more grist for the mill

Jim's been gettin' busy with the brushes for the past 2 days doing an instore installation for Dave Howell (Misfit Shapes) and Chongy's new surf store on Sydney's Northern Beaches, SugarMill. The store is all about building a community of like minded people, that like-mindedness being a love of surfing and surf lifestyle. They're directly opposite the Sands Hotel in Narrabeen at 2/1329 Pittwater Road.

Rad Dan aka Prince of Radness, has also contributed a monster installation down there for Insight. Head down and check out the egg candy.

Flanny Man

we surf

massive thanks to Ben at mesurf for taking it easy on me in this interview!

big last wednesday

A few shots taken last Wednesday at Bondi, well Ben Buckler (far Northern End of Bondi). I've been living down this way for about 6 years and never seen it as big or sliders riding big bombs like this all the way through to the shore.

heading north

Spring must still feel a ways off for our Northern Hemisphere sliders, but we're getting prepared. The first ever drop of Critical Slide threads is about to leave by (very) slow boat from Bali heading towards the States, Japan and Germany for a spring delivery.

We called on local talents Cloudy Rhodes & Hayden Cox to jump in front of the lens for Nathan Oldfield for a bit of a preview... thanks guys for giving up your Saturday

fish eye view

some shots sent in by Dean Walters..... this is what you look like to that flathead lurking in the shallows

fish fry

March 14th is shaping up to be a busy day........ take in some weird & wonderful sights at the Alley Fish Fry in Currumbin, surf & a beer with Russ then high tail it to Noosa for the start of the Festival mayhem. awesomeness

Morning Salutations

Chips Riviera, up & about nice & early.

sweetner

still getting the hang of this online store thing, but think we may have ironed most of the bugs out for now.... fingers crossed.

to all of you who tried, & failed, to register and buy online last week - my apologies. to tempt you into having another go at it, we're offering a free TCSS tee (pictured above) to the first 5 successful online purchasers.

buy any product from our store & we will include a free tee as a thank-you... your choice of black or white colourway. we'll email you to get your size & colour choice when the deal has gone down.

too easy

UPDATE: thanks Andrew, Aaron, Tim and Brooke and Dan - your gear & extra tee in the post....

woody goodness

a few weeks back I sent my copy of Cyrus Sutton's dvd about making alaias to Andy Wellman in Bali... figured he was more likely than me to make something that actually floated. And sure enough, check it out folks.... the Wellman Backyard Model Mark 1




yet to be launched, she's a beauty to behold. hopefully Andrew will give us updates on how she goes

i like to muck around with toy cameras

A bit of sunshine, some blue sky, a smiling face, a fresh sled...its all great for these little Russian gems.

TCSS in Monster Children

TCSS boardbag available at the TCSS shop!

Fat Cat Boardshorts also available at the shop.

Those really good people over at Monster Children magazine like our stuff so much they put it in their really good magazine. The TCSS boardbag was part of their Christmas gift guide....we kinda missed the boat on that one, but they're pretty great for birthday and valentines day presents as well - chocs & roses are so 2009

sea trousers now online

so, the decorations are off the tree, the mother in-law shipped off home (miss ya Gilly-o!) and I can see the back of the fridge for the first time this year.... must mean the holidays are over. more please.

it hasn't been all bbq's, beaches & beer though folks, we also managed to find the time to rustle up an online store so you can get your sea trousers delivered fresh to your door.

if your local has run out of the style you had your heart set on, or you didn't get that fat cat tee for xmas that you left notes about around the house, then head on over to www.thecriticalslidesociety.com & hit the shop button.

hope you like



any feedback/bugs please let me know... bound to be a few to start.

Nathan Oldfield for Valla

... for your viewing pleasure:

Valla Saltwater Constructs from Nathan Oldfield on Vimeo.

Nathan has put together this epic promo for Sage at Valla showcasing the various craft Sage has been making & team Valla has been riding lately. Introducing the newest sleds in the expanding range: Vector & Vice. Tidy logo work by Benny Waters & a little colour work by yours truly. Good project to be involved in, thanks Sage.

Ragee

friend & colleague Jeff Raglus is one of the most prolific artists I know - not sure what he's on, but I need some!

Jeff is starting 2010 with a show at Mario's Cafe, Fitzroy where he had his first solo show back in 1989. The opening was last night, so probably not a lot left to purchase cos they sell like hotcakes but definitely worth dropping in for a coffee with a view.

must read....

Liquid Salt is fast becoming my favourite reading stop-over. In case you've missed a couple of issues, here are 2 great articles on a couple of our buddies: Nathan Oldfield & Kameron Brown.

Thoughtful, inspiring & funny.... a top way to start the day

back to the future

had a fun night out at Avoca Beach Theatre last night, where a full house hooted Terry Fitz, Gerry Lopez, Nat Young & MP in their hey day in Alby Falzon's 1971 movie, "Morning of the Earth".

it's been a while since I watched it last & I'd forgotten what a huge influence this movie was - the lifestyle documented & the soundtrack were groundbreaking for the time. the film work still holds its own I reckon.


a bonus was Mike McCarthy & The Vigilantes performing on stage before the movie - their own stuff & a couple of numbers from the M o t E soundtrack to get us warmed up. Mike very generously gave me a copy of his new album "colours" which was first thing on this morning & highly recommended

last night's event was sponsored by our pals at Alpine Beach - door prize was Switchfoot II... I tried to pull my own name out of the hat but now I'll have to stop being cheap & go buy it!

the birds

friend & fine gent Rusty Shakespeare sent me these great shots he took of birds in Old Dehli.

Russ has an amazing eye for graphic possibilities & always gets the shot.

that's all folks...

took a moment out with the missus to watch the sun set on 2009... done & dusted!

hope yours was good & your ears have stopped ringing