A R T B L E N D E R // ERIC WOLLAM
H
idden on the edge of Los Angeles, California, Eric Wollam has been giving life to the art direction at Almost Skateboards [almostawebsite.com] since 2004. Originally from Fremont, Ohio (just east of Toledo), Eric eventually made his way down to Southern California, as many skateboarders do. From 1994 to 1997 he took Art and Design at the University of Cincinnati, and during that time he also art directed the now-defunct Strength Magazine. A job with Dub Outerwear
and Droors Clothing is what brought Eric to the Los Angeles area in 1999. After Dwindle Distribution sold off Dub and Droors he transitioned over to Almost, and his tenure there brought about some of the most humorous and sarcastic graphics in skateboarding. The mixture of collage, found images, drawings, solid graphic elements and Chris Haslam’s beard give the brand a loose and silly view of life. Eric also enjoys the ability to sit with the team guys, like Haslam and Daewon Song, in order to push the conceptual bounds of good
taste. However, half of what they come up with is a bit too ridiculous to go into production. Along with his day job working for Almost, Eric takes advantage of his location and gets out to do a variety of art shows, some skateboarding at the Stoner and Venice skateparks, motorcycling up the Pacific Coast Highway and attempting to surf the murky waters of Venice Beach. He pretty much has an almost perfect life going on. —Randy Laybourne
ALMOST skateboards clockwise from top left:
“Wolly Mammoth” tee “Double Take” tee “Chokin’ The Chicken” deck “Accidental Text Death” deck “Marnell Fingering” deck “Mullen Fingering” deck “Haslam Fitness” deck “Cooper Fitness” deck “Cooper Fruit Face” deck “Haslam Fruit Face” deck “Marnell Fruit Face” deck “Trashed Face” tee Cheese & Crackers box-art “When Eric does overtime, rainbows can be seen at night. His penmanship alone impregnates woman. He can teach horses to sit cross-legged. When he does stalefishes, it’s tough not to thank him. He’s worked every day for eight years just so he could say he did.” —Chris Haslam
visit concreteskateboarding.com to download art blender wallpapers for your computer and iphone.
wollaminated.com
“Paris Indian” by Eric Wollam, created exclusively for Concrete Skateboarding. 22
Concrete skateboarding