I grew up in Pensacola beach, Florida. Years ago my mother told me that the first time she brought me to the beach, I flopped down onto the sand and starting licking it up like an ice cream cone. (My enthusiasm has not wavered, though I tend to eat less sand these days)

Throughout my childhood I was always drawing these little peanut shaped animal characters. I loved living in Florida but after hurricane Katrina my family relocated to central Texas. It was a difficult transition and somewhere along the way I stopped drawing altogether. I was absolutely depressed and desperate to live near the ocean again.

At 20 years old I sold everything I owned and moved to Hawaii where everything changed. I was incredibly lucky to be welcomed into the local surf community by people who saw my determination in the water long before I had any real skill. Surfing brought joy back into my life and slowly the little peanut characters I'd loved drawing as a kid began to reappear. This time they had surfboards, sunburns and big personalities. It felt like they had been waiting for me to find them again.

Over time those characters became the SurfJoy cast. What started as a handful of illustrations has grown into an expanding creative universe that lives across apparel, books, and design.

At its heart, SurfJoy is about belonging.

The characters are an allegory; a collection of quirky creatures from different places learning how to live together, find community, and navigate the challenges of calling Hawai'i home. Through humor, Aloha, and a healthy dose of beach adventures these stories celebrate the many perspectives and experiences that make Hawai'i such a special place.

But the vision doesn't stop there...

I hope to grow SurfJoy into an animated show run by an independent creative studio where talented artists, writers, and story tellers build this universe together. I believe the best stories are created by passionate teams and I aspire to make SurfJoy a place where artists can make meaningful work while celebrating in its achievements.

Every order supports new artwork, future animation, and the long-term dream of building the SurfJoy Universe into something much bigger than one artist could create alone. Meet our current team here!

Giving back: I am excited to share that 10% of proceeds are donated to local non profit Ourspace Hawaii. OurSpace is a community makerspace that supports Oahu creatives to thrive.

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