Top Five Inexpensive Gift Ideas for Surfers

Top Five Inexpensive Gift Ideas for Surfers

1. Stocking Stuffer - Surf wax and a wax comb combo is a perfect and very inexpensive way to stoke out a surfer. Every surfer could use a couple of extra bars of wax and this will be a small gift they are sure to use. (In case you are wondering what a wax comb is, it is a piece of plastic that is roughly in the shape of a comb, and one side of the comb has saw tooth like edges to rough up old wax, and the other side is a wax scraper used to remove old wax off your surfboard.) Brand recommendation: I like Sticky Bumps, but most surfers won't care to much about which brand you get them, at least for a few sessions before they re-apply new wax. Since it is winter time, I would also recommend purchasing cold water wax unless you are in a warm water area like Hawaii or Florida. But your local surf shop will be able to help you choose the right surf wax.

Surf Wax and Wax Comb Combo - $1.00 for a bar of wax, and $2.00 or so for the wax comb

2. Leash Law - A new Surf Leash is something every board rider already has, but we could always use a new one. Even though the leg rope we currently have works just fine, the Velcro usually has heaps of sand, lint, and dirt stuck into it, and will not grip as securely as a new one does. Velcro gets worn out over time, and getting a new surf leash usually isn't to high on the priority list of new surf equipment to purchase. Also surf leashes get stretched out after numerous sessions, especially if you frequently ride in larger conditions. Size recommendation: Surfers who ride a short board will want a 6' long leash, and long boards generally use an 8' or bigger leash.

Surf Leash - Starting at $19.99 to $39.99, Available at your local surf shop

3. Well Read - A good book is a great way to spend your free time when the surf is flat. Here are a couple of novel recommendations that I have read, and I know any surfer will enjoy. "The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the the Ocean," by Susan Casey. "The Wave" is about big waves, how they are formed, captain's tales of rogue waves, and of course the surfers who ride them. A great true story, and gripping first hand accounts of encounters with big waves. The second book I recommend is "In Search of Captain Zero: A Surfer's Road Trip Beyond the End of the Road," by Alan Weisbecker. This is a surfer's memoir of an epic odyssey through Mexico to Costa Rica via land. Of course he gives an awesome narrative of foreign off the grid surf breaks, and all the characters he encounters along the way. This books makes you want to drop everything, pack the truck, and head out on the highway in search of surf.

"The Wave" & "In Search of Captain Zero" - Both books on Amazon.com for under $14.00

4. Head Case - A warm Knit beanie is like a man's best friend. Beanies are essential to completing the look of being a surfer. Every surfer owns one, and loves to wear them when they get out of the water, especially in the winter time. I would recommend a light knit beanie, not the full blown sailor maritime ones. A simple black beanie, nothing to flashy, with a small embroidered surf brand logo will be used regularly until next year when you sneak another beanie under the Christmas tree.

Men's Surf Beanie - Starting at $12.00 - $30.00, available at your local surf shop

5. Home is where the Heart Is - A Gone Surfing throw pillow will add a little aloha to his or hers home decor. You don't need to change the entire theme of their bedroom, or living room, you can simply toss this gender neutral basic navy decorative pillow anywhere in the room. This primary color will blend in with your current design scheme, and add some of the owner's personality to their personal space. With an wood button enclosure on the back, even the messiest surfer can clean these pillows with his regular laundry. This is a fun and unique gift that is available at our company web store or online at Amazon.com.

Gone Surfing Throw Pillow - $24.99 Available at www.deanmillerprints.com

We hope this helps make your holiday shopping a little easier in finding that perfect gift for any surfer you know. Here are a few honorable mentions in case you still need a little more creative thought, or have a whole brood of surfers to shop for!

A Few Honorable Mentions:

1. Surf Magazine subscription - Surfer Magazine and Surfing Magazine are the biggest publications in the industry, and prices are generally about $12.00 a year.

2. Sunscreen and Beach Towel combo - Surfers are always in the sun even when its cloudy out, so get a good water proof lotion, I recommend the Headhunters brand available at most surf shops. And we could always use a new beach towel, mine is pretty crusty sitting in the back of the truck!

3. Surf Video - Surf videos are something I never really spend my money on, but always love to watch them. So the only way I would really own one is as a gift, and I love getting them! Your local surf shop will probably have the latest video out, before it hits the You Tube channels.

Surf Art - The "California Surpher"

Ever seen a Californian Surfpher? Last weekend was the last time to see one of these rare and beautiful creatures out in public. The city of Dana Point hosted the Elephant Parade, which is basically a charity to raise awareness, money, and support for Asian elephant conservation. They did this by having different artists, celebrities, and personalities paint baby elephant statues in whatever manner they choose. These celebrities range from Khloe Kardashian, to Katy Perry, to the dog whisperer Cesar Millan. They all contributed their time, and artistic vision to help this charitable cause.

California Surpher by Alan Nowell

Jungle Fever: Our favorite statue of course was done in a surf theme, this would be a great piece of surf decor for any large room in your home, or next to the door for the grand entrance. This piece was painted by artist Alan Nowell. This woody car elephant provides the ultimate mode of transporting your surfboards deep into the jungle in search of empty deserted surf breaks. The detail put into this statue is amazing, with a California license plate on the back, to using the headlights and front grill for the elephants eyes and mouth. I love the way the artist captured the feel of freedom you have cruising the California coast in an old woody car searching for surf.  The artist describes his piece as, "A Classic. Just seeing a surf-Woodie implies a lifestyle. It's a symbol. The love of water."

Love the license plate on the rear!

So Much to See: There are a lot more different elephant statues, in plenty of different themes besides surfing. If you want to see more painted elephants be sure to visit their website at www.elephantparadeamerica.com

Headlights for eyes, I wonder if they light up at night

Custom Wood Beach & Surf Signs

We just put together a little product video on our made to order wood signs. These are very high quality wood pieces with full color re-printed original drawings and artwork to be displayed in your home. We have lots of different colors, and themes that are suited to fit with almost any decor or design theme you may have in your surf shack.

The best part about our signs is that they can be tailored to feature your favorite surf spot, beach, or just to remember a great time you had on the coast on a family vacation. We all have fond memories of the beach, and its great to add a little custom personality to your house.

Our all wood planked signs are made here in the USA, and although they do take about two weeks to get done, I guarantee you'll be happy with the quality, and the way it looks where ever you decide to hang it. Our signs usually come in three different sizes, usually small, medium, and large, and the large is a pretty big piece of artwork. So grab some popcorn, and check out our small You Tube video presentation of our custom made surf signs.

Mahalo!

Pimp my Surf Van

A customer overseas ordered some Hawaiian fabric from us for his interior overhaul of his weekend cruiser. This surf van was built for long trips, and "glamping" in style. I know when I am on a surf trip at a remote point break far from civilization, there is nothing like having your own piece of paradise waiting for you to dry off in, cook some breakfast, and start re-counting tall surf tales over a warm fire to those around you.

Our DM396 - Aqua Hibiscus fabric helped to transform this otherwise ordinary surf bus into a true Hawaiian paradise, complete with coordinating paint trim, and storage drawers. The hardwood floors make this not just a gas guzzling touring car, but an entire living room placed right in the back of this wave wagon. I can't quite see what the person sitting in the couch can see, but I would imagine it is a full entertainment system, complete with a satellite enabled flat screen television, and blu-ray player to watch "Big Wednesday" over and over again. At least that is what I would be doing.

Aqua Hibiscus Fabric Used to Pimp Your Van

Let us know what you think of this surf bus make-over, and if you have any pictures to send us of something you have re-habbed let us know!

Custom Hawaiian Fabric Surfboard Inlay

Surfboards bought right off the rack at your local surf shop pretty much all look the same. They are all white with a wood stringer down the center, and of course the shapers stamp on the front or back of the board. There aren't a lot of options to choose from in regards to color, design, and having any of your personality displayed on your surfboard. Shop boards are basically a blank canvas to paint and create on. Of course you have a great selection of stomp pads, and leashes in many different colors, and styles to reflect your identity, but with so many riders in the water we like to stand out a bit, and spread a little aloha with our surfboards.

Customizing your surfboard is a great way to add a little touch of individualism and style to your quiver. There are many ways to add your own personal flavor to your surfboard, you can draw your own artwork like the ....Lost crew does with paint pens, add heaps of surf branded stickers to the nose like a professional surfer, paint the whole board any color other than white, or do what we like to do, and that is to glass in some Hawaiian fabric to the surfboard. Here is a great simple example of a surfboard with a Hawaiian fabric inlay on the nose of a long board one of our customers sent to us.

Nose of Surfboard with Navy Hibiscus Fabric Inlay

As you can see just adding a little touch of aloha gives this long board a much more stylish look, and when you are done riding it, it will look great hanging up your wall. This custom built nose rider with the Hawaiian fabric inlay has an old school foam density, Volan glass, 1/4 cedar on each side with a 1/4 balsa center stringer for added strength (see close up below.) 

Close up of Navy Hibiscus Fabric Surfboard Inlay

Look at the detail put into that stringer, you know this guy loves to shape boards! This surfboard was shaped by Steve Divita over at Head High Surfboards and he does some pretty incredible artwork on his surfboards, be sure to check out his online gallery of his boards. 

Navy Hibiscus Hawaiian Print Fabric by Dean Miller Surf Bedding

Dean Miller carries a good selection of Hawaiian print fabric that can be used to get your custom surfboard made, just visit our online superstore at http://www.deanmillerprints.com

Mahalo!

Surf Decor Design Ideas

Just because you want to decorate your home with a surf motif, it doesn't always mean hanging surfing posters torn out from the latest issue of Stab Magazine all over your bedroom wall. Although we do love this particular look, we wanted to show off a few different pieces of surf art that we saw around town, and liked.

Heavy Metal - I love this piece because of it's size, and originality. While it is blatantly a surfboard, it is beautiful and classy enough to look great in your home, or a fancy hotel. Even if you aren't a dedicated surfer, and just a beach lover, this hand crafted one of a kind surfboard piece will be a stylish addition to any corner of your home. This particular piece is entitled "Paddle Hard" and is entirely made out of metal screws, with a piece of re-bar as the center stringer. I couldn't read the artist who designed this piece, but would love to know who created this sculpture if one of our readers happens to know please let us know!

"Paddle Hard" Surfboard Sculpture

Made of Steel Rebar and Long Screws

Hang 'Em High - Surfboards in my opinion are works of art. The hand shaped lines, and curves of a surfboard are truly a work of passion. They are such beautiful functioning ways to ride waves, and surfboards deserve to be showcased as such. Here are a couple of examples of how surfboards can be showcased in your home, and not look like Jeff Spicoli lives there.

Pro Model Surfboards Used as Surf Decor

Artwork Painted on Surfboard

If you are going to attach a used surfboard to your wall, make sure you give it a good cleaning, and get rid of all of the old wax, use some Windex, and I would get some new surf stickers to cover up any visible dings which will add a pro model feel to your surf decor. Wall hanging surf racks can be found pretty easily online, and for not that much money.

You can always check out more Surf Themed Decor at our online Hawaiian bedding superstore!

The Great Race Car Bedroom Make-Over

On Your Marks - Rev up your engines, because we are going to transform your son's room into an awesome race car themed bedroom. He will practically be able to hear the roar of the NASCAR engines as they zoom on down the track, while he imagines he is driving his very own race car to the finish line. This fun race car themed comforter set features all different kinds of race cars, from stock cars to formula one race bullets, your son is going love the variety and different racing themes shown.

Youthful Appeal - This particular textile print has hand drawn stick figures driving the race cars, and was created for The Sticklers by a local Southern California graphic artist. The youthful theme, and familiar stick figure faces, will make your child feel like he had a hand in drawing or designing his own bedding. The smiling faces of The Stickler figures will welcome your son to bed every night, before he lumbers off to sleep to have this very own race car dreams.  

How We Did It - For this bedroom, we used the race car comforter as the focal point of the room, and then began to work our way out to bring in other racing themed decor. We found this great racing floor rug online that has a formula one car on it, with black and white checkers around it, as well as a cute juvenile coordinating decorative pillow that matches the color schemes in our bedding. One great thing about this race car bedding set, is there are a lot of colors to work with, so you can really pick whatever color you like best, and bring out those colors with coordinating toss pillows, window treatments, rugs, a new sheet set, and wall decor. We picked out a few of the race cars from the artwork, cleaned them up in Photoshop, and printed them out on some basic sticky wall paper that you can find at any office supply store, and stuck them to the wall to bring in some dimension to the flat wall. Then added a few other wall hangings, and the race track has now been brought indoors to your son's bedroom!

How to Sleep with the Fishes

Check out this fun bedroom designed by surf room designer Dean Miller. The entire bedroom was designed around our Under the Sea comforter pattern. This fun textile arrangement was hand drawn by a local Hawaiian artist, who wanted to bring his love for the ocean to life, by drawing colorful tropical fish swimming around a coral reef in the glittering sun. Dean Miller decided to use this fabric to hand sew into comforters, and bring an underwater paradise to life in your bedroom.

We started with a pretty typical and bland bedroom, and immediately wanted to lighten the walls to bring out the rich blue deep sea look of the comforter. I found this great light sea foam looking wall paper that has these tonal coral reef patterns inset in the background. (Well at least they resembled coral reef to me!) The wall paper also brought in a bit of texture, and depth to the background instead of simply painting the walls. We wanted to focal point to be on the aquarium, and bedding. The furniture we used was the same as we had on hand, except for the boat type bookcase, which I love and keeps with our ocean theme, but not in a corny way. The biggest addition we made was building out the wall, and adding in a real aquarium with real tropical fish swimming around while you sleep. This part of our room makeover took a bit of planning, but turned out not to be as hard as it looks. The aquarium is pretty much flush with the wall, and is framed with some wood trim to give it a more designer finish. One of the wood trim panels is held in place by magnets, and can be flipped down so the the fish can be feed and cared for. The tank is pretty much self cleaning so there isn't really a need to go in and out of the fish tank. Putting the aquarium inset in the wall is similar to putting a flat screen television in your wall as well, same concept and tools are used. We hope this inspires you to bring some creativity into your interior design, and if you need some tropical themed decor or bedding, be sure to visit us at www.deanmillerprints.com Mahalo!

New Tropical Comforter by Designer Dean Miller

Surf room designer Dean Miller has designed a new beach inspired tropical comforter that is sure to bring a little aloha into your bedroom. This tropical comforter has a rich navy blue background with tonal hibiscus flowers to add a little depth to the background. Hand drawn multicolored surfboards are interlaced with classic wooden surfboards, woven in with the comforter's main woody car theme. If you take a deep whiff, you can practically smell the hibiscus flowers blooming off of this tropical comforter.

To re-create that beachy feeling, but yet keep a modern boys room feel, we used hard wood floors to accent the classic wooden surfboards in this room, and added darker furniture pieces to the room. A wood nightstand, and dark wood headboard will keep the focus of the room on the bedding. Surf themed accents will bring some color, and provide a clean look through out the bedroom. We added a night stand lamp made out of colorful surfboards, a bright hand-woven jute rug that features a woody car, as well as a woody car metal sign that we framed with some old pieces of wood, and sanded down to add that driftwood feel to it. The main highlight of the room that brought it all together, was adding a couple of floor to almost ceiling high palm tree stencil sketches that we created. These stencils were created by using a couple of palm trees off of one of our other textile artwork pieces, taking the color out of them, and enlarging them to fit the room. We simply taped a paper copy of the artwork to the wall, outlined it, and then painted it on with black paint to create that shadow look. You could of course add a couple of coconuts, or maybe a colorful bird, but for our particular room we wanted more of a setting sun feel. This tropical comforter is available in our web store, along with pillow shams, fabric bed skirts, and matching accessories to bring your surf room to life. Much Mahalo! Dean Miller - http://www.deanmillerprints.com

New Tropical Birds of Paradise Fabric

Tropical room designer Dean Miller has just received a new Birds of Paradise fabric that is sure to bring a little aloha to any room. This original design has a rich navy blue solid background with green tropical monstera leaves, and ferns.  The iconic birds of paradise flower completes this tropical design, as the hand drawn flowers are tossed around in a multi colored repeat. A red flower with a contrasting blue birds beak is intermingled with the traditional artist rendering of what a tropical Birds of Paradise flower looks like.

This textile artwork is simple, and refined enough to transform any bedroom into a tropical paradise. You will be instantly transported back over to the Hawaiian Islands where you will fondly recall your last vacation, and how you dreaded going home. Dean Miller is currently accepting pre-orders on his limited edition bedding Blue Birds of Paradise Bedding, which is available in comforter sets, toss pillows, window dressings, and can even be sold as Hawaiian fabric by the yard. 

Dean Miller loves to buy a couple hundred yards of fabric at a time, and make limited edition bedding, so if you see a print you like, be sure to try to snatch it up as quickly as you can before it is gone!