VULTURE COUTURE
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON MARCH 13, 2013
Don't forget to email INVITE@MAPLEXO.COM to request an invite for the show! Free beer, wine, and handmade takeaways!
SEE YOU THERE!
#VULTURECOUTURE
VULTURE COUTURE 2013
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON MARCH 18, 2013
We hosted a fashion show as a statement against plagiarism.
Twenty models took the red carpet wearing skateboards as clothing (literally) to represent the influence of skateboarding in fashion and more directly to mock fashion designer, Jeremy Scott for sending stolen skateboard art down the runway.
The show came as a response to Jeremy Scott’s recent debut at NY Fashion week which included pieces that were direct rip offs of Jim and Jimbo Phillips' iconic Santa Cruz Skateboard art.
“It really struck a chord with us since our entire business is based off of turning skateboards into fashion. As skateboarders ourselves, we take a lot of pride in giving credit back to skateboarding for every piece we make,” says Lindsay Jo Holmes, owner of MapleXO. “We couldn’t just sit quietly with him pulling such a kook move on skateboarding, so we sent the original skateboard art down the red carpet.”
It’s not the first time the skateboard community has been affected by plagiarism. Skateboard artist Michael Sieben’s art was recently mimicked by Target to create an entire line of youth clothing. – Furthermore, the overall style of the skateboarding subculture is constantly exploited in fashion trends that often teeter the line of plagiarism.
“Inspiration is great. Plagiarism is just wrong. Artists and creators deserve credit for the ideas they bring into this world. Shameless rip offs of their work should be shunned,” says Holmes
We have been directly affected by plagiarism a few times. One example is the nearly identical copy of our recycled skateboard iPhone case that was mass distributed and portrayed as an original creative accessory by a larger company out of southern California.
“In our case, the more skateboards that are recycled the better, so we tend to just ignore the copy cats,” explains Holmes, “After seeing the plagiarized Jim and Jimbo Phillips art, however, we felt like a statement had to be made and since we bridge a gap between skateboarding and fashion, we felt compelled to take charge”
The Vulture Couture Fashion Show and installations pointed a middle finger to the copycats, fakers, and takers of the skateboard subculture by literally bringing the spotlight back to the original source of its influence in fashion, skateboarding.
For more information email: Press@MapleXO.com
NIKE VIDEO!
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON JULY 17, 2012
Did you know we were part of a video for NIKE about "makers of the world"?
Wieden+Kennedy came to our workshop here in Portland and filmed our hands in action. It was fun seeing so many people in here at once... At one point there were 17 people here with cameras, and lighting, and sound equipment, and stylists. It was a blast.
To find out more about the project... check out their Tumblr and watch this teaser video!
SKATEBACKS MATERIAL
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON JUNE 08, 2012
We went to the PS Stix factory to get hands on with our project of recycling the industrial waste of skateboard manufacturing.
Paul Schmitt breaks it down for us in this video clip...
Paul Schmitt breaks it down for us in this video clip...
SKATEBACK FOR YOUR IPHONE!
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON JUNE 04, 2012
The wait is OVER!!
It's finally time to announce our exciting collaboration with our friends at Grove!
We made a SkateBack for your iPhone 4 and 4S from recycled industrial skateboard waste!!
Each
week, one skateboard factory produces enough waste material to fill a city bus.
By
teaming up with Grove, we’re using this material to create a 100%
post-industrial material product for the iPhone 4 and 4S.
At approximately 1/16 of an inch thick, SkateBacks protect the iPhone from damage while coupling the sleek Apple design with classic skateboard aesthetic. Unique is an understatement. Our SkateBacks are made at Grove’s workshop here in Portland, OR, with a combination of high-tech machinery and good old-fashioned handiwork. Three general color types are available to choose from: Calm, Neutral, or Vibrant. However, each SkateBack is as singular as a snowflake - no two are exactly alike!
Material Sourcing
The SkateBack evolution works like this: from raw skateboard waste at the PS Stix factory, to eye-catching ply with us at MapleXO, and finally to cell phone accessory at Grove. PS Stix owner Paul Schmitt, of Costa Mesa, CA, has been manufacturing skateboards for nearly three decades. His company makes more than 4,000 skateboards a day, 200 per hour, that’s more than three per minute. We've been working with Schmitt on recycling his waste for years.
Working with Grove to make these SkateBacks has been a great way to
jumpstart our next big projects in the works with recycling industrial
skateboard waste. This is really just the beginning! -Lindsay Jo
Only $49... get yours now! Get all three while you're at it!
PORTLANDIA LOVES MAPLEXO
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON MARCH 08, 2012
MapleXO bangles featured on Portlandia TV show!
ANDREWJIVE.COM
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON FEBRUARY 13, 2012
He's at it again!
Andy's, of AndrewJive.com, been in the MapleXO woodshop all week (literally... like, he doesn't sleep!) working on a stop motion video with MapleXO pieces!
I can't wait to see the whole thing... here's a little sneak peek!
MAPLEXO + YOBEAT MONEY CLIP!
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON DECEMBER 14, 2011
Another collab kicks off today here in Portland, Oregon with MapleXO and YoBeat!
We teamed up with YoBeat (The largest independent snowboard site!) and made these über rad money clips from recycled skateboards.
They look cool, feel nice to hold, keep your money organized, they're recycled, andddd they're made from the hard-working hands of not just one but TWO of Portland's small businesses.
ONLY 50 available! Hurry and get them today at: YoBeat.com
(**hundos not included)
RECYCLED SKATEBOARD BRACELETS
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON NOVEMBER 27, 2011
People Magazine just featured our recycled skateboard bracelets "bangles" in their 2011 Holiday Gift Guide section of their current issue!!!
So stoked to see these pieces created by our hands in our dusty little wood-shop in Portland, make it into the pages of a magazine that reaches the hands of 3.75 million people per issue!
Get your recycled skateboard bracelets here !!!
LAUNCHING MXO:RAW
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON OCTOBER 09, 2011
It's finally available! Our new line, MXO:raw!
We've been hard at work creating this line for the past year and are so happy with how it turned out. To give you an inside scoop of all that went into making this line... I thought I'd share the story:
Of course it started with collecting tons of decommissioned boards to deconstruct.
We spent months prototyping new product ideas and experimenting with pieces of skateboards.
(<--- Spencer and Brent, hard at work)
We got our vision for the line and put some real blood sweat and tears into it making the products. Literally!
(<--- intern becky // aka:b-rex)
With our vision for MXO:raw figured out and the products for the line taking form, we redesigned our workshop to get us better set up for production.
(<--- me and B-rex)
We teamed up with Jason Ehlers to start the leather work and had a blast working with him in every step of designing these pieces. (Thanks Brent for connecting us with Ehlers!)
To test out our new designs and to also celebrate the beginning of this new line, we had a pre-launch pop-up-shop at the Breeze Block Gallery in Portland, OR. It was a blast and tons of people came out! (thanks Paige for hosting the event!)
Now it was time to get the line photographed, cataloged, and ready to show off as a completed, perfected collection.
Luckily we know some hot babes that were down to get photographed to show off our wears.
And finally after hours and hours editing the new lookbook at various Portland coffee shops (my favorites being Heart Roasters, and the Detour Cafe), the line was finally finished!
And with that... we give you MXO:raw
Get yours favorite pieces here!
Thanks for helping us save skateboards from the landfill!
xo!
Lindsay Jo
THE "STRATA LINKS"
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON AUGUST 16, 2011
New cuff links coming soon! Sterling silver hardware and recycled skateboards.
The Strata Links by MapleXO
MXO:RAW
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON AUGUST 09, 2011
Portland friends, Dew Tour visitors, and anyone who wants to be part of a fun night...
Make yourself a checklist, people. Food, drinks, giveaways, and babes. Come to the gallery and I guarantee
you'll be checking them off!
See you there.
xo
The MXO Team
SNEAK PEEK
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON AUGUST 01, 2011
Behind the scenes at the MapleXO h.q.'s.
Enjoy
GO SKATE!
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON JUNE 21, 2011
International Go Skateboarding Day is today!
What is it, you might ask?
"Skateboarders around the globe will celebrate the pure exhilaration, creativity, and spirit of one of the most influential activities in the world by blowing off all other obligations to go skateboarding. OK, most skateboarders do this every day of their lives, but this is just one more reason to blow off your television/computer/video games and go skateboarding!" More information about the history of go skate day, go here.
In the spirit of Go Skate Day, MapleXO will be sending out a free pair of recycled skateboard wheel earrings with every purchase the MapleXO webstore today!!!!
Hurrry and order your MapleXO, then get out and GO SKATE!!!
ORIGINS
POSTED BY LINDSAY HOLMES ON MAY 17, 2011
As the economy has been shifting
and manufacturing has been globalized and streamlined
to the point where many products seem to have no soul,
people (YOU) now crave, more than ever,
for a CONNECTION to the things they buy.
We like to believe that when people buy our pieces, they're buying more than just jewelry or accessories. They're buying part of a story that they become a part of. They're buying a symbol of empowerment, and a piece of a circle that connects us all.
Since we started MapleXO, we've been telling the story of our Recycled Skateboard Jewelry every way we could: Through our website, trade shows, press releases, social media, face to face, printed postcards and so on. HOWEVER once our pieces left our woodshop, we felt like much of this story was lost. The people who buy, wear, and sell our jewelry deserved to know more...
With the brainstorming power of some MapleXO friends (Shaun, Amity, Brent, and more) we created new tags that give us the chance to share the otherwise untold story of every piece of jewelry we make.
BOARD: There's so much that goes into designing a skateboard, from the graphics, and shape, to the wood colors and concave. We owe it to the skateboard companies and our customers to let you know which skateboard your piece came from.
ORIGIN: Skate shops, friends, supporters, skateboarders, and skateboard companies from all over the world save us and send us boards to recycle. Now you'll know where your piece's board came from, and which city's streets it rolled through.
FINISHED BY: At the MapleXO Headquarters, your piece of jewelry is created by the hands and hearts of amazing people. We have high standards of perfection in our products and take a lot of personal pride in each piece we create. The last person to finish each piece now signs every card so you'll know who's hands, heart, and mind finished your piece of MapleXO.
Be a part of the story. Get yours at www.MapleXO.com or any local shop that sells MapleXO.
Tags designed by: Amity K Skelton
Live. Love. Wear. Skateboarding... MapleXO -Recycled Skateboard Jewelry (and accessories)-
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