Seea - Seeababes

Surf Souvenirs and Memories with Yuko Shimajiri

2013-05-18T11:24:00-07:00

Yuko Shimajiri at work: in the water and at her store. The stripes are right!

Yuko surfing in the Seea Malibu suit, a very popular style in Japan.

We are continuing our virtual tour of the Japanese surf scene and surfers this month with the introduction of Yuko Shimajiri. Yuko's classic longboard style has won her many contests, one of which introduced her to a friendship with the late Donald Takayama. Surfing has taken her around the world and she opened her store BONS: Casa de Verano in Japan to share her favorite new and interesting discoveries with friends at home.

The name "Bons" comes from the French word bon that means "good," and is also a shortened version of her blog, Bon Bon Surf. Casa de Verano means “summer house” in Spanish. Sipping coffee and watching surf movies projected on the store wall after dawn patrol... sounds like a sublime place to be right now! We talked to Yuko about some of her favorite surfing memories and what its like having a surf shop in Japan.

What is one of your favorite surf memories?

Looking back, one of my favorite memories was early on in my surfing life. I have always liked the classic style of surfing, so I was very excited to meet Donald Takayama in 1999 when he came to Japan to be a guest judge at a contest. There was an autograph signing for Donald the day before, so I went to meet him. Someone brought an Indo board to the signing, and we were all playing around on it. Donald said to me “You can’t surf that.” I told him to watch me in the contest the next day, and I did very well. After the contest, Donald asked me to ride for his team. Three weeks later, I came to California to surf with Donald, and had my very first session at San Onofre. I will never forget that trip.

What are the pleasures you get from surfing?

Whatever situation you are in, if you go to the ocean, you can reset and cleanse yourself. All of the stress melts away.

A look inside Bons Japan

You recently opened your own store, BONS. What has been the most difficult thing about starting the business?

It was very difficult to choose where to open the store, and to decide what type of store BONS would be. Naturally, I wanted to sell surfboards, but there are already plenty of surf stores near the beaches in Japan, which are already competitive and not very welcoming of newcomers.

I also thought about opening a store in Tokyo, but with an urban location, surfing would have been less involved, and in the end, I don’t enjoy the city enough to build my future there. After much thought, I chose a location close to the beach, but on the way back to the city. It’s the perfect combination. I can relax and be myself, and customers from both the beach and the city enjoy stopping by.

BONS also has a coffee shop inside the store. Did you do that to create a sense of community there?

Yes, that was definitely one reason, but I love to see my friends, and I wanted them to feel welcome to stop by the store to relax and visit, without feeling the pressure to buy something. I wanted a place to feature the surfboards and clothing that I enjoy, but also to create a gathering point for the people who I enjoy.

We spy Seea :)

How do women react to Seea when they see it in your store?

Many times when a new customer visits the store, Seea will be the first thing they pick up. “What are these?” they ask. “Is this a wetsuit or a swimsuit?” They are all very curious to find out. Many women who have already heard of Seea want to try them on to see how they fit, as not all swimsuit styles work well for Japanese girls.

What style has been the most popular?

The Malibu is the best! It is beautiful to wear by itself, but it looks pretty with a jacket as well. The style is very flattering for Japanese women, so the suits sold very well.

What is your favorite place to visit in California?

San Francisco is my favorite city, and I always make a trip to surf in Santa Cruz when I’m there. I also love surfing Cardiff Reef. It’s one of my favorite places in the world.

Yuko braving chillier waters.

Sunshine Stories

2012-05-18T08:41:00-07:00

***Be aware that this photos will make you dream, smile and book the next flight to Nicaragua!***

Introducing pretty Seeababes Linn Lundgren from Sunshinestories and Margaret Yao Calvani from Bing Surfboards.

We couldn't not re-post these magic shots from Linn and Peter's blog - They represent everything that Seea is about: surf, fun and lots of smiles!

"Jules Schools" Special Guest Julie Cox on Women's Surf History

2011-12-23T11:08:00-08:00

We are proud to introduce our latest contributor, Seeababe Julie Cox, who will be schooling us all regularly on surf history from here on out. Well qualified to do so, Julie is the Operations Manager at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, is a former professional surfer herself, and played an integral role in creating the highly successful WOW (Women on Waves) exhibit, featured at the museum last year.

photo Foam magazine

To start, tell us a little about your own surf history.

I fell in love with surfing around the age of 8, though I wasn't surfing regularly until about age 16 (after I got my driver's license!). Before I could drive, my mom would take me, or I'd catch a ride to the beach with my neighbors, the Colling's Family. I enrolled in the Jr. Lifeguard program at Leo Carrillo State Beach one summer, and went every summer after that. I loved the challenge, freedom and feeling that surfing gave me. Plus, I was meeting such interesting people at the beach, I was totally hooked.

After high school, I went to college at UC Santa Cruz where I surfed, traveled up and down the coast doing contests and also traveled internationally, while pursuing my degree. I was sponsored by Roxy and also taught at Las Olas Surf Safaris for women down in Mainland, Mexico. I started putting my creative side to work in 2005, when my shaper Jed Noll and I decided to create a line of women's specific surfboards called the "Jule Collection". I simply loved being involved with surfing in any way I could and continued to find opportunities to keep up with my passion. Though I stepped away from competition recently for the sake of mixing it up, I still surf regularly and am surrounded by surfing all day long at the California Surf Museum, where I work.

Julie styling - photo Lorene Carpentier

Let's talk about the popular Women on Waves exhibit. What part did you play in creating it?

My role was to research and write the manuscript for the "1990s to today" segment, and to gather artifacts to go with it (boards, wetsuits, bathing suits, trophies, photos, etc.) I also helped install the exhibit and had the pleasure of organizing events and led many tours of the exhibit itself. WOW was an amazing accomplishment. Currently, I am working with my team on publishing a book of the exhibit. It ran for 1 year and was a huge team labor of love. My favorite part of the whole process was meeting these amazing women and learning about their incredible lives.

WOW Exhibit - Photo- California Surf Museum

Which movements in women's surf history inspired you the most?

For me, the most obvious movement that inspired me was Lisa Andersen in the mid 1990s. Seeing advertisements of Lisa in the male dominated surf magazines gave me inspiration that girls could surf. Those were empowering ads and she was leading a whole new generation of surfer girls, like me. Now that I've learned more about the history of women's surfing, there are a handful of movements that really inspire me.

Lisa Andersen - Photo Jeff Divine

If you could go back in time to surf, what era would you choose & who would you take along?

Hmm... It would have been fun to surf Malibu in the early 1950s, before the Gidget boom. I would take Rell Sunn with me. I would have loved to meet her and hang with her.

photo Malibu Beach News

Who is the most inspiring woman surfer you've met, from the past or present?

So many of the girlfriends I grew up with are inspiring... I could go on an on, but while working at the museum, I would have to say that Marge Calhoun and Donna Matson are incredibly inspiring. Keala Kennelly too...

Marge Calhoun - source unknown

You recently did some modeling for the new Seea catalog. What is your favorite suit??

I love the Malibu suit! It's a bit "Tom Boy", which is more my style :)

Julie at San'O, Seea photo shoot - photo Aaron Checkwood

We've come a long way since the video below of PV Cove in the 40's, but retro suits are still the coolest!! Keep on the look out for more posts and fun filled surf history soon. School is out! Thanks Jules!