That vibrancy is not confined to Ski Market's snowboard-packed lower depths. "Ever since twin tips came out, ski companies are getting more aggressive with their graphics," says assistant store manager Seth Warner, upstairs. He points out K2's MissDemeanor, a women's twin-tip ski, with a layered collage of snowflakes, evil-eyed squirrels, and bat-winged pugs. Nearby, four lined-up 4FRNT MSP skis of varying lengths create one whole image of a snow-capped mountain at sunset, with parts of the photo on each ski. K2 and 4FRNT-type art is appealing to the under-35 crowd, says Warner, and "they're coming in to get their gear early. They want to get the newest designs."
Some ski and snowboard companies are seeking innovative designs via unconventional artists. "This year Rome is using some designs by their pro riders," says Dan Janjigian, 26, an avid snowboarder in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and a former Rome employee. In past years, Burton and Line Skis, a company that merged with K2 last year, have had the same plan. Burton tapped pro snowboarder Shaun White to launch his own line of boards (including one fantastical board with images of roaring lions and a bottom-of-the-ocean scene). For Line Skis, pro skier Eric Pollard produced, among others, a pair of skis that evoke the Minimalist art movement, with tall, lonely pines, assemblages of colored boxes, and outlines of fingerprints.
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Art and ego
But this ability to create and decorate isn’t restricted to the pros or the major board makers. Web sites such as www.boarddesigner.com, and annual contests like the ones hosted by Warren Miller and Ride Snowboards, allow anyone with an artistic inkling (regardless of snow-sport ability) to submit and produce custom ski and snowboard graphics or vote on their favorites.Let's be honest. Isn't it easier to just skip the middleman and personalize skis and boards with a can of spray-paint or a slew of vinyl stickers? "A lot of people do that here [in Jackson Hole]," says Janjigian. "You can customize your stuff and make it look the way you want to."
For that approach, Leary recommends Dekal.com, which allows users to create personalized, adhesive-backed graphics (including photos, if desired) to cover skis or snowboards, using the New Hampshire–based company's Web site. Dekal.com creates a happy medium for those looking for a personalized board or skis but who don’t want to fork over large sums of money or sacrifice technical quality.
At the furthest end of the crafty, personalized ski spectrum are small companies such as Jackson Hole–based Igneous Skis, which produces skis made entirely of wood — a throwback from the usual foam and fiberglass. "It's really unique," says Janjigian. "You can give them a design to burn into the wood for you." And, in terms of technical quality, he says, "They make a really rad ski."
If the plethora of options and methods for finding the best ski or board art is symbolic of anything, Leary explains it most simply: "Whatever's under your feet graphically — that's your style." ^
Caitlin E. Curran, who most often has a brown synthetic carpet under her feet, unfortunately, can be reached at ccurran@phx.com.
