Innovation…a word that has become a mainstay in our society as related to marketing techniques, technology, and digital products. With the thriving digital era we live in, it is often by default that we associate “innovation” with the development of the latest Apple product offering or countless consumer apps, and then there is the world of “augmented reality”. With the ever-changing digital landscape, I have come to appreciate some of the more simplistic and craft oriented offerings.
Some times the most creative and inspiring ideas in life are simple… Being a skateboarder, one typically has a certain knack for viewing the world, a city’s architecture, and natural objects in a unique light. During my time in Atlanta, Ga., I met some talented and diverse people that are creators of all types. Two such friends, Luke Bullard and Kevin Radley (co-founders of Deck Specks) have conceptualized and executed one of the coolest and most unique, yet simple ideas that I have been able to appreciate in a while. The pair has found another creative use for a piece of concave wood that they have ridden on a daily basis and that is often disgarded within a month’s lifespan. That’s right, Luke and Kevin began designing and hand crafting sunglasses from used skateboard decks.
Both, having worked at Ramp Dave’s warehouse, have honed their skills as machinists and wood workers. The two have brought the vision (no pun intended) to life and launched a grassroots eyewear brand, Deck Specks. Deck Specks has produced hundreds of custom-eco friendly and hand-crafted sunglasses over the past year and is steadily growing outside of the regional market…Visit Deck Specks’ Site.
I reached out to my pals behind the Deck Specks brand for a Q & A: Interview by Ryan King with Luke Bullard, co-founder.
-How did the idea of designing and creating sunglasses out of old skateboard decks come to life?
Myself and Kevin Radley were sitting at a homie’s house and Kevin mentioned that he had an idea to make sunglasses out of bamboo…and then I was like lets make them out of skateboard decks!! The contours and concave of a skateboard deck seemed like the perfect shape to create the frames! It seemed like such a simple yet, functional idea. From that night, we began hand crafting the first prototypes to test how functional the idea was.
-What is the story behind Deck Specks? How would you describe what you are doing?
We are building an eco-friendly and sustainable grassroots company that is owned and operated by Atlanta skateboarders. We initially started the process very homegrown: designing, cutting, and shaping everything by hand with wood working tools.
Private Investors have come in to help spark the idea into an evolving business after the initial prototypes were tested. Everyone has a specialty role: Radley is the master on the laser cutter, G-bicks (Graham Bickerstaff) is a craftsman with fine tuning the contours and shapes of frames, and David Morico is taking on press and web development.
-Your website mentions that each pair of sunglasses is manufactured from a single skateboard deck…With out giving away all of your trade secrets, how does your manufacturing process work?
There has been 100% improvement in the process with the machine (laser cutter), to cut the material and then everything else is hand made…the machine allows for it to be precise and for smoother lines that a hand can’t duplicate. Using a laser engraver…We are able to do absolutely 100% of the process in house with Atlanta skateboarders. Having the laser engraver also makes things much safer around the warehouse!
-How much product or excess materials are unused or not usable in creating the Deck Specks?
The excess of the tail is not usable, but we use the cut out of the frames for Point of Sale display to minimize waste and maximize the process…It’s pretty unique to have a product that you can manufacture the POS displays for the shops with the same material. It maximizes our efficiency, and allows the shops to have a unique and hand-crafted display that houses that glasses cut from the same material.
-Where/how are you getting enough skateboard decks to manufacturer hundreds of sunglasses?
You have to plan ahead by calling all of the local shops and parks to ask them for used boards…We are considering starting a non-profit foundation to collect/recycle used boards and give back to a cause like protecting Atlanta parks/resources. This is also allows for us to be sustainable at the same time.
-It seems like the idea/concept in itself is a genius, are you guys planning any marketing campaigns beyond the skateboard community?
We are trying to work with the skateboard industry magazines for giveaways and make sure that the kids are able to get them…they are costly to produce, but we would like to get them to the kids as much as possible. I’m sure we will be partnering with skateboard shops and other national community programs and camps to hook the kids up. Currently, we are getting involved with different festivals in the neighborhoods around Atlanta. The most recent one was the Kirkwood Festival.
Last weekend, we had some representation at the Museum of Design and Art’s “Skate It or Hang It’ gallery opening. We opened up the M.O.D.A as an account and are selling custom pieces with the art exhibit over the next 3 months.
It’s pretty amazing to see the response from being involved in an event like that. Legends like Lance Mountain, Steve Olson, and Andy Howell all now have pairs of Deck Specks!
-Deck Specks has officially been in business for a year now. How has the process or the product offering evolved over the last year?
There are currently four different styles, but we plan to create different shapes, stains, and colors. We are always looking forward to creating new products…We plan to evolve the shapes in the future as well as provide accessories. Everything is handmade, so the product line extension is a bit slower for us. With the focus being on hand craftsman ship, we want to perfect the current line before we create a huge variety.
-Any large artists or skateboard company collaborations on the way?
We are in the process of finalizing a collaboration with Stratosphere Skateboards. They were the ones that put us on the map and we are really looking forward to that first project. There may be more in the future. After different teams and legends have come through town and gotten to see the products, who knows?!
-Do you have any polarized offerings or other lens offerings?
We are working on extending the lens offerings including polarized. Currently our lens are UV blocking up to 400-600 with a variety of colors.
-What would you like for Deck Specks to accomplish in the future?
We would like to continue to grow with everything that we are doing, from our product line and design to our overall reach that includes more major collaborations. We also pride ourselves on being a homegrown Atlanta company and keeping Atlanta skateboarders involved in the process as we grow.
Photography by: David Morico
