“From skateboard to jewelry, a Portland artist is born”

From skateboard to jewelry, a Portland artist is born

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 03:35 PM PST

A Portland woman who makes exquisitely constructed, hand-crafted jewelry out of recycled skateboards most would consider art, doesn't consider herself an artist.

"I don't know what I think of myself as, but I don't really think of myself as an artist," said Lindsay Jo Holmes, creator and owner of MapleXO, a unique jewelry and art business crafted out of recycled skateboards.

MapleXO sells earrings, including hoops made out of skateboard wheels, buttons, belt buckles, but also has an impeccably designed iPhone case in a collaboration with Grove. Grove makes the cases out of bamboo, but Holmes makes hers out of skateboards.

Thousands are interested in the MapleXO iPhone case, but right now the plan is for about 50 to be made with a retail price of $200. Future products, like cuff links, are also in the works and will be available soon.

The latest collaboration, with Leela Morimoto, combines Morimoto's origami art and Holmes' woodworking with skateboards. The result is a delicate earring unlike anything Holmes had done previously. "I usually make organic shapes, so this was a change," she said of the work.

Holmes, an avid skateboarder, unveiled her 2011 catalog Feb. 1.

The precocious 27-year-old came to Portland about six years ago from her home town of San Diego, and got started when she began making what she calls "mediocre wall art."

"I was just working out of my home and making clocks and wall art, that's kind of how it all got started," Holmes said.

The idea sprouted into a business that has been running for nearly six years and sells products nationwide and to Canada and Australia.

Holmes then rented space at Shop People, a "membership-based industrial arts shop that provides shared tools and work space for craftspeople and artisans."

It's there where Holmes' ideas blossomed as she was helped by meeting several woodworkers and other artisans who nurtured her love for art.

Holmes spent two years at Shop People, before eventually getting her own work space, which is near 24th and Holgate in Southeast Portland. Her company now sells in 10 Oregon stores, 10 states in America and stores nationwide.

At the beginning Holmes canvassed skate shops in the Portland area for recycled boards, trading cookies for the beat down boards she uses to make her art. Now, skate companies outside the Portland area mail boards to Holmes, who still returns the favor by mailing out treats.

Despite the inseparable connection her art has to skateboards, Holmes' hope is that customers will look at her product on its own. "I'm not trying to make a gimmick," she said. "I want people to look at it as jewelry."

Holmes' long term goals include making finer art, which can be seen in the incredible bike fenders seen above.

"Being a part-time-bike commuter myself and a fascinated by the bike community as a whole, I really wanted to create a piece that could cross into that culture," she said.

The burgeoning product catches on outside of Oregon mostly by people reading about her stuff on other blogs or websites, Holmes said. A Seattle store started carrying her products because an owner loved them so much.

Celeste Sipes, co-owner of Radish Underground, a boutique in Southwest Portland, had nothing but glowing reviews of MapleXO.

"We love working with Lindsay Jo so much that even if MapleXO wasn't one of our best selling lines, we would continue to order just to see her smiling face," Sipes said.

As Holmes says on her website: "Wearing MapleXO means more than just having good style. It means that you believe in your creativity, believe in your individuality, and believe in your power to impact the planet."

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