Welcome to two for Tuesday.
Jason Celaya started Welcome in 2010 with the goal of making functional decks that weren't the same as the standard popsicle shape. He wanted something that you could do tricks on that wasn't a cruiser or an old school board. The graphics are the other big difference about Welcome. They look nothing like the name in a big font paired with a logo that seems to be plaguing the never ending batches of seasonal drops. There's a heavy influence of Chris Miller and Neil Blender with what goes on these boards, but it feels inspired by what they did for G & S and Schmitt Stix back in the in day and not flat out copying their artistic efforts.
Nora Vasconcellos is from Pembroke, Massachusetts and shreds all sorts of transitions. She also rides for Bones Wheels and Converse.
The photo of Nora is by Matt Price.
Boards: Thrasher - June 2014 Volume 34 Number 6
Nora: Thrasher - March 2015 Volume 35 Number 3
6 comments:
An interview with Jason:
http://theboardr.com/post/Welcome_Skateboards_Interview_Jason_Celaya
Fuck, she rips. I saw Nora at this skatepark near my house in Hingham Massachusetts a few years ago. I don't really keep up with anybody around who skates and I'm busy, etc.... I just go to the park a few times a month to shred the bowl. Hey I'm 40yrs old... What do you expect. Anyway, I thought I was losing my mind. I usually don't even talk to anybody there... I'm pretty introverted. But I saw this young girl shredding the fuck outta everything and I thought that was just like the average teenage skate chick nowadays. I was tripping... A little depressed even! Later on I was actually talking to this other dude and he's all "oh yeah... That's Nora, she's like in the x games and shit. Don't feel too bad." Hahaha. Man, times have changed. I could barely find somebody to skate with at all as a teenage kid in suburban Massachusetts and now towns like pembroke are churning out these creatures! Crazy.
Chris Miller clearly thought they were inspired by him too.
http://theskateboardmag.com/welcome-skateboards-chris-miller/
I adore Nora for her skating first and foremost, but also for her persona. There's a little Gonz or Blender in there, from the sense of humor to the illustrations to the rad skating.
What bums me to no end is that, despite that ad in this post, she is neither listed on the Welcome site nor (as best as I can tell) officially sponsored by the brand. I've posed the question-- politely, but directly-- to Welcome via their facebook page and found my comment deleted and my profile banned from posting on the page. I *want* to like Welcome so much, but the whole situation stinks. I find myself wishing that Nora would hop over to Meow since she's often out with that crew in youtube edits and instagram pics. (Meow could use a good transition rider, too.)
That's a downer. Since the ad came out in March, I figured it was just them being slow in updating the website. They did care enough to spend money on a print advertisement with her so maybe this will work out for the best.
I just read the interview with Jason Celaya from thebordr.com you linked in the first comment, and he mentions Nora amongst the "not so much a team, more so a group of friends" when the interviewer asks who's on the Welcome team. That said, IMO Welcome's website team section-- which calls Mango et al their "Team", not "Group of Friends"-- is more definitive than an off-the-cuff remark in an interview. Like you said, maybe it'll work out for the best.
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