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Beck Hickey
Hailing from Manhattan by way of Long Island, Beck Hickey has the kind of dry East Coast wit you wish you had. Standing about 5’3” tall, Beck opens the door to her Westside apartment/workspace on a recent autumn afternoon to let me, the photographer known as Boogie, in. We’re there to take photos and ask a few questions about her craft, her involvement as an Element Eden Advocate, her company Beck(y) and her line of high-quality handbags, belts, and clutches called Sk8bags. Besides the quality, what makes her work unique is the fact it’s made from material and artwork from “loved” skate decks – and no two are alike. Showing us how she works with drills, and large, deafening, and, yes, very sharp table saws, she also sat down to tell us how her craft and her chance to make a difference came to be.
Tell how you first started making Sk8bags and what inspired you?
I had just gotten fired from a new waitressing job and had gone to see a movie. It was [the movie] Irreversible and I left feeling totally inspired. I walked around and ended up at the Prada store in Soho and the entrance reminded me of a skate ramp (I remember wondering why no one had ever busted in and skated it). I was downstairs looking at some small (very expensive and very beautiful) satin handbags they had and suddenly I had a thought to make bags out of old decks. I wanted to combine the old deck with something very polished like satin
Did you think then that it would be something that was entirely possible? Or just something that could be cool?
I had no idea if it was possible at all but in my mind it looked totally cool! I went online and stopped into a couple skate shops to try and find an old, beat-up deck. Steve from 5boro gave me a few of his old decks to mess around with and my friend who is a carpenter helped me cut them up. I sewed the first bags myself and when it came together it was even better than I pictured in my head! I was so excited to see it as a reality.
Did he show you how to use the saws or did you cut the first ones with a handsaw? Did you have to work up to the crazy table saws you have now?
My friend had all kinds of crazy tools in his workshop, so I took what he showed me and tested out some other ways to make them. My dad is pretty good at woodworking too, so he helped me get the right setup. It's been an evolution, finding the best materials and best tools along the way.
How long ago did you make your first Sk8bag?
Three years ago, almost exactly.
So you've had some major successes and it's really taken off in three years, don't you think? Or is this the way you saw it all?
No way, I never thought this would happen! It’s been surprisingly easy in the sense that so many people have been stoked on the idea and have helped me along the way.
How did that happen and what do you think it is about your bags?
People love them because they’re original, because they’re recycled and also because the boards the bags are made from carry a history with them I think. So many people have the “Damn I wish I’d thought of that!” reaction to them. And I've never seen guys get so excited over a purse before!
That’s awesome. So, going back to when you first started making bags…did you always sew or why did you first start making handbags in general?
I’ve always made things. Sewing, building, crafting – whatever. I like to always be busy. I was laid off from my advertising job right before Christmas '01 and felt like I should make gifts that year. I made handbags for my sister and my best friend and they were totally different, made from denim and upholstery fabric. They got a really great reaction...wait, I just realized I’m always getting fired when these thing happen! Someone asked me once in an interview where art comes from...I said for me it comes from frustration. Plus when I’m working with my hands it frees my mind to work out other stuff. I'm not necessarily thinking about what I’m working on.
Creativity is a lucky reaction to getting fired! So, you also work in art direction and graphic design. Does that help your work on the bags or does is it a total challenge to do both?
The art direction helps I think for the most part. My background is in advertising so when we create ads we think of the concept first and then design the ad. When I design bags I approach it the same way. What's the concept I’m going for and then the design follows. So I guess I want all my stuff to have a bit of a story. I am also used to working collaboratively with other people so I try to incorporate that when I can.
Who are some of the people you've had a chance to work with?
Oh man, I put together the artist series last year so I worked with 38 AMAZING artists on that. It was so incredibly rewarding. I thought I’d get like ten people to want to be involved and then ended up turning people away at the end!
What was that event? Gimme a little background.
It was called the 50/50 Auction. We had a gallery show and auction in Culver City at the Lab 101 gallery and another in NYC at the Powerhouse Gallery. The artists painted full decks which I photographed before I cut them. Then I cut them and made bags from each board and re-photographed them so you could see how the art changed as the context changed. All money raised went to Adaptive Action Sports (AAS), which helps kids and teens with disabilities stay involved in action sports. I put it together with the help of Chris Hull at Vapors magazine and Chris Pastras. Stereo and Etnies as well as Vapors were sponsors. It took a year to pull the whole thing together.
What was your favorite piece if you had to choose?
Hmm. Well, I bid on and won Sam Flores’s bag. I love his work.
What other charities have you been involved with? What inspires you to give back like you do?
I have the “Boards For Bowls” program, which is something I set up to help encourage people to send me their decks. For each board I get, I donate money to help build public skate parks. I mostly give to The Tony Hawk Foundation, but also Elemental Awareness. At first it was mostly a way to get boards, but then once I started giving and seeing how much it really helps, it became much more than that. It was also a way to give back because I feel like I’ve been given so much help and encouragement through this whole process. I’m hopefully going to help AAS with another fundraiser/art show in the next few months.
You’re also an Element Eden Advocate. What do you like about the program?
There are so many good parts…the other advocates are so talented and seem so cool that to be a part of that group will keep me working and inspired. The fact that Element is taking its marketing and advertising opportunities and using them to positively influence and inspire girls is a great thing. I’m just so flattered to have been asked, I am so entrenched in the day to day that when something like this comes along it reminds me that I’m working on something kind of cool and I get to stop and enjoy it for a minute.
To purchase your own Sk8 bag, go to beckycity.com
