Agenda Long Beach was on July 13 – 15, 2017.  With over 500 booths there’s literally something for everyone.  Including this year a sold out festival on the 15th.

Here’s what caught my eye.

I loved the looks of MarsQuest Sunglasses and when I sat down with owners Shawn & Mars, I was amazed to find out how truly durable & flexible they are.

They said step on them.  I did.

Then I saw them pull and twist them.

After all that they looked exactly the same.  How do they do it?  Maybe it’s because they are made of TR90 plastic and the design is hingeless or maybe they’re just magic!

Stylish, strong, and yes affordable.  All their styles (including a kids line), which are 100% polarized & have UV  protection, are available on their website and range in price from $30 – $50.  MarsQuest is an official sponsor of Sick Kids – a portion of each sale benefits the children’s hospital in Canada where MarsQuest is headquartered.

I’ve loved Fjällräven for forever.  One of my favorite parts of Agenda is checking in with Dana.

Originally designed for Swedish school children in 1978, the Kånken bags behind us are now worn by people all around the world.  I loved the patterned straps now available. Kånkens come in a variety of sizes and include a Classic & Mini that benefit the Arctic Fox.

Next it was time to check in with Nikita Clothing.  Loved the new dresses and tanks above.  They started in the back of a skateshop in the late 90s and continue to support all girls who ride.  Definitely check out their IG  to be inspired by girls who keep it stylish on & off the board.

Be still my heart, is that the perfect tee for binge watching the perfect show – Riverdale?  It is by

Yes, Betty and Veronica is a store.  You can shop on-line and you can follow them on IG to see all their clothes & accessories.  To see Betty and Veronica on the runway of the September 2016 NY Fashion Week – comics meet fashionistas – click here.

I didn’t find out if I was more Betty or Veronica, but I did find out my spirit animal thanks to the wonderful girls at the JAECI booth.  I thought I was an octopus – turns out I’m a fox.

click the picture above to take the quiz & find out your spirit animal

In addition to the Spirit Animal line I had a marvelous time exploring the Sweet & Unleashed lines – I’m still smiling about Goal Digger!

Plus I adored the #VOICEOFTHEWEB collection which is a collaboration with influencers that raises money for charities.  I hope you have the time to check it out & be inspired.

Above I’m with Claire & Rachel the founders and artists creating WKNDRS.  I love stories – I blog to share stories – so you know I loved that they met over 10 years ago in art school and now here they are at Agenda.

At my first Agenda, I heard a speech by Jon Wexler, where he said

Your passion is not a distraction!

When I meet people like Claire & Rachel – I’m just so inspired because their passion is now their job!

What’s your favorite pin by the WKNDRS?  I am partial to pineapples.  You never have enough pins or patches so it’s ok to have tons of favorites.

I’m usually about the visor, but as you can see above RT4M has me smiling in a hat.  I’m wearing the Bar Logo Pink and I found it comfortable & cute.

The smiles continued when I got to MERGE4.  They make socks for action sports people.

Above I’m with WeeMan.  He loves MERGE4 socks his favorite pair and mine too

Yes – you can wear WeeMan!  His socks are part of the MERGE4 Action Collaboration.  Check out all of their socks and wear a pair to see & feel how they “Grip Your Soul”.

The next booth to grip my attention was {emory park}.

Emory Park, from Los Angeles, is on a mission to

Design and produce unique and sophisticated clothing that makes women feel beautiful

From what I saw {emory park} is succeeding.  Check them out on their website and at stores like Nordstrom.

Next up it was time to take the plunge with Richer Poorer.

Richer Poorer elevates the ordinary by redefining “innerwear” with tees, socks, and underwear for men & women.  I loved their styles as much as I loved their mobile ball pit.

Richer Poorer was also part of Agenda Workshop where their co-founder & CEO Iva Pawling was part of:  Leveling the playing field:  lessons from female themed brands panel discussion.

My next stop The Casery also originated in LA.

@melina.luis loves to skateboard because of how it makes her feel – free.

She’s skateboarding in Costa da Caparica in Portugal.  It’s a beautiful beach town near Lisbon.

Costa da Caparica is a lively and modern resort town that is adored by the Portuguese, but virtually unknown by foreign tourists. The Costa da Caparica coastline is simply stunning, and is famed for its vast sandy beach, powerful surfing seas and wonderful natural scenery, all of which is less than a 20-minute drive from central Lisbon. – lisbonbeaches.com

I absolutely love when girls share there skate pictures and all the magnificent places they’re skateboarding.  I love parks, but as a Californian beach girl, I love the beaches more.

There’s something freeing about skateboarding with a view of the beach.

@melina.luis is from Portugal and her IG has lovely pictures of her adventures there and everywhere else she goes.  She’s all about staying active and seeking adventure – below she’s in Morocco and there’s also pictures from her adventures in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, and more.

Where are you seeking adventure?  I hope you share soon because more girls skate when they see girls having fun skating and we’re all enriched when we see all the beautiful places there are in the world.

 

@perfretka shares this picture from Park Swierklaniec with the caption

Czas podbić świat na dechach!

It’s time to conquer the world!  Conquering anything starts with believing you can.  Skateboarding is definitely something that helps you believe in yourself.  No matter where you’re skating, what type of board, or skate style – you will fall, get back up, and learn from your mistakes if you’re going to keep skating.

I love the pictures of girls skateboarding together, encouraging each other to keep going & having fun.  Skateboarding shows that hard work can be fun.

@perfretka and her squad are from Poland.

Where in the world are you having fun skateboarding?  All around the world girls can skate!

 

Kat @kateroo12345 learned to skateboard at Loyola University!  I’m a few years away from University, but I know I want to go to a school where they skate!

She’s in Chicago so skateboarding around campus will be seasonal.  I’m thrilled she learned at the beginning of the season so she has lots of time to have fun before winter.

Where are you skateboarding?  I love to share the pictures of girls who decided to try skating.  Deciding to try is probably harder than actually skating.  It’s a struggle between wanting to because it looks fun and the fear of falling.  Let the want overcome the fear.

Sure you’ll fall, but you’ll learn and the lessons you learn will help you on & off the board.  Skateboarding is sport, art, transportation, exercise, self-confidence building & so much more.

 

 

On July 8, 2017 Skate Rising welcomed over 80 participants

to hear from Girl Meets Strong, get skate tips from volunteers – including staff from Academy Skate Park, and just have an awesome time at the Encinitas Community Park.

Above Lauren Cortizo from Girl Meets Strong inspired the girls to push through their fears.  She talked about her personal experience and how she too was scared, but used her fear as motivation to work harder and succeed.

She asked all the girls to close their eyes and imagine a life without fear.  No fear of falling or failing (not even on tests).  She then had the girls pair up to share stories of fears they had already overcome. Finally she welcomed girls up to the front to share.

Each of the girls received a Fear Less Do More bracelet as a reminder of what they learned.  Then it was time to skate.

The girls had Steve from Academy Skate Park all over the park.

Arbor Girls – Amelia, founder of EXPOSURE Skate and Tara were sharing tips and below parents were active cheerleaders.

I always love coming to Skate Rising events.  Seeing all the progress the girls are making is so inspiring.

Thanks to all the supporters like Skate XS and My Grey Matterz for helping make sure there’s loaner equipment.

Thanks also to Syck Trix for bringing out their Syck Trix Boards and Nekter Encinitas for keeping everyone hydrated.

The day ended with a raffle of prizes from donors.  Included in the prizes were a Silly Deck that was presented by Silly Girl Pro Bryce, a JoyJoy Watch, and a Pink Helmet Posse board that Kael won and gave to his sister Harlow.

Skate Rising happens the 2nd Saturday of each month and I hope you come to one soon.

To find out more about Skate Rising, EXPOSURE Skate’s youth program, follow them on IG or contact the organizer, Calli Kelsay at [email protected].

Calli with the Girl Meets Strong Team

If you’re in the Phoenix Arizona area you can also check out Skate Rising Phoenix.  They have an event the 3rd Saturday of each month.

 

What happens when you give a calligrapher a blank longboard?  Sarah shared her story of what happened to her.

above the deck that caught my eye & inspired me to find out more about Sarah

Sarah’s , a 30-something year old from Toronto Canada.  She’s been lettering and practicing calligraphy for about 4 years, trying out all types of styles – mostly doing wedding-related work.

You can check out all of Sarah’s work on her website

On her site you’ll get a glimpse into some of her amazing projects –

like the adidas subscription box above & below

Since she was young she’s always been interested in the surf/skate culture and wished she could ride around on a skateboard like the girls in the Roxy ads.

Did you try skateboarding?

I never tried skateboarding, mostly because I was intimidated and too scared. Last Christmas my husband bought me a longboard, a complete board with a blank deck.

I was equally as excited to start riding as I was to letter it. After doing some painting on my own board I wanted to create more and gear them towards other girls and women who want to ride.

What’s your process for designing boards?

I buy the blank decks locally and sketch out ideas on my iPad Pro. Usually the designs I create have some sort of pattern as well as lettering. To create the pattern, I draw the shape (like a flamingo) on my tablet and import them into illustrator to vectorize. I then spread them out over the skateboard dimensions I’ve set up in Illustrator.

Once I’m happy with the patten I send the file over to my Cricut (cutting machine) and cut it out with an adhesive stencil.   After it’s cut I place the adhesive stencil over the board and spray paint over the pattern. After the spray paint has dried I slowly peel of the stencil and

then sketch out the lettering piece over top using a pencil or special pencil crayon that rubs off with water. After the guides have been laid out I use One Shot paint and Mack brushes to paint in the lettering. I let this dry for a day and then put a couple coats of polyurethane over so it’s a little more durable.

These would look great on the wall but I’d rather see them being ridden!

I like lettering stuff that’s a little cheeky, a little girly but with a little bit of edge. Once I have the board finished I make my husband do a photo shoot with me so I can post them on Instagram 🙂

Above Sarah’s latest board & yes this one is hers she’s still skating!  To see even more of Sarah’s process you can check her out on YouTube.

I’m grateful that Sarah faced her fears of skating and then combined her passions into making such beautiful art.

If you’re thinking about skating and not sure what’s holding you back – maybe you need a board.  It worked for me, my dad got me a board, I looked at it, actually moved it around for about a year, but I finally skated it.  Plus look at Sarah, her husband got her a board now she’s a skater & deck designer.

Sarah long boarding with her husband

You’re never too young or too old to skate.  All you need to be is willing.  Hope you check out Sarah and her boards on her site above & her IG.  And I really hope you share your stories of having fun skating on Sarah’s boards – both she & I would love to see her boards in action plus more girls skate when they see girls having fun skating!