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We Go Tandem! F/W 2013

“We go tandem with the people around us. We share an idea, we congratulate, we push each other.
We share the stoke of landing our first kickflip with a high-five.
We gain courage to climb the cables of half-dome with a held hand.
We go tandem with Sheri the barista, Glenn the bartender, Sam the baker next door… In tandem we collaborate our minds and tap into ideas that come from our souls.
How do you go tandem?”

After many months of sore hands and much anticipation, we're proud to launch our brand new collection for Fall/Winter 2013, Tandem!

The line is inspired by the power of togetherness and how people in the MapleXO crew’s daily lives have impacted their designs.

Two of our favorite pieces from the collection are collaborations with some of our favorite local artisans and friends:

“Screw Turners” - A recycled skateboard handled screwdriver set made in collaboration with Portland woodworker Jim Haas.


“Machete Necklace” - A recycled skateboard handled mini-machete necklace made from brass or copper in collaboration with Portland artist Anna Evans.


“The same way we owe credit to skateboarding for each piece we make, we owe credit to the people who surround us for their influence in our designs,” says Lindsay Jo Holmes, “These people are catalysts, helping us turn our simple thoughts into incredible things.” 

All 12 of the new pieces from Tandem are the product of everyday collaborations with our comrades and colleagues.

A full online version of the lookbook can be viewed HERE or on instagram @wegotandem



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MapleXO is a recycled skateboard jewelry & accessories company made up of skateboarders out of Portland, OR USA. Founded by Lindsay Jo Holmes in 2006, MapleXO is currently sold in over 50 stores worldwide. In 2010, MapleXO began working with PS Stix skateboard manufacturer to recycle the industrial waste of skateboard manufacturing in addition to the post consumer waste and is constantly adding to its line of products that now includes house wares and furniture.
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OMSI Maker's Faire: September 14th+15th

The wonderful folks at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) asked us to scribble up a little blurb for their blog as their annual Maker's Faire approaches. It can be viewed HERE

We are very excited to have been invited back for this year's event. Seeing all the excited youngsters is probably as motivating for us as it is for them. They're the future, and we're honored to be given the opportunity to inspire and push them toward a creative path in life. But don't let us forget the "grown ups" who'll be in attendance; they're the ones who were eagerly bouncing from booth to booth as a child at similar festivals ten, twenty, thirty years ago... the ones who helped ensure that these gatherings kept happening, generation after generation. Bottom line: Come out and say hi to us in our booth at the OMSI Maker's Faire this September 14th and 15th!

 

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SkateBacks Material

We went to the PS Stix factory to get hands on with our project of recycling the industrial waste of skateboard manufacturing. 
Paul Schmitt breaks it down for us in this video clip... 

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SkateBack for your iPhone!

The wait is OVER!!

It's finally time to announce our exciting collaboration with our friends at Grove! 

We made a SkateBack for your iPhone 4 and 4S from recycled industrial skateboard waste!!

Each week, one skateboard factory produces enough waste material to fill a city bus. By teaming up with Grove, we’re using this material to create a 100% post-industrial material product for the iPhone 4 and 4S.



At approximately 1/16 of an inch thick, SkateBacks protect the iPhone from damage while coupling the sleek Apple design with classic skateboard aesthetic. Unique is an understatement. Our SkateBacks are made at Grove’s workshop here in Portland, OR, with a combination of high-tech machinery and good old-fashioned handiwork. Three general color types are available to choose from: Calm, Neutral, or Vibrant. However, each SkateBack is as singular as a snowflake - no two are exactly alike! 


Material Sourcing

The SkateBack evolution works like this: from raw skateboard waste at the PS Stix factory, to eye-catching ply with us at MapleXO, and finally to cell phone accessory at Grove. PS Stix owner Paul Schmitt, of Costa Mesa, CA, has been manufacturing skateboards for nearly three decades. His company makes more than 4,000 skateboards a day, 200 per hour, that’s more than three per minute. We've been working with Schmitt on recycling his waste for years. 



Working with Grove to make these SkateBacks has been a great way to jumpstart our next big projects in the works with recycling industrial skateboard waste. This is really just the beginning! -Lindsay Jo 

Only $49... get yours now! Get all three while you're at it! 

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AndrewJive.com

He's at it again!

Andy's, of AndrewJive.com, been in the MapleXO woodshop all week (literally... like, he doesn't sleep!) working on a stop motion video with MapleXO pieces!

I can't wait to see the whole thing... here's a little sneak peek!





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Recycled Skateboard Bracelets

People Magazine just featured our recycled skateboard bracelets "bangles" in their 2011 Holiday Gift Guide section of their current issue!!!


So stoked to see these pieces created by our hands in our dusty little wood-shop in Portland, make it into the pages of a magazine that reaches the hands of 3.75 million people per issue!

Get your recycled skateboard bracelets here !!!


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Launching MXO:raw

It's finally available! Our new line, MXO:raw!

   


We've been hard at work creating this line for the past year and are so happy with how it turned out. To give you an inside scoop of all that went into making this line... I thought I'd share the story:

Of course it started with collecting tons of decommissioned boards to deconstruct. 


We spent months prototyping new product ideas and experimenting with pieces of skateboards.

 (<--- Spencer and Brent, hard at work)

We got our vision for the line and put some real blood sweat and tears into it making the products. Literally!

 (<--- intern becky // aka:b-rex)

With our vision for MXO:raw figured out and the products for the line taking form, we redesigned our workshop to get us better set up for production.

 (<--- me and B-rex)

We teamed up with Jason Ehlers to start the leather work and had a blast working with him in every step of designing these pieces. (Thanks Brent for connecting us with Ehlers!)

 

To test out our new designs and to also celebrate the beginning of this new line, we had a pre-launch pop-up-shop at the Breeze Block Gallery in Portland, OR. It was a blast and tons of people came out! (thanks Paige for hosting the event!)



Now it was time to get the line photographed, cataloged, and ready to show off as a completed, perfected collection.

Luckily we know some hot babes that were down to get photographed to show off our wears.


And finally after hours and hours editing the new lookbook at various Portland coffee shops  (my favorites being Heart Roasters, and the Detour Cafe), the line was finally finished!

And with that... we give you MXO:raw


Get yours favorite pieces here!

Thanks for helping us save skateboards from the landfill!

xo!

Lindsay Jo

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