On May 24th and 25th, Joe (BirdSwell Creative Team Member) and I went to the Cal Rep Show in Santa Cruz to exhibit the BirdSwell clothing line.

This was BirdSwell's first trade show and it was a good experience. We learned a lot about the industry and how trade shows work. We were amongst the major brands in the surf industry such as: Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Roxy, Rusty, O'Neil, Hurley and the list goes on. 

I went into this trade show for the experience and to learn from others. I definitely learned from other sales representatives and some were even nice enough to give me advice.

We met with a couple of buyers and retailers that really seemed to be interested. I am proud to announce that we will be delivering shirts to 2 Mile Surf Shop in Bolinas, CA in the middle of June! Bolinas is a really nice surf break in Northern California.

BirdSwell has a long way to go, but this was a small stepping stone for growth and experience on the west coast.

BirdSwell Booth


BirdSwell Info Table

Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

I have been really busy the past two weeks and haven't had a chance to update surf sessions until today. This is a log of the past two weeks. I will be doing another post about our experience at the Cal Rep Show.

5.16
I went surfing with a new friend, Amanda at LM and it was really great chest to head high waves. I had a great time getting to know Amanda. She is also a graphic designer and a great surfer. I love meeting people that are like me! At one point during the surf session, we lost one another, but we both found some really fun waves.

5.19
I met up with Luke at the JT and his friend Jason happened to be there too. At first the waves were jumbled, but cleaned up during the session. We caught a bunch of fun chest to shoulder high waves.

5.22
My friend, Joe from the east coast was here to visit and help me with the Cal Rep Show in Santa Cruz for the week. We taught him how to surf at the JT and our friend, Sarah came with us too. It was extremely windy and was fun to be in the ocean, but the surf was not great at all. It was hard to teach Joe because we kept getting swept down the beach. Joe said that he had a fun time and wanted to try it again later in the week.

5.26
I really needed a surf session after a new and great experience at the Cal Rep Show. Amanda contacted me and said that she would be doing a dawn patrol at LM and I told her I would be there. Joe decided to stay at home and get some rest. Jacob and Sarah also joined us. Sarah just bought a new surfboard and was really excited to try it out.

The waves at LM were probably the best waves we have seen since we have lived here. The waves were chest to shoulder, super clean and extremely fun. When I got out I felt so refreshed and I was completely revitalized.

5.27
Jacob's old co-worker, Josh was here for a short visit, but expressed that he wanted to try surfing. We went to Sonlight to get him a wetsuit and booties since Joe was using Jacob's old suit and booties. Joe went into the SF for the day and Jacob and Josh met me at LM for an after work sunset session. In the morning, Amanda reported that she had a fun session. I was really excited to hit the surf, but when we got there the wind had picked up and blowing out the waves. 

Josh was brave and paddled right out beyond the white water and was in the line up. He was pretty stable on his board and caught some white water on his belly. Jacob and I caught some crumbly waist high waves.

5.28
Before Joe flew home, we took him for one last surf session at the JT. He had a much better time since there was no wind and the waves were only thigh to waist high. He paddled out into the line up and practiced sitting on the board and caught white water. Jacob and Josh were also there and Josh was doing great and caught some really good thigh high waves. He is a natural! I am glad that Joe had a better and less windy experience.

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

5.10.11 - JT Birthday Surf
I took the whole day off because it was my birthday. I have been working day and night on the trade show and on client design work. I went surfing with Sarah and Dugen for 4 hours and got out of the water with blue lips. Surf was clean waist to chest high swell. It was chilly, but I really wanted to savor my day off. I had a great day and was so happy that some friends were able to make it out for my birthday surf.

5.13.11 - Busted Eye at LM
Jacob and I took George surfing before work. George is Jacob's old co-worker and friend from the east coast. He was here for a short visit and he wanted to to try surfing. We took him to LM and the surf was really fun. He caught white water, but didn't stand up. Jacob and I caught a ton of clean shoulder to head high rights. I was also hit by someone's board in the left eye resulting in a bump, bruise and a migraine from the impact. Below is a picture of my bruised eye.

5.14.11 - Quick JT Session
Before we took George to the airport to return to the east coast, Jacob and I took him for one last surf session. The surf was knee to thigh high but super clean with nice shoulders. George stayed in the white water and caught a bunch on his belly. When he comes back to visit, we hope he will want to try surfing again. He said he had a fun time and wants to try to stand next time.

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

Jacob and I only got out 1 day last week. We tried surfing the pier and we only caught white water. The pier is so tricky. It looked really nice from shore, but once you are in the water the current is so intense. We tried to paddle out south of the pier, but it was so tough getting out. We walked north of the pier and we had a little more success, but it was still hard to get pass the current.

The pier and I have yet to connect like I want to, but I am going to continue to try it. Summer is coming so maybe the current and the swells will be small enough so I can actually catch a legitimate wave.

I have been preparing for a big trade show coming up at the end of May in Santa Cruz. I haven't been able to surf as much, but I am enjoying putting together different elements for this trade show.

BirdSwell mini tote bag with BirdSwell swag

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,

J-Bird

My dad came to visit Jacob and me this past week, but we were able to get in some surf sessions.

4.25.11 - Rainy Jetty
Cynthia, Heather, Jacob and I went to the Jetty. From shore, it looked messy and wind blown. When we got in, it was actually a lot of fun. We all got a lot of fun waist to chest high waves.

4.29.11 - Overhead Bunnies
Jacob, my dad, and I were meeting up with Cynthia and Luke at the Jetty, but when we got there it was really small. We decided to drive down to bunnies and there were decent waves. We contacted everyone and told them to meet us there. The wind was light and there were some clean faces. By the end of the session, the wind turned on and the waves started getting messy.

My dad took some pictures of us while we were surfing.

Jacob and J-Bird walking to the surf

Jacob catching a nice overhead wave



Blurry Bird on the Wave (camera was dying and wasn't focusing)



Cynthia, J-Bird and Jacob in the line up

5.1.11 - Somewhere in HMB
We met up with Cynthia, Chris and Tim at the Jetty and weren't really excited about what we saw. Cynthia decided to stay, but Chris, Tim, Jacob and I went south. We found some really nice waves and caught clean overhead right shoulders. 

We finally bought a California State Park Pass. We will be able to expand our surf spot selection and also get to go camping and hiking in various places. 

Ride Waves and Spread the Swell,
J-Bird