Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Orenstein
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Wave Arcade started as a creative outlet for me when I was missing the surf while temporarily living in Salt Lake City.
The project started with a variety of graphic designs and upcycled beer koozies made from my old wetsuits.
I also stumbled across some books and papers that really got into the weeds of surfboard shaping, design, and hydrodynamics as well as the history of surfboard designs and materials. With an extensive 3D printing setup and maker’s space at the University of Utah, I began experimenting with 3D printed surfboard fins. While it’s not the fastest nor most practical way to produce fins, it sparked some more thinking. What was stopping me from experimenting with new and weird and different surf equipment?
Utah was also where inspiration for for the National Parks surf spot series came from. Like I did with surfboard fins, I sort of fell down a rabbit hole of the history of those iconic posters that were created for the National Parks via the WPA in the 30s/40s. The National Parks Surf Spots poster series was my take on that style.
Upon returning to California, I and by extension, the Wave Arcade project, had fins on my mind. It began with bamboo fins hand cut from locally grown bamboo stalks. Spoiler Alert: That’s not a good way to make a living.
The initial bamboo prototypes sparked all sorts of experimentation in handcrafted fin designs and materials.
By late 2019/early 2020, I had a retail booth at a local marketplace in Encinitas. Covid shut that down almost as soon as it was ramping up.
Facing the closure of that first retail location, lock-downs, and beach closures, I returned to some of my earlier roots with the launch and expansion of a line of surf clothing and ocean-inspired artwork.
During this period, the project was more of a creative outlet rather than my main focus. Like a surf on a warm, glassy evening, it was always refreshing to be able to return to WAVE ARCADE to take a break from my work-work activities at the time.
I was especially happy to share the National Parks/WPA-inspired surf spot poster series.
Today, that series has become one of the primary focuses of WAVE ARCADE and features over 50 different surf spots (and growing) in the iconic style of the National Parks posters. They’re available in a variety of sizes and styles on posters, canvas, and other products on WaveArcade.com and the Etsy shop. A handful of local spots are also available at the Gallery at Land’s End in Pacific Beach.
I’ve shipped posters all around the world to individuals, charity events, corporate offices, and restaurants.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Wave Arcade has taken tons of twists and turns since the beginning.
When I moved back to San Diego after being in Salt Lake City for a few years, I decided to quit my job in digital marketing to dive head first into making surfboard fins.
I had absolutely no clue what that would involve, so each day brought along something new and unknown. From trying to harvest and process bamboo plywood myself, to pissing off my neighbors with all the noise, to scrambling to find a workspace, to finishing a full run of fins only to realize a major design flaw – there were all sorts of obstacles along the way.
Just when I felt like I was finding my groove, COVID hit and the project seemed completely derailed. I was fortunate to be able to pivot into some other things during that time, but it took me a while to shift Wave Arcade into the art and design project that it is today.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Wave Arcade is best known for its National Parks Surf Spot series.
In this series I create surf spot posters in the style of the iconic serigraphs that were designed by WPA artists in the 30s/40s.
While there are certainly tons of other options out there when it comes to travel posters and even surf spot posters, I think I’ve done a good job at capturing the nostalgic classic feel of the WPA prints through the colors pallets I use, the fonts I designed for the series, and my hand-drawn lines.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My wife has been by biggest supporter. We’ve been together since college, and she was what brought me out to Utah while she was going back to school. When I told her I wanted to quit my job and make surfboard fins she didn’t even hesitate to root for and support me. If I didn’t have her support and encouragement, that first leap would have been much harder to make.
Pricing:
- Prints available in a variety of sizes from $35 to $60.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wavearcade.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wave_arcade/
- Other: https://wavearcadeart.etsy.com/
