Shawn Stussy's Blog

SLEEK

2012-01-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

1955 studebaker commander... I love the flow...

THE TURN

2012-01-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

A moment in time when the lengths of things started to drop...

FINE

2012-01-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

Another fine vehicle from a simpler, gentler era... I wish you could go down to the Chevy dealer and pick up one of these all spanking new with all wheel drive...

PERFECTION

2012-01-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

Why can't they just make a new one of these that's all green and safe and shit?... I know I would not be the only one in line...

JMB

2012-01-21T12:08:00.001-08:00

CUTE

2012-01-20T13:12:00.001-08:00

BEAUTY

2012-01-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

BUFFED

2012-01-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Two OG heroes looking good in their prime...

GIMME SHELTER

2012-01-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

SUPER FLY

2012-01-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

FLY

2012-01-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

CHAMP

2012-01-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

DK

2012-01-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

LEATHER

2012-01-12T12:08:00.000-08:00

HERBIE

2012-01-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

Another great, squared off and committed bottom turn... This one is Herbie Fletcher in the early seventies...

CLASSIC

2011-12-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

One fat, squared off bottom turn... It doesn't matter what era your from, you know this is all good... I think this is BK, or someone else doing an impersonation of the man... UPDATE, yes it is BK, and was shot in 1971 by the master, Jeff Divine...

SHADOWS

2011-12-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

TOUCHE

2011-12-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

A very interesting read should be had by all who are interested in the artistic dance we partake in, some compete in, but all have had their lives tweaked when we have fallen into the arms of her... One of surfings brightest lights has his own take on what it means to him, and it is a noble pursuit to know when the time is right to follow one's gut...

SURFBOARD SHOP OPENS

2011-12-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Wednesday December 8th, my little hole in the wall opens for viewing surfboards... The hours will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday 2 to 6pm... Located in Montecito's lower village at 1187 Coast Village Road in the back of Richie's barbershop... Did a few simple pieces of gear you can check out on the S/DOUBLE site to go along with the boards... Stop by to size it up and talk story...

LOOKS MODERN

2011-12-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

This old shot of Nat looks like the boards I have been shaping recently... Everything that is worthy seems to have more acts than their first...

RELUCTANT PROPHET

2011-12-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

As time marches on, the work of this man seems more and more important... Thanks for being so engaged in the act of surfing...

SWEETSPOT

2011-11-26T09:00:00.001-08:00

5'6" for skating on water...

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

2011-11-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

LITTLE NUGGET

2011-11-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a 5'7'/5'9" asymetric situation... Boards are coming in from the glassing world, stoked with the outcome... The S/Double surfboard shop opens soon in Montecito, come check out the roster...

THE MAN/PART 3

2011-10-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

THE MAN/PART 2

2011-10-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

THE MAN

2011-10-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

BUTTAH

2011-10-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

As smooth as it comes...

AND EVEN MORE CURVES

2011-10-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

OHANA

2011-10-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Great north shore vibe of the family going to the beach for the day... The crew all hanging for the day, watching big brother giving Sunset a go... Boy, do I wish the highway still looked like this, and I love those dark, black clouds overhead...

AND MORE CURVES

2011-10-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

Boards are starting to arrive back from the glass shop... The little nugget in front is a 6'0" fish and chip, hull to heavy double concaves out the tail, wide based twin fins with a good amount of splay... The one in the back is a single fin displacement hull in my salute to the genre, I am really stoked with the way these are coming out...

MORE CURVES

2011-10-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

EARLY SUNDAY

2011-10-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

The sun has not come up today yet, woke up really early and just had to come into studio to shape myself a new board... Was just laying there thinking of this board in my mind and had to get it out... Stringerless, low rocker, messed up plan shape, just what I had in mind... So stoked, I think I'm going to bust out a new quad also... Enjoy your sunday...

ASYM/ETHICAL

2011-10-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Really liking these things I am working on this week... A large nod to Mr. Eckstrom...

OG+PLANER

2011-10-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

Some nuggets in germination... All kinds of different vibes are being explored... displacement hulls, classic twins, quad fish, mini-simmons kinda flavor through my lens, asymetrical situations and such, even a neo-mctavish deep vee single... I can't wait to water them up and see what grows... You reap what you sow...

"KNUB" #2

2011-10-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of the second "knub" to come straight out the studio...The concept is to bridge the gap from the finless world into the standard realm of surfboards... Branden has been riding "knub #1" when the surf is small and gutless, but surprisingly it is holding on longer than I expected when loaded up, eventually giving in to a controlled/uncontrolled slide when pushed... #2 is a 6'3" bigger guy size, compared to Branden"s 5'6"... Do not confuse this with the twin fin concept reported about on in the earlier post, two completely different gigs going down at the same time... I will have more ideas coming your way soon, as I just took 10 more to the glass shop yesterday... Cannot wait for more surf up here below the elbow of California...

SPEED AND FLOW

2011-09-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

A local point has had a season starter of fun surf the last few days... This is officially the first surfing photo of a S/Double board being put through the paces... Branden Aroyan is on a 5'10" wing swallow twin fin I shaped as a prototype for the next generation of eighties inspired twins... This is not a fish of the Lis school, but a evolved version of the twins that got forgotten about when we went with the three fin thruster many moons ago... By all accounts homeboy was flying down the line with finesse and swagger... What stokes me the most is the clear sheet of water off his loaded up outside rail after the small adjustment up top, how the undisturbed water is completely clear and trips out the outline shape... Another thing I am proud of is he had written off twin fins in general as a desired board for himself, took it out on a whim, now I can't get it back... Big thanks to his buddy for taking this shot, it is a good season opener for me... Zen sessions in the shaping room are just the right thing at this particular moment, stoked to be in the game...

BARITONE

2011-08-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

My son is really getting his chops down on baritone sax lately... It is letting me turn him on to my favorite player on that instrument, Mr. Gerry Mulligan... The albums he made with Chet Baker are all time classics... Check out the swagger for a skinny white kid holding his own... Revisit, or visit it for the first time, this music that has been a staple for me for my whole adventure...

ps... I have never seen anyone wear Clark desert boots better than this!... He could be in the Specials...

GALS WE LIKE

2011-08-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

RUSS/RIP

2011-08-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

Bummer news on the passing of Mr. Robert Russell Brown... This guy is one of a kind, has been making boards as long as anybody, is as unique of dude as you will ever come across... Russell passed on this past weekend, my heart is with him on this next part of his journey... Above is a picture I have always cherished from my days working at the Brotherhood factory in Huntington Beach (73'-79') shaping boards for Russell as I came of age... The rig is the old delivery truck that Russ drove back and forth to Newport, taking boards to the Russell shop down by the Crab Cooker... The expression he has in the photo is how I will always remember him... Travel well my bruthah...

STYLE

2011-08-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Love this old Citroen poster, timeless graphics...

HF

2011-08-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

I have been revisiting old tapes that I have kept around since the late eighties forward... These two nuggets were in the flow of sounds that Hiroshi would send me in those years... These are most likely 1990-92 vintage?... Still sound very cool, and I sure hope this address is very old and outdated...

WAY BACK

2011-08-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

How many of you cats can tell me what this is?... Found it while going through archives of favorite things... If you know, you know...

CUTBACK

2011-08-15T13:08:00.001-07:00

Wide nose cutbacks are things I am really feeling lately...

SEALIFE

2011-07-19T13:50:00.001-07:00

Many things live in the sea...

FRESH

2011-07-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

ALAKA'I SWAMP

2011-07-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Went on an insane hike up to the edge of the world, past Koke'e into the swamp gets you to this spot... Then the gamble is getting it with the sun out, as it is usually full blown guerillas in the mist type of situation... Hanalei bay and Kilauea sit in the distance... You know that what you capture on film is not even close to how it looks in person...

COUNTRY

2011-07-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

You can deal with this, or you can deal with that...

SUMMER COLORS

2011-06-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

HARD TO BEAT

2011-06-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

Time slows down on Kauai, hard to beat the pace of the country... Like the Paula Fuga song says, "country side always mo' bettah than town"...

REMIX

2011-06-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots of another prototype I have been working on... A mash up exercise in two valid schools that I feel have certain limitations in their original state... Remixing the Liddle egg school with a feel from the Simmons vibe is my point of view... The neutral rocker and slim foil will fit in perfectly around long points this fall... 6'8"x 22" for D.B...

WOW

2011-06-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

MAN and MACHINE

2011-06-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

When in New York last week I hooked up with Michael Halsband. He shot a portrait of my ugly mug using a vintage 8x10 polaroid camera for his current project... I really enjoyed myself at his studio where he did this amazing tea prep situation that was more of a ritual... I wonder how the photo will turn out...

WORKING

2011-06-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

A young, hard working band early in their adventure... I am feeling the sweaters...

BEACHCRUISER

2011-06-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Another cool version of the mash up of bicycle and motorcycle...

SUMMER

2011-06-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Summer is close, get wet...

PROTOTYPE

2011-06-06T22:00:00.001-07:00

Here is a new little 5'6" hybrid kinda deal that I have been working on...

BEACH TOWN

2011-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Got back home to the beach where flagstone and sand replaced the concrete of the trip, but still a fresh pair of Vans does the job...

MEAN STREETS

2011-06-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Another self portrait of a fresh pair getting worked in on the steamy streets of the city...

T/ADLER

2011-06-04T00:01:00.001-07:00

Spent some time with Mr. Adler in New York city this week... Cruised around the city and talked story about favorite book stores and stuff...

TWIN FINS

2011-06-03T06:44:00.001-07:00

The "Hottest Hundred Yards" gig in NYC got off to a great start with a fun gathering the other night... A solid turn out of interesting people came out on one hot, sweltering night to stroll this small moment in time of our surf culture... Randy, Charles and the quik crew get a big thanks for including me... Check it out if your in the city...

CUTE

2011-05-29T17:03:00.001-07:00

COFFEE

2011-05-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Self portrait starting the day grabbing a coffee... You know that point when your Vans get worn in just the right amount, almost too hammered to wear to dinner, but they just feel right?... This is one of those pairs in their prime... This could sound corny to some, but for a lover of the game this stuff matters...

FROS AND TWINS

2011-05-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

A big influence at a very influential time, Larry B. at the zenith of the scene... For me, one of the best times to be a surfer, the world moved slower and more to a jazz beat...

MOWING FOAM

2011-05-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Self portrait of a day at the office... Grinding on some foam is great therapy...

PEEPSHOW

2011-05-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Paula shot this footage through my unfinished shaping room door... someday I need to get a doorknob in that hole....

FLOW

2011-05-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

Down the line on tiny craft, TW with a simple gesture of flow... photo poached from Surfknot...

WORKSHOP

2011-05-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Paula has been taking really cool photos with her iPhone... Here is a little nugget of a workshop still life...

NEW YORK SHOW

2011-05-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

The four boards in the photo below are going off to New York for this gig launching a book on an era that happened right as I was starting my own board company, way before I even thought of making clothes... My buddy, Tom Adler, art directed this book of Mike Moir photos with Jamie Brisick in charge of the words of this moment in time... Check out Kelly as a grom on the invite...

WORKING

2011-05-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lag on this blogfront, I have been in Hawaii for awhile and recently returned to Santa Barbara and have been working in the board studio... Drove six new boards to Moonlight down south for them to do their magic on the glassing, painted some up in all their eighties regalia... Also working on boards for myself and a few buddies, I will keep you posted here as things develop...

COUSINS

2011-04-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

These two bikes are the beefy cousins of the lean machine posted about earlier... Different vibes, but I really like both approaches shown here...

TASTES

2011-04-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

So many choices in the car realm, my tastes run wild...Part of me likes this equally with it's brethren below...

A DREAM

2011-04-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

The list is smallish of things I would really like to own in my lifetime, and at the very top of that list sits this puppy... A 1954 Bentley R-type Continental with coach by Pininfarina... This is the ride for my next chapter of life, of course a surf vehicle would sit elsewhere on the property at the ready...

HYBRID

2011-04-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

This minimalist vehicle is very put together from a simple perspective...

GOOSEBUMPS

2011-02-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

I get goosebumps when the bass line thumps...

DOWN BY LAW

2011-02-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Check out this movie if your looking for something to watch... Jim Jarmusch directed this film with John Lurie, Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni in 1986... It is one of my favorites...

MY FAVORITE

2011-02-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is my all time favorite wagon... The lines and styling for the very early sixties is perfect...

SALUTE

2011-02-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

A DUDES RUN

2011-02-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

These shots strung together have a boys life vibe to them, hanging with your buddies, plenty choices having to be made, major consequences from those choices, etc. etc... As my boys become teenagers I find myself reflecting on my adventure at their age, what was I going through, how was I feeling about things... Recently I rewatched A BRONX TALE directed by Robert DeNiro, about a bus drivers son coming of age in his neighborhood, in this spirit I put these photos together as a west coast version...

S/DOUBLE BROGUES

2011-02-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

Just arrived... These beautiful longwing brouges showed up, Made in England by "Sanders and Sanders, Ltd" with the help of Mark McNairy on the east coast... I put on a wedge sole and silver eyelets to get it more in the work/uniform category and away from the too little of suit wearing kinda dudes that frequent this particular style... Whew, that was some babbling description... Anyway, I used two textures of leather on the uppers and kept it at that... I hope you like these as much as I do...

WOODY G.

2011-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Gotta love the impact made by this dude, also his style sense seems to be very timeless... Check out the suit and shirt in the bottom photo, the salty dog get up in the middle photo, and the top picture seems as if he could be in The Clash, Joe Strummer seems to have taken notes from the poet... Anyway, just some babbling observations from a lover of the game...

HAPPY

2011-02-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Being happy is a pursuit we all should focus on more, this gal is flying her happy flag with that smile...

EARLY

2011-02-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Classic shot of a pre-Beatle haircut, quit using the pomade and there you have it, bangs and shit... The bottom photo is the same dude earlier in his hair adventure, what caught my eye were his shoes, a close cousin of the S/Double Service shoes... Also, what is the deal with the swimfins?...

SHARP

2011-02-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

Mr. D. rocking a great Vegas monotone vibe in Casino... His clothes in that movie are amazing...

LOVELY

2011-02-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

S/DOUBLE POSTMAN BOOT

2011-02-08T15:21:00.001-08:00

These killer black postman boots just arrived... Made in England by "Sanders and Sanders, Ltd." via the help of Mark McNairy...Solid and well built quality, a timeless style that will last for years... Check them out at the S/Double shop... SS

STRIPES

2011-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

The graphic punch of black and white stripes always work... The older ones at the beach seem so fresh, clean and timeless...

MR. GRANNIS

2011-02-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

A big farewell aloha to Leroy Grannis on sad news of his passing... Grannis really got the mood thing in surfing, his photos always grabbed me as a teenager for the vibe he relayed of the culture I grew up in, way beyond the standard issue surf shot... Here are some of the shots I have always loved... Rest in peace Mr. Grannis...

LOOK UP

2011-02-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

The birthdate of a true prophet... Forever with us through his teachings and spirit... Look upwards and give thanks...

TRAVERS

2011-02-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

Soulbro TAdler on a 21 year old Stussy tri that we dug out of the rafters, surfing at aforementioned point... The board is long and skinny by current standards, with tons of rocker, but he seems to get the flow... Frame grabs completely poached from a dude with a bum knee on the beach...

WET

2011-02-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

Surf has been really fun in Santa Barbara on a particular point... Do not know what that has to do with this photo though, oh well....

EYES

2011-01-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

What a great vibe these eyes have... It is kinda weird, but i just keep staring at that gnarly fingertip and nail...

PERFECTION

2010-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

How completely dope is this thing...

QUIVER 1981

2010-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

Came across these photos of my Kauai group of boards for the winter of 1981... They are laid out on Cosbey's lawn in Kilauea... The little one is officially the FIRST tri-fin I ever shaped, was a magic board that I think of to this day... Eventually ended up in Byron Wongs hands for some of the best surfing I have ever seen first hand, shit was nuts!!! 5'8" was the length, and coming off of twin fins the thing went off... Anyway, seeing these boards 30 years later, they still look sexy to me... Rockers were flat, rails had some squareness, things were crisp for the times... note: the little written note was from the same time, thought it was appropriate to keep it with the photos...

ENJOY

2010-12-14T14:42:00.001-08:00

SLICK TWO

2010-12-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

Bond meets Mad Men...

SLICK

2010-12-13T18:47:00.000-08:00

Love this dude...

RIDE UM'

2010-11-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

A mellow ride with a minimum of equipment... We don't need no stinking brand names...

NEW SHIRTS

2010-11-18T13:45:00.000-08:00

100% cotton, made in america, traditional styling...

WORKROOM

2010-11-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

The studio is starting to feel lived in...