Owner of Sawyer Land & Sea Supply, Stacy Forrester. |
Owner of Sawyer Land & Sea Supply, Stacy Forrester. |
Entrance to the shop. A lot of the wood used in the shop was made from reclaimed fences in Santa Cruz. |
Old roll-top door and open air at the Sawyer storefront. |
Thomas Campbell art and books for sale and Verve coffee from Santa Cruz. |
Board display. Sawyer stocks boards by local shapers Ashley Lloyd and Travis Reynolds. |
Seea table! |
Inside the shop. |
Julie works on her cross step, somewhere in Mexico. |
Julie works on her cross step, somewhere in Mexico. |
As a young veteran of the surf community, most women (and men) surfers cross paths with Julie Cox sooner or later. She’s been a dedicated local in the waters of southern California, a former professional surfer for Roxy in the mid 2000s, an instructor for Las Olas Surf Safaris in mainland Mexico and researched surf legends as operations manager at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside—which is where we first met her.
The next place you might see Julie is up in Northern California. She lived up there during the time she was pursuing a degree at UC Santa Cruz and traveling to compete in surf contests, and has recently returned to the bay area to be the manager/buyer of Mollusk in San Francisco. She is also Seea's Northern California sales rep.
We talked to Julie back when she was studying women’s surf history for the “Women and the Waves” exhibit at the California Surf Museum. This time, we had a conversation with Julie about women’s surfing in the current era and her new adventures in San Francisco.
Shown left, Julie with Ashley Lloyd Thompson at the Logjam in Santa Cruz. Congrats to Julie for taking 2nd place and Ashley for taking 1st. |
Last year, I decided it was time to move away from Oceanside and explore the San Francisco Bay Area. I thought Mollusk would be a good fit and a good landing place for me. Thankfully, the owner did too and created some room for me within the company. Mollusk is similar to the museum in a lot of ways, but at Mollusk my job is pretty focused on a few things, whereas at the museum, I did a little of everything.
It feels great to be back in the Bay Area. It feels right to be around the stunning natural beauty, the amazing restaurants, the progressive and artistic culture; the most sustainable city in the USA. I felt like I was ready to grow more and had always wanted to live up here. Timing felt right to take the plunge.
I have surrounded myself with surfing for a long time, in many different types of jobs, but it comes down to being surrounded by good people. I feel lucky to have surfing be a part of my career path.
Angles and colors, Julie finds a photogenic spot to sit. |
I look up to Ashley Lloyd because she is a great surfer, great shaper, great human. Bev Sanders (founder of Las Olas Surf Safaris for women) has always been supportive of me and of women learning to surf. Both of those women are putting such positive energy into surfing and women's surfing. Jeannette Prince is also really fabulous. She surfs great, is super creative, and has stayed stoked on surfing throughout her life it seems.... Donna Matson is another early lesser-known pioneer. She is a mentor to me because she has lived life on her own terms and has amazing stories about surfing, sailing, scuba and her business (Western Instructional Television).
I think there are many more women surfers now and Lisa Andersen, along with the surf industry's women's lines, have helped inspire more women to get in the water in the 1990s. I used to know just about every girl in the line-up, but now I don't. There are so many! It is rad.
Jed and I created the Jule Collection to help support women in surfing and give them some fun options for boards made with women in mind. Dimensions are created based on my surfing, Jed's shaping experience, and also my experience teaching women how to surf. We make boards for a variety of conditions, body types and surfing styles. Guys like the Jule boards too, but our marketing and esthetics are focused on the women.
Women are really stoked on the Seea suits because they are so cute, the styles are refreshing, and they are functional. I hear that some women are looking for more surf buddies to go surfing with. I think we are more social and want that camaraderie and support.
The surf culture is different up here for sure. The Santa Cruz surf culture is thriving and strong, but in SF it is more low key. There is just less surf industry, fewer stickers on cars—that kind of thing.
But the surfers up here charge! The waves are bigger and gnarlier and surfers are as dedicated and stoked. There are so many waves up here and lots of adventure to be had.
Julie in the Hermosa brown shell/navy. |
Julie inside Mollusk San Francisco. |
Considering that some of the original ideas behind Seea were actually inspired by a visit to the museum itself, (See our previous post on Julie Cox and the Woman on Waves exhibit), things really start to make sense. It's a great feel-good story, and a tribute to the importance of the CSM, and it's ability to inspire others to look at their history and create something fresh and new.
We love Julie, but then again - who doesn't? We are thankful and humbled by her support! |
Our busy handyman whipped out another custom display - this old house siding gets a new life! |
And away it goes! |
Vintage suits from Seea, a nice Ukulele & some postcards. What else do you need to remember your visit to Oceanside? |
The Museum's own Todd Quinn showed up early and lent a hand with the installation. Thanks Todd! |
With an eye on the past, Seea pulls from our history as women surfers, and seeks to create beautiful, fun suits - A modern expression of the classic joy of surfing, tailor made for the women of today. We are excited to announce Seea's arrival at the museum, and are filled with stoke as Seea comes full circle: From inspiration to presentation, truly we have Julie and the CSM to thank!!
]]>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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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 :)
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!