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June 15, 2009 | Written by Chris Yonge (75168 views)| Comments
Design is about people, and how they become inspired to create and refine products that are innovative, simpler, more efficient, greener, and – in the case of skateboards – just plain fun. The Santa Cruz Design + Innovation Center recently held a skateboard panel discussion in NextSpace that underlined how creative thinking, energy, and community involvement led to the development of our world class skateboard design and manufacturing industry.
NextSpace, for those of you not yet familiar with it, is the radical new coworking space on the corner of Cooper and Pacific that is becoming the preferred base for creative/technology startups in the Santa Cruz area. Take a tour, and you’ll see software developers, architects, writers, graphic and product designers, computer animators, intellectual property lawyers, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and innovators working side by side in the friendly, busy, rising-tide-floats-all-boats spirit that’s often called coopetition.
Fifty people - some NextSpace members, many not – crowded into the second floor café space on May 28th to hear a panel of local skateboard personalities give their varied insights into the ideas, the events, the design, and the people that have made this Santa Cruz industry into a world leader.
The panel was made up of Tim Piumarta, the Director of R+D at NHS, who gave the audience a fascinating history of of the skateboard wheel from back in the ball bearing days to the development of the sealed bearing and how it changed skateboarding forever. Connor Welles, Hard Goods Development Coordinator at NHS, who talked about the process of getting skateboard products manufactured and working with product managers. Don Bostick, who founded the World Cup of Skateboard, talked about the problems and rewards of running competitions and events. Erik Florio, the CEO of Whagaa, discussed the early days of wanting to do apps before the iPhone and how his app went to number one for a month on itunes. Judi Oyama, a longtime skateboarder and designer, gave an illustrated talk about the use of graphics in the industry. And Danny Keith spoke about his Grind for Hunger non-profit, running a retail skate business, his love for skating and how it has driven his life. There was a clear underlying tone of passion for the sport and the skateboard community in everyone’s talks.
This enthusiasm and commitment is a common feature of Design Center events. The basis for its existence is that Santa Cruz has, over the last twenty years, become home to a large, world-class group of creative professionals in the fields of design, technology, software development, research, and entrepreneurship. Creative professionals need and want to live in inspiring surroundings like Santa Cruz but can’t always afford to. However, successful creative professionals can. As a result Santa Cruz, being the most attractive and interesting community within commuting distance of Silicon Valley, has attracted a disproportionate number of top creative professionals. But many commute to the Valley for work, and those who run businesses in town find most of their clients and professional connections come from the Valley. So the paradoxical situation arose that a major regional creative center was unaware of itself as such.
Enter the Design Center, two years ago. Its purpose was first to make Santa Cruz aware of itself as a major design and innovation center, and then to spread that awareness across the region, the country, and indeed the world. And this is what is happening. A series of local events and exhibitions, centered around design and technology, are not only forging new links across professional boundaries but making local creative professionals aware of the breadth and depth of design skills available, in many cases, just a few blocks away. Find more on upcoming events, local designers, and what’s going on in the Santa Cruz design community at the Design Center’s web site www.designsc.org. Join us!
Finally, the Design Center wishes to thank all the sponsors of the skateboard panel event: Santa Cruz Skateboard, Santa Cruz Skate Shop, NextSpace, Fringe, Khiro Skateboard Products and Parachute Design. We also thank our Board, under the chairmanship of Darrin Caddes, for their guidance, and the members and volunteers of the Santa Cruz Design + Innovation Center for their support and enthusiasm.
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