Making Things
MAKING THINGS
UP FRONT
EDITOR'S LETTER
HAND-BUILDING AN ISSUE
If there is any single issue of this magazine I've ever worked on that I would consider "my baby," the Handbuilt Issue is it.
I’ve always liked getting my hands dirty, and, as a working writer, there is nothing more wonderful than starting with a blank sheet of paper. Even if I use a laptop instead of cotton bond.
So when we were staring at the theoretical blank page that would be the cover, I knew we had to do something different.
Enter Ornamental Conifer, a.k.a. Nico Sclater, the 32-year-old artist who handpainted on plywood the cover gracing this month’s issue. I first saw Sclater’s work when I’d sent Gary Inman to Spain to investigate this strange El Solitario phenomenon (February 2013). Sclater had hooked up with the crazy custombuilding Spaniards to “paint whatever,” his payment the cost of the flight, a bed to sleep in, and all the beer he could drink. Sclater has since built a strong reputation in motorcycling, his sense of mischief and humour (he’s English, after all) coming through in his art, whether on bikes, skateboards, helmets, jackets, or general graphic work.
And the name Ornamental Conifer? “It’s a reference to the Norwegian heritage of my father and the part of the world I’m most drawn to,” he says. “When I graduated as a graphic designer, I wanted to work with companies as a freelancer. I created a name that was ambiguous enough that it could sound like a design firm instead of just me alone, like We at Ornamental Conifer would like your business...’ It also allowed me to work in skateboarding, motorcycling, and art or design without being locked into one thing.
It wasn’t like ‘Custom Bike Paint Shop Guy,’ so I could do work in any field.”
Then he adds with a laugh, “I’ve told a lot of stories about Ornamental Conifer, and I’m not really sure which is the right one...”
Perfect answer, really.
After leaving school at 15, Sclater worked in car repair, a shoe shop, and other odd jobs then went to night school to build an art portfolio so he could get into art school. He finished in his 20s and was living in London. His father was a rider, so it was only natural for Sclater, particularly as a starving artist, to look to motorcycles. “It’s hard when you don’t have much money to get a vehicle,” he admits. “It’s much easier to get a cool motorbike than a cool car. Living in London I was able to wheel it in and out of my house without paying for parking. And there was the camaraderie around it.”
Sclater now lives in Venice, California, just an hour from our offices and only a few blocks from Deus Ex Machina’s boutique on the corner of Lincoln and Venice boulevards, so it was the natural place for us to meet to shoot a photo of the large plywood board he’d finished. Sclater has done much for Deus, and we were happy to work in the creative workshop space where Michael “Woolie” Woolaway designs and builds Deus custom bikes. It was another perfect answer, really.
Sclater says he owes a lot to the painters like Von Dutch, but Nico’s business card says he doesn’t do pinstriping. “I don’t want to be the guy who carries on that work,” he says. “I want to help move it on. Von Dutch and those guys in the ’50s and ’60s weren’t looking back; they were looking to the future.”
So we hope our acknowledgement of the hands-on past points you to a handson future. Like the cover says: Get Dirty. Have Fun!
MARK HOYER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
