Road trip anyone?

Si!

Oui!

Yes!

Had a chat recently with the creator and founder of HippyTree.
The love of the surf, nature and photography play a prominent role for this brand.
What started off with just a surf tide calendar, HippyTree has quickly become a household name.

So without further ado, I give you the HippyTree experience...


State your name and your business:
Andrew Sarnecki aka Hippy, I'm the founder and CEO of HippyTree.

Age?
I'm 34.

What inspired you to start HippyTree?
After college I worked as a designer at Body Glove Wetsuits in the South Bay of Los Angeles. I was into surf photography at the time and spent a lot of time documenting the local surf scene.
I started publishing my own little surf booklets titled "South Bay." I distributed the booklets for free through surf shops. The local surf shops encouraged me to create something they could sell.
I took their advice and published a surf calendar and designed some t-shirts under the name HippyTree. That was 8 years ago. The brand has grown since then.



How did you come up with the name HippyTree?
My friends used to call me Hippy (I had dreads back then). I also wrote graffiti and my graffiti name was "Hippy".
I would make the letter "i" in the shape of a tree in my graffiti signature.
I combined the name Hippy and Tree when I decided to brand my surf calendars and t-shirts under the name HippyTree.

Describe your typical "Day in the life"
I usually check the surf in the morning and determine if I should surf or shower. Cruise into work around 9 a.m.
I either spend my days doing emails and meetings or I don't check any emails or do any meetings and just focus on creative work. It's hard for me to design clothing and graphics and work on creative projects if I am being interrupted by emails and meetings.

Favorite pastimes?
Golf, ping pong and surfing.


Music/musician you've been listening to?
Lately I've been into old blues music.

Favorite word or phrase you overuse?
I've been told I say "rapping out" a lot. As in "I was rapping out with George the other day...".

Inspiration for the brand? Inspiration by outside sources, music, art, TV shows,etc?
Nature, surfing, photography and graphic design.

How would you best be described in 3 words or how would you describe yourself?
I think most people would say I am a hard worker (I'm a bit of a workaholic),passionate (I pour my heart and soul into HippyTree) and creative (you can't run a brand and not be creative).

Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish my golf game were a little better.


If you were to come back as a person or thing, what would it be?
I've always envied dogs with good owners. They get a lot of walks and pets and get to nap all day. That sounds like a good life to me.

What things can you never leave home without?
I check my pocket for 3 things before I leave my house. 1. Wallet. 2.Keys. 3. Phone.

Vision for the future and mission statement for brand? and What is your motto?
Our brand platform is Surf & Stone. We actively participate and design products for the surf and climbing culture. We are not your typical action sports company and we are not your everyday outdoor company. We try not to follow trends and worry about what the rest of industry is doing and keep our focus on Surf & Stone.

etnies reforestation project that planted thousands of trees in Costa Rica in 2011 heads to Brazil and partners with Trees for the Future in 2012. The partnered duo will plant 100,000 trees throughout 2012 for every purchase of etnies Jameson 2 and Jameson 2 Eco men's and kid's shoes as well as girl's Caprice Eco and Circe Eco shoes.

To get your own go HERE

Full press release below:

February 7, 2012 (Lake Forest, CA) - Over the last 500 years, Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest has been destroyed dramatically leaving only seven percent of its original cover today. Through agricultural production and urban development, millions of acres of trees have been tragically damaged, burned or cut down.

etnies, a global action sports footwear brand, is stepping in by expanding its Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree project to help reverse Brazil's deforestation. Through its partnership with Trees for the Future, a leading nonprofit organization planting trees worldwide through seed distribution, agroforestry training and in-country technical assistance, etnies will bring people together to make a difference in this area, one shoe and tree at a time.

etnies will support planting 100,000 trees within the Atlantic Rainforest's state of São Paulo throughout 2012. The one-for-one program plants a tree for every purchase of etnies Jameson 2 and Jameson 2 Eco men's and kid's shoes as well as girl's Caprice Eco and Circe Eco shoes.

"We play in our planet, and we need to take care of it," said Pierre-Andre Senizergues, CEO and Owner of etnies.

"Through our Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree project we are excited that everyone can come together to be a part of the solution - giving future generations the opportunity to see and experience the benefits these life-giving rainforests bring to the Earth."


Through its 2012 partnership with Trees for the Future, etnies' Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree project will empower and educate students and indigenous groups of Brazil on how to restore their lands with the tree cover that once filled their country.

Local students and native groups of São Paulo will be taught about environmental issues, how to produce tree seedlings and transplant trees. Together, these groups will plant 100,000 trees as part of the Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree project. The planting begins in March 2012.

The Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree project began in Costa Rica and throughout the course of 2011 gained enough consumer support to plant 35,000 trees on the Maleku reserve with the help from La Reserva Forest Foundation. By expanding into Brazil and partnering with Trees for the Future in 2012, etnies can continue to help reverse deforestation and protect our environment on an even larger scale.

etnies' spring 2012 collection of Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree footwear is available at retailers worldwide and at etnies.com. For more information on etnies and its Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree collection, please visit etnies.com.

Retro.

Wedgie proof in waves.

Sexy.

And Stylish....


That pretty much sums up The SEEA, anew swimwear line started by 32 year-old surfer/designer Amanda Chinchelli Greer out of San Clemente, Calif.

"I'm not 18 anymore, and I wanted something cute and functional -- something that didn't wedge and move around,and I wasn't really down with surfing naked," said Amanda of the inspiration for the line.

The designer (pictured below) who grew up half in Brazil and half in Italy learned to surf in the powerful, cold waves of San Francisco's Ocean Beach when she moved to California at 26 years old.


She relocated south to San Clemente four years later, and after getting a first-hand taste of the gentle swells and nostalgic vibe of breaks like San Onofre, she was hooked.

A fashion designer by trade (she's worked with skateboard brand Deluxe Distribution and currently designs bags for Linus Bikes), Amanda started making her own suits while going on a surf trip to Costa Rica.

Sewing a halter top to boy shorts and adding suspenders earned her a lot of looks. Random women on the beach constantly asked her to sew them a suit.

After returning home, Amanda went right to work, testing most suits and deriving a good portion of her inspiration right at San Onofre.

" I sometimes ride smaller boards, but I mostly longboard," says Amanda.

"I just love the feel of the retro-style and how Southern California must've been back in the day and the whole culture of the 1950s. Being an Italian not from here originally, it just seemed too cool, so I wanted to represent that."



Currently Amanda uses all stock fabrics (end- rolls that would otherwise end up in landfills). She manufactures all of her suits and rashguards locally in Los Angeles, California.

Watch the video or see more at www.theseea.com.



SEEA ~ lookbook from The Seea on Vimeo.

B4BC (Boarding for Breast Cancer) continues to Shred the Love throughout the winter season with onsite and online events beginning February 2012 and running through April. People everywhere are encouraged to participate in support of B4BC's breast cancer prevention and support programs as well as local non-profit beneficiaries. The campaign seeks to unite the board sports community around a love of philanthropy and an active lifestyle.

Mountain resorts, campuses and community organizers will be hosting rail jams, learn-to-ride women's clinics, live music, entertainment and fundraising activities in support of the Shred the Love campaign.

There are so many ways to support by buying B4BC merchandise or add a $1 to lift ticket or retail purchases. Additionally B4BC's Check One, Twoî traveling outreach experience will setup at select locations and provide peer-to-peer breast health education and preventative information.

Schedule of on-site fundraising and outreach events below:

February

3-4 Big Bear Winterfest - XOS Productions' Battle of the Sexes (Big Bear, Calif.)

4-5 Waterville Valley Goes Pink (Waterville, N.H.)

9 CSU-Long Beach Rail Jam (Long Beach, Calif.)

11 B4BC Board-a-thon at Holiday Valley (Ellicottville, N.Y.)

11 B4BC at Camelback (Camelback, Penn.)

12 B4BC Board-a-thon at Sno Mountain (Scranton, Penn.)

16 Cal-State San Bernardino Snow Day (San Bernardino, Calif.)

25 K2 Bumps Challenge & Paint For Peaks (Taos, N.M.)

March

3 B4BC Board-a-thon at Sugarbowl (Lake Tahoe, Calif.)
3-4 Hunter Mountain Goes Pink (Hunter, N.Y.)

4-11 U.S. Open of Snowboarding (Stratton, Vt.)

30-31 Billabong Flaunt It! Finals (Sierra-at-Tahoe, Calif.)

April

14 SCCSC Annual B4BC fundraiser (Mammoth, Calif.)

*Schedule subject to change



In the campaign's second year, Shred the Love participation has doubled in size, with singular events raising as much as $20,000, like that of Holiday Valley in 2011. New this year is Paint for Peaks in Taos, New Mexico, selected by Yahoo as one of the top 5 creative breast cancer fundraising events of the year.

Local breast health centers and cancer support organizations selected as beneficiaries by B4BC and organizers include Camp Good Days, Anita Salas Memorial Fund, Tahoe Forest Cancer Center, and the Dale & Frances Hughes Cancer Center.

Everyone is encouraged to fundraise online through the B4BC Shred the Love Fundraising page and by using the hashtag #shredthelove on Twitter. The top three online fundraisers will be announced on April 22 and will receive Shred the Love prize packs. Online funds raised will benefit the B4BC Survivorship Fund.

Shred the Love is supported by B4BC corporate partners including The North Face, Electric, Volcom, Billabong, VonZipper, Nixon, Burton and Sun Bum.

For more information and to sign up to fundraise or donate, visit www.B4BC.org.