Cardiff-based Crayon Skateboards have been going from strength to strength over the last year picking up some of the UK’s most revered skateboarders. Korahn Gayle’s arrival made Crayon’s increasingly good rep outside of Cardiff soar above the clouds and what way to celebrate with a couple of gorgeous collaboration decks with Cardiff born-and-bred psychedelic design warlock, Pete Fowler.
You’ve almost certainly come across his work before in the form of all the visual pieces that accompany the already tripped out electro-fuzz rockers Super Furry Animals. His trippy characters and flowing colour translate perfectly into Crayon’s graphic identity; slick, perfectly-crafted colourful characters that ooze idiosyncracy and a couple interesting quirks. I couldn’t think of a better way to compliment the bunch of oddballs that ride the waxy kid’s art toy influenced plank. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve used actual crayons to wax up ledges as a substitute for wax every so often… ‘who’s wax is this crayon now boyo?’
Crayon use everyone’s favourite Deluxe wood (okay, a sweeping statement but I’ve never heard anything but instant gushing from any skater’s mouth at the mention of Deluxe) so you’re guaranteed a solid piece of wood beneath you feet. The deck itself is a joy to ride and it’s not at all difficult to comprehend why when you see someone skate through Cardiff, that 90% of the time, they’ll be riding a Crayon deck. If they keep producing decks like this, and throwing launch parties where the artist in question breaks their ankle in the club’s lav (fully legit! ‘ave it Fowler!) then I wouldn’t be surprised if those odds aren’t just exclusive to Cardiff, but spread across the UK. Keep it homegrown, keep it fresh. Fowler helps Crayon keep things both real and unreal, and I encourage everyone to get on board.
Head over to the Crayon website for an exclusive interview with Pete Fowler himself.
Right – 8″ – Below 7.75″
Stanley
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