My name is Abby Ahlgrim and I am the creator behind Surf Gems! I started this project during quarantine while falling deeply in love with surfing. I was one of the lucky ones. I spent every day in the ocean, and much of the time that I wasn’t in the water I was hanging around with the boys at Richmond Fiberglass in Morro Bay – where they make surfboards. I even got to collaborate on my own board, and glassed in dried flowers I had collected!

I am an artist, my background is in sustainability studies, and I love to express myself through vibrant colors.

As I became familiar with the process of making boards – and saw all of the waste – I was inspired to do craft something beautiful from the striking colors and psychedelic swirls.

As many surfers know, and certainly all of those in proximity to the production of surfboards: the process of making boards is an incredibly wasteful juxtaposition to the nature-loving-ocean-protecting water people of the surfing community. Although there are some alternatives and ways to rethink and redesign surfboard making, the reality is that most boards are, and will continue to be made with synthetic materials that produce wasteful byproducts.