Cherryvale Skateboard Company

SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY

2011-07-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

Hot off the screen printing press, from the label that's one step ahead of the games - Dark Age. Order yours now email:
jasongormley@hotmail.com

i ate a grasshopper NEW VALERIE PHILLIPS SHOW

2011-07-16T05:15:00.001-07:00

This two-gallery exhibition opens July 26 and runs all through the summer Claire De Rouen Books
First Floor
123-125 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0EW

VALENTINE DAY ANTITDOTE

2010-02-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

This Sunday Feb 14 is Valentine's Day. And we'll be spending an incredibly romantic afternoon at this car-boot-sale-in-a-bar. We'll be selling various wares, including some Cherryvale bits and pieces, alongside a whole bunch of top folks - check the flyer. Come by dreambagsjaguarshoes. Just round the corner from Columbia Road market (where you can pick up flowers for your better half). See you there. J&V

SOME SHOTS FROM BYRON'S ZINE AGE RIOT

2009-08-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Teeluxe's Craig Rochfort. Top job Craig.

MARCUS HAS MY ZINE, GET YOURS NOW

2009-08-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Zine Age Riot went off with a bang a couple of Saturdays ago. My contribution sold a bunch of copies - the ones I didn't sell are available online here - $5AUS cheap! (about £2.50). Thanks to the Teeluxe & Sea Cell mob for putting on what looked like a great day (pics above).

JASON'S 'MEN FROM ATLANTIS' ZINE

2009-07-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Lotta pyramids around these days, lotta all-seeing-eyes - Atlantis is where we'll all be at soon.
Bring on the global warming...

MEN FROM ATLANTIS V. BYRON BAY

2009-07-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Jason's zine is part of the Zine Age Riot show in Byron Bay, Australia. More details here. Unfortunately he'll be be in Reading watching Nottingham Forest kick off their football season, wishing he was in Oz at the Zine show checking out art work by these fine folks:
Joseph Allen
Craig Atkinson
Kimberly Amos
Gareth Bayliss
Jody Barton
Martin Bell
Pete Brower
Jeff Canham
Tracey Churchward
Culture Vulture
Ryan Heywood
Nick Chalmers
Cathie Glassby
Jason Gormley
Hardland/Heartland
Ben Havenaar
Alex Kopps
Stefan Marx
Paul McNeil
Moustache Collective
Jim Newitt
Jared O’sullivan/Nick Simpson
Craig Rochfort
Jordan Rochfort
Nathaniel Russell
Loren Victory
Matt Yeates

VALERIE JOINT SHOW OPENS THURS

2009-07-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Valerie's showing work alongside some good mates curated by our pal Vickie from Jaguar Shoes.
Here's the deal:
PRIVATE VIEW: THURSDAY 30TH JULY 2009, 6PM TILL 9PM
DOWNSTAIRS AT MOTHER
THE BISCUIT BUILDING, 10 REDCHURCH STREET, E2.
RSVP TO: DOWNSTAIRS@MOTHERLONDON.COM

AFTER PARTY, 9PM TILL 1AM
DREAMBAGSJAGUARSHOES
32 KINGSLAND ROAD, E2.

And here's the Press Release:
DOWNSTAIRS AT MOTHER GETS AN AUTHENTIC SHOREDITCH MAKEOVER
Downstairs at Mother is proud to announce the launch of its latest exhibition, a collaboration with infamous and influential Shoreditch institution JAGUARSHOES.

JaguarShoes create radical, bespoke environments and collaborate with progressive brands to produce dynamic creative projects. They do not make shoes. For this exhibition they will be covering Downstairs at Mother with works from four of their current roster of exhibiting artists: Chrissie Abbott, Valerie Phillips, Jiro Bevis and Marcus Oakley.

Grown from East London's creative community, JAGUAR SHOES evolved from the world renowned bar and exhibition space 'DreamBagsJaguarShoes', forming a company that now encompasses a collection of creative enterprises.

From their studio in the heart of Shoreditch, JAGUAR SHOES produce bespoke interiors, events, exhibitions and parties and consistently motivate directional creativity, style and sociability within the creative industries via their venues, events, products, exhibitions, publications and curatorial services.

Chrissie Abbott
Chrissie Abbott studied Illustration at the London College of Communication and now works lives and works in East London as a full time freelance illustrator. Her work recalls cult psychedelic artists such as Roger Law, who produced illustrations during the 60's for key figures in the movement but is most akin to the layout and typography of 70's poster art and progressive rock record sleeve art, of which one cannot speak of without considering it's figurehead, Roger Dean.

In both physical and digital media Chrissie's work is most often characterised by collaged imaginings, which, in vivid Technicolor, utilise pattern and found images to create a uniquely delicate and fragile aesthetic that often touches on themes of nature and humanism. She has produced commercial work an array of clients including Virgin, Orange, MTV, Nike, Nylon, The Barbican and The New York Times and has designed T-shirts for 2K, Urban Outfitters and Timberland.

Valerie Philips
Valerie Phillips is an internationally recognised fine art and commercial photographer, her documentary style captures the beauty and spontaneity of her subjects. Her work is an engrossing mix of uncomplicated, unstyled images and obsessive documenting that gives the viewer a true insight into the subject.

Born in New York and currently residing in London, Valerie's style is still heavily influenced by her home country. Much of her work is shot in the Midwest, which fuels her obsession with horses, the moon and all thing Americana. She has shot campaigns for an extensive client list that includes Nike, Dr Martins, Urban Outfitters, Virgin (Records, Mobile & Atlantic), Paul Smith and Reebok, as well as constantly producing editorial shoots for the likes of Vice and Nylon magazine. Valerie has also produced five books and is the co-founder of Cherryvale Skateboard Company, an ongoing art project that acts as a receptacle for stray thoughts and ideas that don't find their way into her regular working schedule.

Jiro Bevis
The work of artist and illustrator Jiro Bevis is heavily laden with abstracted and distorted imagery from the landscape of popular culture and has, to date, drawn particularly on the super-sized, steroid enhanced iconography of Regan's America. His output constitutes a scrap-book of bizarre and satirized cartoon imaginings, which are inspired by the mise-en-scène of the era in which he grew up watching too much television. Having evolved his drawing and painting practice into a comic book style that uses acid colours and halftones to explore the obscene excesses of contemporary Western culture, Jiro's images, though often grotesque, never fail to catch the eye and capture the imagination. In this respect they will draw comparison to the surf art of the late 60's that, lead by artist Jim Philips, evolved into the hugely influential skate/ punk art movement of the 1970's.

Since graduating from Central St. Martins in 2004, Jiro has achieved commercial success producing works for a client list that includes Nike, Sony, Black Lips, Six Pack, Vice, The Guardian and Virgin.

Marcus Oakley
London Based illustrator/artist Marcus Oakley is originally from Acle village in Norfolk. He is 1/3 of the curatorial team behind 'The Side Effects of Urethane' and is also the founder of 'Banjo Art Collective', which he began in '99 with the intention of bringing a group of artists together.

While celebrating the pallet and quirky nature of the 1950's kitch, Marcus's recent works mix his bizarre yet everyday characatatures with the design, fashion and typographic residues that form our hyperbolic impression of late 60's/1970's Westcoast American hippy culture. His simplistic paintings reflect the movements naïve and unsophisticated quality, an ease which he no doubt found during his childhood in Norfolk where he enjoyed the pastoral delights of the countryside, soundtracked by the harmonic and melodic music of the Beach Boys.

Marcus's Illustration clients have included Pointer Footwear, Howies, Channel 4, Levis, GQ Style, The Idler, Time Out, Silas, Slam City Skates, Paul Smith Ltd, Citroen, Plan B Magazine, 679 recordings and The Guardian Guide.

Bridie Picot
Downstairs at Mother
Biscuit Building
10 Redchurch St
London, E2 7DD

JOYFUL BEWILDERMENT COMES TO BRISTOL

2009-06-29T05:46:00.001-07:00

Opening Night Tuesday July 7, at Here gallery
runs through to August 8th
We can't make it but hope you can, enjoy, V&J

THE JOYFUL BEWILDERMENT COMES TO SCOTLAND

2009-03-26T05:08:00.000-07:00

The Joyful Bewilderment Exhibition featuring work by Valerie and Jason travels to Edinburgh.

Opening - Saturday 28th March / 7pm onwards
Show runs from the 28th March / 28th April at the amazing

ANALOGUE BOOKS
102 West Bow
Edinburgh
EH1 2HH
UK

Opening times:
Monday-Saturday, 10am-5.30pm

T. +44 (0)131 220 0601

E. info@analoguebooks.co.uk

VALERIE 'ZINE' SHOW LONDON MARCH 5 2009

2009-03-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

Valerie is having an opening Thurs March 5 at DreambagsJaguarShoes in Shoreditch, London. Hope to see you there. Show runs until April 19.

yippie yi yay holiday

2008-12-23T02:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas is upon us and as we look back over 2008 we realise we have some new year's resolutions to make - namely - getting all remaining Cherryvale skateboard decks back to the contributing artists (thank you for your patience) - working out what form our next show will take - and getting on with making it happen. A busy 2009 beckons. We hope it's a good one for you all and for Cherryvale Skateboard Company. Best wishes, Valerie and Jason.

The Joyful Bewilderment

2008-09-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

Valerie and Jason are both contributing to a show curated by good friends Simon Peplow, Marcus Oakley and Lawrence Roper (amongst others) entitled 'The Joyful Bewilderment' - exhibition runs 2nd - 27th Oct
See you at the PRIVATE VIEW Oct 2, 7pm-12pm with live music courtesy of EINSTELLUNG @ ROUGH TRADE EAST 'Dray Walk' Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

Baby Baby Baby Article - Online

2008-05-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

For all of you who've struggled (like we have) to get ahold of the latest issue of B.B.B. magazine with a spread on Cherryvale Skateboard Co, click here for a link to the online version. The skateboards look great, the layout looks great. So does the rest of the mag.

Show at Mario's closes Friday - Valerie's show now open

2008-04-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

KAS 1.5 our mini-show at Mario's Cafe closes this Friday April 18. Get yourself down to Kelly Street, Kentish Town, London for a helping of double egg, chips and beans with our pictorial tribute to the town of Cherryvale on the side. If you miss that, never mind, as one show closes another opens. Last week Valerie launched her new book and exhibition "I Can't Believe A Girl Is Playing Me Metallica." It runs until May 2 at The Cornell Spaceship Gallery, 3-4A Little Portland Street, London W1W 7JB. Enjoy. J&V

KAS 1.5 - WELCOME TO CHERRYVALE AT MARIO'S CAFE - MARCH 10 - APRIL 18

2008-03-08T16:31:00.000-08:00

Mario's Cafe is home to Cherryvale Skateboard Co's latest offering - a pictorial tribute to the town of Cherryvale, Kansas. Mario made tea and offered words of encourgement as we put up the show that will run from this monday for the next five weeks. Check out Jim 'Mr Precision' Fenwick, rocking a Michael Jackson magic glove. He's contributed some amazing images, there's a second chance to see some of Valerie Phillip's pictures from the last London show, plus a zine put together by my good self (Jason Gormley). Mario seems pretty happy with the work. Hope you get chance to enjoy it too. Make your way over to Kelly Street in Kentish Town and say hello to Mario for us.

BUM FACE

2008-02-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

What is my bum up to? This is my seat after a visit to Maison Bertaux. At this rate I'll soon have a series of butt-created images. Looks a bit skull-like. Scary. Although I assure you I was having a top time. Maison Bertaux has replaced the New Piccadilly Cafe (RIP) as my home away from home in Soho. They do an ace traditional pot of tea (complete with strainer and bonus hot water jug) and are purveyors of genius pastries. Best in London I reckon. Plus they always have some interesting art to look at. That bloke from the Mighty Boosh has some stuff in there at the moment. After tea and cakes Valerie and I stopped by Claire De Rouen's amazing book shop to say hello to Claire and her Bat-Dog Otis - an Alsatian/Pug cross. Claire has some pictures of blokes with beards on display in her Exit Gallery done by a fella called Luke Stephenson. We met Luke the other week. He's a good guy. And Val loves his budgie photos.

IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY. SMILE.

2008-02-14T10:57:00.000-08:00

Look. My bum left a smiley face on this seat in Mario's Cafe today. Not so surprising. It's one of my favourite places to be in the world. I've been going to Mario's since the mid 90's when I lived round the corner. But then I left the area and my visits dwindled. Now we've moved back to the NW5 hood, Mario's Cafe is back on the menu. You'll find it on Kelly Street, a little road full of multi-colored houses in Kentish Town, London. Just off the main drag. He usually has some art on the walls and today Mario asked if we'd like to put up some pictures from Cherryvale - the chance to combine two of our favourite places in one? Count us in! We'll keep you updated on this mini-retro-Cherry-show. Meanwhile, Valerie is at the printers today putting her latest book together. Due out sometime in March, it stars a girl named Viktoria and is called
'I CAN'T BELIEVE A GIRL IS PLAYING ME METALLICA'.
What a top day. Usually Valentine's day sucks, but this one is working out kinda nicely. Smiley faces all round.

JE MAPPELLE FRENCH

2008-01-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

Visited our favourite headbanger French yesterday. He's moved in with his lady and the new place looks a bit girly. It's saved by a few choice decorations though, like the little executioner fella who brightens up the bathroom. French is keeping busy as ever. He's just had a show at the impressive Analogue book shop in Edinburgh. And made a fantastic zine to accompany it. He gave us some copies. And some t-shirts too which was very good of him. Check out his ever changing blog for pictures from the show and more Frenchy action.

SWEET BABY

2008-01-16T02:59:00.000-08:00

A bunch of Valerie's pictures from Cherryvale, Kansas appear in the next/latest issue of Baby Baby Baby an amazing magazine out of Mexico City. You can track it down at American Apparel and more discerning magazine/book stores (to be honest it can be a pain in the ass to find, but is well worth the effort when you actually do, it really is good). Enjoy.

HEY HO LET'S GO 2008

2007-12-27T15:38:00.000-08:00

Add a YO to HO HO HO and you sound more like a pirate than good old Santy Claws, though with his unkempt locks, fullsome beard, rosy nose and jolly (drunken?) demeanor one could be forgiven for mistaking Saint Nick for Whitebeard the Pirate. All those Christmas brandies folks leave out for him can't help. Arrrrggggghhh. Anyway, about this time last year we were frantically gathering up skateboards for our inaugural show in Cherryvale, Kansas and wondering just how things would unfold that coming January. This year it's a little different, things are not quite so hectic, though we are gripped with nervous anticipation about how best to follow our launch project. Cherryvale II. What's it going to look like? What shape's it going to take? What's it all about? Interesting questions. Difficult too. Hmmm. We've decided one thing for certain though, we won't rest on our laurels nor dwell on past glories - we'll be packing all the artists' skateboards up and returning them to their creators (just as soon as Mr Jim Fenwick has photographed them for posterity - and a little book we're putting together). Seemed like the new year would be a good time to get on and do the NEW thing, the next thing in the ever-rolling-onwards Cherryvale Skateboard Company story. That's not to say there won't be one or two or even three things that refer back to this year's project, however the wheels have got to keep on turning and like the Littlest Hobo, we've got to just keep moving on. So best wishes to you all for the new year and beyond. Wish us well with Cherryvale 2008. Hope you can join us for whatever we cook up. Jason & Valerie

HAVE BOARDS WILL TRAVEL

2007-08-07T04:13:00.000-07:00

Can you believe all those boards fit into these bags? Neither can we. But they do. And we're ready to roll. New York? Oregon? Or maybe we should just concentrate on the next Cherryvale Skateboard Co project? We really don't know yet if we'll have another show. Or where. But the last one went so well, we just might. We'll hang onto the decks for now, until we make up our our tiny want-to-do-everything-all-the-time minds.

...NOW YOU DON'T

2007-07-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

NOW YOU SEE IT...

2007-07-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

TEAM WIRE

2007-07-30T03:30:00.001-07:00

On Saturday while we were taking the show down we had a visit from Team Wire (Amanda and Sam) - Nicky Wire's personal cheer squad. They came to check out his skateboard and make sure he'd put his Team Wire sticker to good use. Great to meet you ladies. See you on the next Manics tour. One of the Cherryvale Skate team, John Tallon and his girlfriend also stopped by and even helped us pack everything up - thanks for making it a fun day guys.

MICHAEL ADEBAYO

2007-07-30T03:12:00.000-07:00

Michael is a comic book artist and co creator of the character Midnight Ninja. The Midnight Ninja appeared in the pages of Michael’s self-published Thunderbolts Comics and his adventures fighting for peace and love in Japan City have recently been collected in book form (released through Bonehouse Books). Michael also hand crafts Midnight Ninja action figures which along with most of his work can be found at one of our favorite establishments, GOSH comics in London.

LATE ENTRY!!!

2007-07-27T08:03:00.001-07:00

Well, shows almost over, but today we had a visit from Michael Adebayo who dropped off this amazing Clockwork Orange duck deck. It won’t be up for long, we’re taking the show down from midday tomorrow but if you have a moment to pop by and see Michael’s handiwork before then please do (Gallery opens at 10am – First Floor 125 Charing Cross Road above Soho Books).

LONDON SHOW COMES DOWN SATURDAY

2007-07-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

Hello all. The show comes down saturday. We'll be at the gallery from midday. Feel free to drop by and say hello. We've had loads of great feedback about the work and lots of people have come by to see it. Thank you to all who visited and especially those who signed the guest book. If you left us your email address we'll do our best to keep you informed of the next Cherryvale Skateboard Co project (If you send us your email we'll do likewise). We haven't quite decided if we're going to do a New York show yet. We're thinking we should get on with Cherryvale Phase II. Although the London show went so well we think we just might. We've also been invited to take it to Oregon which would be amazing. Yeah. Watch this space.

LONDON SHOW ENDS FRIDAY

2007-07-23T03:24:00.000-07:00

The last few days of the show are upon us. We'll be taking it down late Friday or Saturday (27th/28th July) so if you haven't already checked it out, get a move on. The Gallery is at 125 Charing Cross Road First Floor (above Soho books, opposite Borders, neighbouring Foyle's). And the opening hours are 10-6.30pm Mon-Sat. Meanwhile, here are a few more snaps from the opening night courtesy of our good buddy and genius screenwriter Andy Bloom.

APOLOGISES FOR THE QUEUE

2007-07-06T07:34:00.001-07:00

Some snaps from the opening night, courtesy of Selena - as in Selena & Toby - who contributed the much commented on bubblegum deck to Cherryvale Skateboard Co.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING CHERRYVALE, LONDON

2007-06-29T02:15:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who braved the crowds (and the queue at the front door) and came along to celebrate Cherryvale Skateboard Co's Private View in London last night. It was a great turnout. Amazing. Hope you enjoyed the work and the free Baltika. If you missed last night, or if you want to see the work minus the crowds, the show runs until July 27 @ The Gallery, First Floor 125 Charing Cross Rd (Above Soho Books) - also the location of a 'secret' photography bookshop, Claire De Rouen's, she has some incredible stuff there. We caught up with most of the artists who came last night. Somehow we missed Klaus. And we're not sure if Yuko made it. Get in touch guys. Okay. Pictures will soon follow soon. Thanks again for making the night a great one. J&Vx

PAUL DRUMMOND

2007-06-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Paul grew up around clowns. So nobody was surprised when he ran away to join the circus. Quite how he swapped life in the big top for set design and art direction we’re not sure. But we do know he’s just written a book about Roky Erickson (of 13th Floor Elevators fame) and that once he got married in Texas by accident.

NICKY WIRE

2007-06-28T05:58:00.001-07:00

Nicky is in a band called Manic Street Preachers. They delve into literature, politics and face painting. Super smart, straightforward and charmingly argumentative, he says what he thinks. In a very Welsh accent. And he happens to look pretty great in a kilt.

VIKTORIA

2007-06-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

She drinks tea with the spoon still in the cup. Her eyes are on the sides of her head (alot like her drawings), so you always think she's going to bump into something. She's a poet, she's a musician, she's an illustrator and she was in a horror movie covered in fake blood. She also stars in Valerie's next book.

NICK HAYMES

2007-06-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

So many guy photographers think they’re rock stars. But not Nick Haymes. He makes no bullshit, incredibly personal images with real substance. Any time Valerie sees a picture she likes, it’s usually by Nick.

LARRY KENT MILLS

2007-06-28T05:48:00.000-07:00

Larry is an ex-biker who lives in Cherryvale and works at the Leatherock Hotel. We met him when we did our show there. He's been drawing stuff since he was a kid. He showed us a bunch of his work from over the years and it was amazing. From scary to beautiful, all good. Larry took great care of us in Cherryvale, he's a top man and we dig him big time. Goodonya Larry.

DESIGN YOUR OWN SKATEBOARD

2007-06-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

This is Sergio De Falco's winning 'Design a deck' entry. We've made it into a skateboard and Sergio joins the Cherryvale Skate Team for their London show. Top stuff. Sergio hails from Moline, Kansas and at 8 years old is the youngest member of the squad. (We'll mail your board out to you just as soon as the show's done Serge. We can call you Serge, right?)

WELCOME BEER

2007-06-28T05:34:00.000-07:00

Opening night tonight. Have a Baltika. Leave a comment.

HANGING THE LONDON SHOW

2007-06-28T04:23:00.001-07:00

Today is Thursday. Tonight's opening night. We hung pretty much all the work Tuesday. Then did a bit of fine tuning yesterday. It was weird hanging the show without Jim. He's off on some job in the middle of Arabia. We miss him. But we did make a new friend, Nathan, who helped us to put everything up (That's him drilling the wall). He did a great job - everyone's work looks at it's best. Thanks Nathan. We can't wait for tonight. Hope to see a bunch of you there. Jason & Valerie.

WE LOVE BALTIKA BEER

2007-06-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Baltika beer who have become the first official sponsor of Cherryvale Skateboard Company. We started drinking Baltika because it was the only beer in England we could find served in a frosty glass. We loved it. Now they've agreed to sponsor our Private View, we love it even more. If you're coming, get there early, it's bound to run out. And thank you Sharon Annette at Baltika for hooking us up. Cheers Sharon.

HERE'S THE INVITE

2007-06-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

We've been really busy getting the show organised (and holding down our day jobs). Last week the invites arrived and ever since we've been scribbling names n addresses and licking stamps so we can get them mailed out. We can't wait to hang the work. See you at the show.

DESIGN YOUR OWN DECK

2007-05-16T03:39:00.000-07:00

We handed out a load of these 'design your own skateboard' flyers at the show in Cherryvale, Kansas. And here are a bunch of the entries we got back. We'll pick one out, get the design printed on a deck, put it in the London show then send it out to the winner once the exhibition's done. Thanks for entering. Good luck.

ANNOUNCEMENT

2007-05-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

Cherryvale Skateboard Company's London exhibition runs from June 29 - July 28 at The Gallery, 1st Floor 125 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OEW. Opening night is Thurs June 28. We'll send out invites for that soon, so watch your mailbox.

IN CASE ANYONE REMEMBERED...

2007-04-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

A little while back we rashly predicted our London Show would happen right about now, today in fact, April 12, Cherryvale Skateboard Company's 1st birthday. You may have guessed by the lack of fanfare, the show isn't opening today. Or tonight. But rest assured it is still most definately happening (Quite likely late June). There are a number of lame excuses why it hasn't happened yet and some tedious details that need taking care of before it does, but no doubt things will work out when they're meant to. And you'll be amongst the first to know they do. Last night we looked back over some photos of the show in Kansas as we put together a couple of proposals. And it reminded us how much great work we have to show people. We can't wait to do just that. Happy birthday Cherryvale Skateboard Company. It's beeen an amazing year one. Thank you for your involvement.

WAYNE

2007-02-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

This here is Wayne Hallowell. The man who runs the Leatherock Hotel. He's the reason anybody in Cherryvale got to know about the show. He put up flyers round town, alerted the papers and got us mentioned on the radio. All of which got us a great turnout. He's a top host, full of stories and always ready to help out. He made us really feel welcome. Pleasure knowing you Wayne.

DON

2007-02-20T08:03:00.000-08:00

The man in the hat is Don. We met him at the show. He owns the coolest car, a 1980 El Camino. He took us for a spin. Valerie wished it was hers. Don builds luxury boats for millionaires and is also a railway enthusiast, one of a whole bunch who meet up at the Cherryvale Railway Depot where they've built a scale model of the town. They've even included a replica Leatherock Hotel. Check it out.

VISITORS

2007-02-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

We reckon we had round a hundred people come by over the weekend, here are just a few of them.

This guy was totally into skateboarding and waiting for us to open on that first Saturday morning. He ruled.

UNWRAPPED

2007-02-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

When we unwrapped the boards it was amazing. It was the first time we'd seen them all together.

HANGING THE SHOW

2007-02-20T06:33:00.000-08:00

Jim pretty much single-handedly hung the show while the rest of us stood around and offered advice, thankfully he ignored most of it.

FLYERS

2007-02-20T06:26:00.000-08:00

WE DON'T READ THE NEWS - WE MAKE THE NEWS

2007-02-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

That's right. Saturday AND Sunday.

Actually, we really oughta say a big hip-hip-hurrah for the journalistic folk who made time to come to the show and then dedicate some column inches to it so that others might follow. Greg Lower of the Independence Reporter, Kassie Johnson at the Coffeyville Journal and Jamie Willey at the Parsons Sun, we thank you. And thanks to the good people of Good News and the radio stations who also put the word out in Kansas. We had people come from all over, some who'd driven more than two hours.

HANS SEEGER

2007-02-08T04:47:00.000-08:00

Hans lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. All that space gives him lots of room to think. And he needs lots of room because his ideas are big.

ARIEL PINK

2007-02-08T04:23:00.000-08:00

Ariel Pink is the most amazing musician we’ve heard (and seen). Ever. We’re not going to attempt to describe his music. You need to listen to it. A good few times. Then you’ll see what we’re talking about.

JEFF KLING

2007-02-08T03:54:00.000-08:00

Kling is an advertising genius. He invented Miller’s ‘High Life’ campaign, and for that he richly deserves his place in adland’s Hall of Legends. But advertising genius is perhaps a limiting description for a man, who when you meet him, seems as if he just might be one of those good old fashioned geniuses. Like Einstein. Only with all that wavy white hair and ‘tache on the inside.

SELENA MCKENZIE & TOBY MOORE

2007-02-08T03:52:00.000-08:00

Selena and Toby write ads and graffiti and short films. They live in Melbourne, Australia and are two of the reasons why that city is the most interesting and creative place in the country.

MONIKA

2007-02-08T03:50:00.000-08:00

Monika wants to be an astronaut. Valerie likes to take pictures of her wanting to be an astronaut. Valerie did her first book with Monika in 2001 and another, 4 years later. Monika likes to do complicated mathematical equations for amusement. We hope she makes it to the moon.

BEN NOTT

2007-02-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

Ben is an Aussie living in L.A. He surfs, he directs, he writes screenplays. As you do in L.A. He's also the only artist so far who's told us he's actually skated with his Cherryvale deck. Apparently it goes great.

CHERRY PICKS

2007-02-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

More to follow...

BACK, BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE

2007-02-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

When Ace Frehley penned those immortal words, likely he had just returned to his big apple pad from somewhere far far away and no doubt was enjoying one or two fine frosty Brooklyn lagers, much like ourselves. Yep, we're celebrating our safe delivery courtesy of Gentleman Jim Fenwick who caned five states today to get us back to the big smoke (tick em off - Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York). Smokey was handing out tickets right left and center but Jim who'd watched Talledega Nights before the flight over, had a sound road plan. We'll put up some shots of the show and so on as soon as our heads stop spinning.

SHOWS OVER - LET'S GO HOME

2007-01-30T06:27:00.000-08:00

So. The show. The Santa Fe Lounge in the Leatherock Hotel is a good sized room that looks out onto the railroad tracks and the town's water tower. Bright winter sunlight streams onto the wood panelled walls as trains roll heavily by blasting their whistles. We couldn't have pictured a more perfect location. By 9.30 friday night, after an 11am start, we (well pretty much Jim) were done hanging the show. We stuffed our faces at Pizza Hut and crashed at the Leatherock that night. It felt good going to sleep with the work right next door. Saturday. Opening day. We woke up and didn't have a clue how things would pan out. We made some final adjustments and Jim went out to get snacks for the hoped for visitors. By the time he got back and we'd put some coffee on, folks were banging at the front door. Who knew? We'd expected to hand out a few flyers and drum up a tiny crowd but Wayne at the Leatherock Hotel had got us a mention in the papers and on the radio and a whole bunch of people showed up. All sorts. Little kids, old folks, youths - from all over Kansas. I don't know how many we had on that first day. 50? 60? A whole lot more than we expected anyway. We were really happy so many people got to see the work. And everyone seemed pretty happy with the show (except for one little guy who expected us to demonstrate skate tricks for him). That night, Larry fired up the barbie on the hotel's front porch and treated us to a Kansan bbq dinner. Thanks Larry. Come Sunday, we were all talked out and tired. But sure enough, as we returned to the hotel from breakfast in a nearby town (where a waitress recognized us from our picture on the front page of the Sunday Paper) cars were already pulling up for the show. Some local artists brought their work by for us to look at. One guy donated a skateboard photo he'd taken and even the Mayor of Cherryvale stopped by. It was a good day. A top weekend. The show all done, we packed everything up in double quick time and hit the road. We'd stayed in this most incredible place and met some good people. Especially Wayne and Larry at the Leatherock, who made sure the whole thing went really smoothly. We need to figure out what we're going to do for next year so we have an excuse to come back. Suggestions welcome.

CHERRYVALE, KANSAS, USA

2007-01-26T04:50:00.000-08:00

Cherryvale - arrived 11am yesterday.
Leatherock Hotel - Beautiful place, couldn't have found a more perfect venue. Thanks Terri Bordner for the hook up. Wayne Hallowell and Larry at the hotel, brilliant. Unpacked boards, saw them together for first time. Outstanding. Got lost driving. Running on empty. Made it to gas station with a mile in hand. Jim's driving skill saves day. Kittys in the snow at Johnny and Linda's farm. Valerie even managed to get some work done on the next Lacy book. Thanks Lacy for bringing us to Cherryvale way back. Gotta go hang the show.

RUBY TUESDAY ON WEDNESDAY

2007-01-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

Bison Burger. Medium rare. Killian's Red. Tall glass. Frosty. (Veggie burger for Valerie). A fine end to the day.

DESIGNATED DIALECT GUARDIAN

2007-01-23T19:46:00.001-08:00

Gentleman Jim, our authentic English travelling companion, is doing his utmost to maintain a proper British accent. (Just today, a waitress said to him "I love your accent, I could lie down and listen to you all day." Jim said, "I'll make you a tape."). To avoid pronouncing WATER, “watta”, instead of “wortor”, he has appointed me (Jason) his dialect guardian. Nice move Jimbo. Pick a guy whose accent is part Aussie, part Anglo, part something you can’t quite place. Just the person for adjudicating on pronunciation issues. Uh huh.

FAMILY DINING = NO BEER

2007-01-23T05:19:00.000-08:00

Pennsylvania. Dutch Country. And home of family dining. We found it a bit tricky getting food AND beer in the same location until we stumbled across a little mexican place that was happy to serve us cervezas with our enchiladas and nachos. The next day we skipped to the far more agreeable state of Ohio. We passed through some amazing places. Our favourite, Cincinatti. Home town of the Afghan Wigs, they naturally provided the 'volume-to-11' soundtrack that accompanied our wide-screen-windscreen visual. Drive over a bridge and you're in Kentucky. A little over half an hour later and you're in the backwoods passing riverside trailer homes. Feels a million miles from the industrialised big city we just left. The next major metropolis we hit was Louisville, home of the Louisville Slugger - either official bat of major league baseball since 1884 or Muhammed Ali. It's a city we fear may well be on it's way to genericville. The downtown area has some hold outs but so much has been sanitised and cleansed of character. We went in search of an old time diner but came away empty stomached. So drove on to Indiana. There we were initiated into the White Castle. A place that serves eensy little burgers that you purchase by the sackload. Not quite up to American Serving Suggestion sizes yet, we opted to forgo the sack, which worked out just fine. We made the most of the last hours of daylight in New Albany, a town with some beautiful buildings in the downtown area, but with the wave of a developer's wad that could all change, and sure enough a new complex is under construction on the waterfront. We're now in Evansville, staying at a hotel that gives you free beer when you check in. Indiana rules.

ROAD TRIP STARTS HERE

2007-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Morning was an Austro-Germanic breakfast in New York that saw us collect two more boards courtesy of Hans Seeger and Jeff Kling. Hans passed over the simplest, cleanest piece of design we've seen yet, wearing these beautiful gloves he'd made out of an old jumper. He's pretty handy like that. Kling hauled out, not a skateboard, but a whole raft of ideas that were so much better than an actual skateboard we felt murderous towards him for a good five minutes. That threat level has now been downgraded to a punch on the nose. The presence of Jeff's family saved him from our jealous rage - hey Una, Rosina, Valeska. Then, with the red mist clearing, we hightailed it out of there, finished packing, picked up the rental car, and then met the book girl Monika come to life - she's done an amazing board that she says predicts the three possible future outcomes for our planet, amongst other things. We'll just have to take her word for it. Then we said goede dag to the Holland Tunnel and tot ziens to New York. We're now in Pennsylvania.

WE'LL BE HANDING THESE OUT AT THE SHOW

2007-01-20T06:13:00.000-08:00

SHOW NEXT WEEKEND 27TH & 28TH JAN

2007-01-20T06:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks Jon Muddell for sorting the flyer, the hand out and getting sticker artwork together. Much appreciated.

BERNARD ROSNER

2007-01-20T05:45:00.000-08:00

Bernard Rosner is a man who likes to be on time. Early even. We had no problem getting his board back. He is also a man who has lots of ideas. The ones he discarded put our poor efforts to shame.

JOHN PORCELLINO

2007-01-20T05:43:00.000-08:00

We picked up John's book, Perfect Example, and were mesmerized.
It dripped with humanity and soul and spirit. He also publishes King Cat Comics which collect similar moments of beautifully expressed warmth.

MICHELE ROMERO

2007-01-20T05:42:00.000-08:00

Michele knows tons about art and photography and jeans. Her influences include Joseph Cornell and King Ludwig II of Bavaria. She draws crazy cool comics and we're on a mission to expose her dark talents to an unsuspecting world.

SARA WOSTER

2007-01-20T05:41:00.000-08:00

Sara once painted Christmas tree ornaments of Valerie's sister's dogs. She held a show with Valerie, about gymnastics, in Amsterdam - She painted pictures, leotards and gym shoes and made an animated film about Nadia Comaneci. She also made Valerie a horse quilt. That alone qualified her for the Cherryvale Skateboard team.

GARY PANTER

2007-01-20T05:27:00.000-08:00

Gary was born in Durant, Oklahoma. He draws, he paints, he makes music, performs light shows and he's won fistfuls of Emmys for his set designs on Pee Wee’s Playhouse. He's a bonafide original and guru of the highest order. We bow before his greatness.

JASON GORMLEY

2007-01-20T04:27:00.000-08:00

Jason writes and art directs ads for his real job. He likes to lie quietly and read comics on Saturdays and eat almonds and drink beer. He has also been known to make the occasional greetings card.

VALERIE PHILLIPS

2007-01-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

Valerie loves horses and the Apollo moon landings and making books (She's done four so far). She was born in Manhattan and her favorite places are Hong Kong and Kansas and IHOP.

TSZ WAN

2007-01-20T04:23:00.001-08:00

Tsz (pronounced Chi) is from Hong Kong. She likes bread. The stuff you eat, not spend. She draws a beautiful picture every day for her web diary. So every day we visit her site.

KLAUS HAAPANIEMI

2007-01-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

A couple of years back, Klaus released a beautiful book about Finland and the fantasy creatures and magical landscapes that lurk in it's wintery terrain. Essential viewing for folks with a brain and an imagination.

JOHN GILSENAN

2007-01-20T04:21:00.000-08:00

John was really nice to Valerie and said lots of nice stuff about her pictures so she invited him to join Cherryvale. He also happens to be a really good designer. So maybe that's the real reason. Maybe.

LU DENNIS

2007-01-15T02:07:00.000-08:00

Lu lives to organise stuff and would really love to come over and clean your house, for fun. Really. When she's not straightening up the sofa cushions, she's a photographer and curator. And she's been an integral part of the Cherryvale Skateboard Company since its birth.

LOU WINWOOD

2007-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

Lou is a fashion stylist. She has a good eye for detail and is incredibly inventive. She sells vintage clothes on ebay, loves horse back riding and sheds. Valerie adores her unconditionally. Jason doesn't know her quite that well.

JOHN GORMLEY

2007-01-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, John taught people to be PE (Physical Education) teachers, he coached wheelchair athletes and gymnasts and Olympic Pole Vaulters. Now he trains youngsters to pole vault and acts as an expert witness in court cases. Who knows what he'll turn his hands to next? He has threatened to open a second-hand book shop. Most of his life he's been drawing these really technical drawings. We thought they'd look good on something other than graph paper.

JON CHANDLER

2007-01-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

Jon publishes his work in Bonehouse Books. He draws weirdly compelling, oddly affecting comics that are simple on the surface but work away at a deeper level.

LONDON SHOW APRIL 12 2007

2007-01-06T13:56:00.001-08:00

The London (U.K.) opening will take place on April 12, 2007 (venue tbc) which neatly ties in with Cherryvale Skateboard Company's one year anniversary.

CHERRYVALE SHOW JAN 27 & 28 2007

2007-01-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

Cherryvale Skateboard Company is holding the opening show in Cherryvale, Kansas, the weekend of Jan 27, 28 2007 at the Leatherock Hotel (pictured) 420 North Depot Street, right by the railway tracks near the center of town. Thanks to Terri Bordner, one of our good friends in Cherryvale, we've found this amazing hotel and we'll be putting on the show in their Santa Fe Lounge. All welcome, free entry. Check out the pics of the room (below) and the link to the Leatherock Hotel. We've got a bunch of boards to collect in New York and then we're driving out to Kansas. We can't wait to get there.

2006-12-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

2006-12-22T04:30:00.000-08:00

XMAS WHAT XMAS

2006-12-22T04:22:00.000-08:00

Me and Valerie will be working through Xmas trying to get everything ready for the show in Kansas. We're figuring out the finer details over the weekend but it looks like we'll be heading to the USA Jan 17 2007. Get those decks in if you want them in the Kansas show. Giddyap yah.

DAISY DE VILLENEUVE

2006-12-14T02:33:00.000-08:00

When Valerie first met Daisy she was served tea in chipped, posh old ladies' china cups, along with tea cakes that they scoffed on the rug of some big old rambling house. Daisy spoke so fast it was hard to understand, the rhythm of her speech comes in short bursts, like machine gun fire. Valerie was smitten with Daisy, and her drawings, and bought one off her right there and then that would later be published in her first book - "He Said, She Said" put out by those nice folks at Pocko. Google it or go see amazon. Daisy is mates with people between the ages of 12 and 90. Eccentric, weirdly intellectual types especially welcome.

MARCUS OAKLEY

2006-12-14T02:30:00.000-08:00

Marcus you inspire us greatly. We owe you big time. Check out the link to Marcus' blog. He does amazing drawings, paintings and sculptures and on Cherryvale Skateboards myspace page there's a link to his Sunflower Band where you can hear his magical music.

STEFFAN MACMILLAN

2006-11-09T03:30:00.000-08:00

Steffan is Welsh. But that doesn't explain why he takes photos of himself lying naked in landscapes that look like they've been torn from the cover of some 1970's prog rock LP. When he's not spread eagled across some beauty spot, Steff's busy designing logos for imaginary corporations and occasionally real ones. He also makes typefaces. And takes wedding photos. If you need a website built look no further. Yes, Steffan Macmillan. A one man empire.

OPENING IN CHERRYVALE, KANSAS

2006-11-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

Cherryvale, Kansas, birthplace and spiritual home of Cherryvale Skateboard Company is where the show will open. Come January 2007, we reckon we'll be good to go and exhibit all the skateboards in an abandoned store or similar lo-fi space we can turn into a makeshift gallery. All the pieces are falling into place and our hearts and tummys tell us its the right way to go. Needless to say we're excited like little girls on their first pony ride. Once we're done in Cherryvale, we'll bring the whole show to London and, with a bit of luck, New York. Then, who knows where...

COMING SOON

2006-11-08T10:03:00.000-08:00

More boards are on their way to Cherryvale and will no doubt find their way onto this blog. You may have noticed we haven't posted full images of the skateboards. Call us teasers, but we don't want to spoil the show by going and posting everything online before its had a fair airing in the off-line world. People have worked too hard on their boards and besides which, nothing beats seeing these decks in real life. So please just hang in there for the show. Which, er, incidentally, may be, um, slightly later than anticipated. More to follow.

JODY BARTON

2006-11-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

First thing I ever saw from Jody Barton was a big black circle shape that said in the middle of it: Even on the sunniest days it's dark inside my head. Out of that darkness has come a scarily good skateboard. Cherryvale smothers you in whipped cream with cherries on top and then lovingly licks it from your body Jody, your naked body. Yes its that good.

SIMON PEPLOW

2006-11-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

Mr Peplow comes to Cherryvale via Birmingham, England, where he draws and paints alot and dreams of life in the country. We saw some cloudy headed people pictures he did and thought, now here's a guy we can relate to. Sure enough, soon after, a friend suggested he would be good for us and us for him. And so it proved. Pleasure to make your acquaintance Simon.

FRENCH

2006-11-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Metal and drawing. Drawing and metal. More metal. More drawing. And then tea. That's what French likes. And we like French. So its all good then. Great, in fact. Yep. French is great.

CHRISTOPHER WEBSTER

2006-11-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

Six years ago I picked up a comic called Wormwood. It was crammed with compelling ideas and striking b&w imagery. This was my introduction to Christopher Webster. Trying to track down more of his work put me in contact with the man himself and we stayed in touch. When the Cherryvale project began, I knew Chris had to be involved. I showed his comics to Valerie and she immediately said, sign him up. Lucky for us he was into it. His graphic novel, Malus, is a real good intro to his work. It's intensely drawn and bursting with strange thoughts, go find a copy and just see for yourself. By comparison, his board for Cherryvale is oddly calm, but somehow as strong and involving as his comics. We like how you did that Chris.

YUKO KONDO

2006-11-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

Take a look at Yuko's book published by Pocko. It's really different. His work doesn't seem to come from a specific era or country (he's Japanese by the way) it occupies its own time and space. Valerie is obsessed with aviation and it was an image of an otherworldly airport that first brought Yuko to her attention. Me, I'd been impressed by his work on the Roll Deep album cover. He's done a super odd looking skateboard that we don't even pretend to understand but we love every last weird bit of it.

JOHN TALLON

2006-11-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

We saw John's work at a Central Saint Martins degree show and were blown away by his commie-death-robot-madness (as he describes it). We tracked him down to Liverpool and recruited him for Cherryvale. His was the first board we got back and it will always remain special in our hearts. Thank you John.

INCOMING

2006-11-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

A bunch of decks have arrived here on the Cherryvale Skateboard Company doorstep these past few weeks. Thanks heaps to all you folks who've let us know your boards are ready for collection. If we haven't collected them yet, we're working on it.

OZ vs AP

2006-11-06T04:50:00.000-08:00

Valerie and I went to Oz for a few weeks in October. We saw the mighty Ariel Pink play Melbourne and Adelaide with a superb band of Aussie musos who had totally nailed his sound. It was stunning and confirmed his status as musical genius. You gotta check him out. We had a really good chat with Ariel in Adelaide and he reckoned he was gonna do something with his Cherryvale board. We're keeping our fingers crossed. On the way back to London we stopped for a day in Hong Kong and were blown away by that city. We really need to get a Hong Kong artist to contribute to Cherryvale. Suggestions welcome at cherryvaleskateboardco@hotmail.com. Meanwhile, lots of artists have been in touch and we've got back about half a dozen boards already. And they all look absolutely incredible. They're all so different and so amazing that they kind of make us feel a bit sick to our stomachs.

STICKERS AND WHAT NOT

2006-07-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

Okay. So we're slowly getting there. And here's photographic proof, if proof were needed, that those of you on the Cherryvale skate team (you know who you are) will soon posess a virginal skateboard deck to despoil. What you do with it is up to you - if that's a bit vague don't worry, we'd love to chat about ideas and steer you in some direction or another. Just email us at cherryvaleskateboardco@hotmail.com