entire adventure park. I never would have imagined dirt to be so spectacular.

Waiting for the first wave of the day, you have 90 seconds to sit in this glassy, clear, aqua blue pool before a mound of water comes rolling through. You position yourself on the '2 meter' mark of the pool, and hold yourself against the wall so the currents of water being sucked in and out of the cages don't take you with it. You then look up as you hear a sound and water goes flying out of the top of the pool from one end to another and as you refocus on what's happening in front of you, a wave is forming right beneath you. You paddle, you stand up and before you know its been an hour and you've had 40 waves.

Desert Affairs from Shannon Mackie on Vimeo.


Video Edit by Shannon Mackie

VIVA VACATION TOUR

We are proud to announce that we are the major sponsor of Penny's upcoming skate competition 'Viva Vacation Tour'.  Held at Melbourne Riverslide City Park, loads of great prizes are up for grabs including $1000 for best trick. Whether you want to enter the comp, watch from the side or grab a sausage and some giveaway's make sure you get down there for a great day!

For more info head over the competition website here.

FREE TO ROAM / SUMMER 2012

This years summer campaign was all about heading into the unknown, going on adventures with friends and having a whole lot of fun doing it. The campaign was shot in the beautiful summer holiday location of Bali.

Bali is a place a lot of Australians have travelled to and have great memories of. We wanted to create our own memories of it so we went 'roaming'. We went on bike rides to fruit markets in the mountains, walked through rice terraces, wandered the back streets of shops, ate lunch where the locals eat, swam and surfed at amazing beaches and finished off with some drinks at sunset on the beach.

Here are a selection of shots that are in the catalogue mixed in with some shots never seen before. The campaign is in-store and online now. Photography by Gary Parker.
To view the catalogue click here.
To watch the vibe clip click here.

THE GOOD FOLKE

Folke are a relatively new brand that we have stocked over the last couple of seasons. We are currently running a great promo in-store and online with them. All you have to do is buy any Folke product from us and you go into the draw to win a $1500 travel voucher.














































With little information online about the brand, we thought we would ask the good folk at Folke a few questions to try and get an insight into the brand and their inspirations.

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us what you do at Folke?
My name is Sam Elsom I started Folke with a couple of artists Dane Rosser and Chris Honey who live life they way it's supposed to be lived. We had a vision to create a brand around the way we live and what we love to do. Its about trying to make your occupation work in with your life rather than your life work in with your occupation. My role at Folkeis in sourcing the organic cotton used in our garments and designing collections.

How old is Folke and where did it come from?
We started Folke in 2009. It really started with an idea of using creative outlets to offer something unique to the market and do it with a new perspective on the way we work.

What outside of the fashion world inspires you? Do you have outside interests that feed into Folke?
Living Life! Getting outta here! Whether its travelling through India or boat trips in the Maldives or even road trips up the coast trawling through op shops in the small towns along the way. Of course music, art, photography are all major inspirations.... especially music... what road trip is complete without awesome tunes?

What were your inspirations for the Summer 2012 collection?
We took inspiration from the early 90's with the bright colour palate to the busy prints. The back and front print tees and old location prints. Something you might of picked up on a cheesy Gold Coast holiday back in the day. Its all light hearted and in good fun.

If you had a $1500 travel voucher, what would you do with it?
Are you kidding? Straight to Bali!!!!

What does the future hold for Folke?
I don't have a crystal ball but I'm pretty sure its big and it's bright!!! haha

Keep an eye out for the Folke windows that are in-store now. Shop Folke here.

TAME IMPALA - LONERISM

Lonerism is Perth band Tame Impala's synthed-out, psychedelic second album. It follows the bands first album, Inner Speaker which was released in 2010. Lonerism was recorded in-between studios in France and Perth.

Tame Impala are playing the Parklife Festival which hits Melbourne this week as well as touring nationally in December. You can also stream the album this week before it comes out on October 10 via Triple J here.

THE HEART & THE SEA

'The Heart & The Sea' is the latest creation by Nathan Oldfield and explores the joy that lies at the very centre of a surfing life; family, friends and a shared intimacy if the sea. Filmed on location in Australia, New Zealand, France and Spain this magical trailer that captures the true spirit of surfing.
The Heart & The Sea: Official Trailer from Nathan Oldfield on Vimeo.

LUCAS BEAUFORT

Lucas Beaufort draws on skateboard and snowboard magazine covers. He uses elements from the cover and overlays illustrations to produce a one-off piece of art. To view more of these great illustrations head over to his blog here.