Come hang out at the Drifter Bali Surf Shop! Photo by Keegan Gibbs.

Time and time again, we’ve heard through the coconut wireless that Seea’s coolest and enthusiastic fans in the Southern Hemisphere discovered us at Drifter Surf Shop in Bali. We’re honored that the stylish women behind Drifter Bali chose Seea to be a part of their brand family and we've felt their positive surf community stoke reverberating through our Bali-traveler friends all the way to California. Let’s say that if we lived in Bali, it would be our first stop to stock up on wax, pick up our morning freshly ground coffee (or wheat grass shots, fresh juice, smoothies or milkshakes) and baked treats fresh out of the oven before hitting the beach.

The creators of Drifter Bali, Tim Russo and Jake MacKenzie opened the shop in 2009 in Seminyak Bali, an area known for good restaurants and boutiques that’s also close to the beach. Drifter Bali wanted to bring an independent spirit amongst the corporate surf labels that ruled the real estate in Bali. “They wanted to create a space that would put the soul back into surfing,” Seewah Russo, wife of Tim Russo says on behalf of the creators.

Inside Drifter Bali. Photo by Keegan Gibbs.

The women’s section came out in 2011, with the help of Tim and Jake’s significant others, Seewah Russo and Vanessa Mackenzie, who have an awesome time together selecting their favorite swim and surf lifestyle brands for the ocean loving ladies of the island. The coffee shop also opened that same year.

We caught up with the Drifter Surf Shop creators to talk more about the origins of Drifter Surf Shop Bali and why Bali is a true slice of heaven on earth.

What is the concept of the store?

Drifter is all about representing and housing the independent works of those that are redefining a culture and generation. Honoring the legends of the past who have laid the foundations and who have given us the inspiration.

We aim to represent a side of the surf culture not marketed to the masses: brands based on creativity as their core foundation; brands that honor surfing for surfing; and unconditional fun and freethinking.

Drifter is a place to chill and appreciate the clothing, the large library of hand selected books, artwork, surfboards, the myriad of memorabilia that we collect, and our freshly ground espresso.

Maintaining a focus on quality, style and simplicity... Drifter encapsulates the feeling and provokes memories of the roots in what we love to do so much: surfing.

Outside the Drifter Bali shop in Seminyak. Photo by Keegan Gibbs.

What are some of the stories behind the decorations within the shop?

We are lucky to be in Indonesia where we can source beautiful antique furniture. We have a really skilled team of builders and wood carvers who can turn salvaged hard woods into beautiful displays. And we love collecting old surf memorabilia that brings us back to another time. The shop is true to the kind of places we like to hang in — chilled out, rootsy, and heaps of good vibes.

Chill out with a book, or just oogle the surfboards. Photos by Keegan Gibbs.

We are a fan of any place that has ukeleles and succulent gardens in the same space. Photos by Keegan Gibbs.

For the women's section in particular, what kind of brands do you look for and why?

We live in our bikinis here so we know the importance of quality swimwear. We are always looking for amazing cuts from our favorite boutique swimwear designers and we love independent brands like Seea with truly unique designs that look amazing on and can totally function in the surf as well.

How do you describe the surfer women you see shopping at Drifter?

Adventurous, salty haired sea gypsies!

Recently at the Byron Bay Surf Festival, from left Seeababe Chrystal Fitzgerald with Seewah Russo and Vanessa Mackenzie, women's buyers for Drifter Bali.

What is the area's personality and culture of the people who live in Seminyak, where Drifter Bali is located? 

Seminyak is busy with an interesting mix of travelers and expats from around the world. I think most expats can wake up here, jump in the ocean, crack open a fresh coconut and realize how lucky they are to be in living in Bali. Just respect the locals! The Balinese believe in magic and karma rules. You get what you give.

Order up at the coffee bar. Photo by Keegan Gibbs.

Where are the nearest places that you surf?

There’s basically a wave at almost every beach on the southern east and west coasts of Bali. There’s waves for everyone here from logging at Old Man’s to pulling out the guns at Uluwatu.

What do you think is special about the global surf community in Bali?

Surfers in Bali really do come from everywhere and are lucky to be so warmly welcomed by the locals here since surfers first started coming to this island.

What about the women's surf community — how is it special or different than in other parts of the world?

Bali is such a creative hub for artists, designers and women surfers and ocean lovers. This is an inspiring island and many dreams and ideas are shaped here. We’ve seen some beautiful swim and surf labels come out of Bali from women in the surf community. There’s also some wonderfully talented people from this country skilled in different crafts and trades who can really help to bring a designer’s sketches to life.

MORNING GLASS at Uluwatu

A photo posted by Drifter Surf Shop (@drifterbali) on Jun 6, 2014 at 4:38pm PDT

present day #Uluwatu is in stark contrast to the images that inspired us all to come here from the early 70's. @projectcleanuluwatu is working hard to keep the river valley, cave, beach, surf and reef clean and free of solid and liquid wastes. please follow them and find a way to support them! thanks @jake_illing for the pic.

A photo posted by Uluwatu Surf Villas (@uluwatusurfvillas) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:31am PST

How has Bali changed since you have been there? Is that for the better or worse?

Bali has changed a lot since I’ve been here for the last five years. Tim has seen even more change as he’s been coming here for almost 20 years. Sometimes I can’t believe how quickly changes seem to happen just overnight. We love listening to stories about Bali in the '70’s when the pioneers surfed Uluwatu or Padang Padang for the first time.

Bali is now an increasingly popular destination at the moment with a newly built airport and returning and first time tourists arriving hourly. There will definitely need to be improvements to the infrastructure to support so many visitors to this island.

The Balinese believe in Tri Hita Karana which is the belief of keeping harmony among people, harmony with God, and harmony with nature in balance for a life of well being.

Growth and development can be a good thing with positive benefits for the local community but I think the key is responsible growth that it is sustainable for the island and the people that live here.

Restock your quiver. Photo by Keegan Gibbs.

What are the most rewarding moments for you and the creators about running a surf shop?
I think the boys are definitely stoked on their insane surfboard collection now! And how much our customers seem to genuinely love the shop. We love all the amazing people we meet along the way: ocean loving characters, living legends and great friends who we get to do business and share good times with.

Thank you Seewah and Drifter Bali creators! We are so happy to be connected with Drifter Bali across the globe by shared appreciation of style and love of surfing! 

Photo by Keegan Gibbs.

KEEP ON TRAVELING THROUGH THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE:

• Change the Way You Travel with Life in the Slow Lane
• Seea Now in Australia
• Catching up with Salt Gypsy's Enviable Surf Guide Life in the Maldives and Bali

Artist Letty Nowak and friends enjoy a beautiful day in Key West, Florida.

“You never know who you’re going to meet,” says artist Letty Nowak of why she loves her home on the tiny island of Key West, Florida. From bumping into Florida celebrity Jimmy Buffett to being introduced to her art dealer in New York, Letty says the tight-knit community just shy of five miles long is a melting pot for international movers and shakers that seasonally return to the island’s crystal blue waters to relax.

The scene on the main thoroughfare, Duval Street in Key West.

On the street by Fury Surf Shack.

The colorful characters of Key West were an early inspiration in Letty’s painting career. Straight out of art school in Michigan and moving to Key West, she embarked on a series of paintings over the course of five years titled “Faces of Key West” that encompassed 100 different portraits of local people. Her next series in progress, “Faces of Surfing” adapts that same concept to surf community personalities. “My Dad owned surf shops in Michigan [where I grew up] so it is pretty special for me to bring that industry into my painting career,” says Letty.

Left, portrait of surfers Debbie Beacham and right, Maya Gabeira painted by Letty Nowak.

Letty with her paintings.

On top of her painting career and managing her own art gallery, The Lemonade Stand Gallery in Key West, Letty also co-owns three Fury Surf Shack stores and the recently opened lifestyle boutique called Key West Sunshine Club (where Seea is sold).

Seea caught up with Letty between her nonstop travel schedule (she has an art studio in La Jolla, Calif. and is frequently traveling for fun) to get the inside scoop on the hidden gems of Key West, her journey as an artist and bringing California designers to the Florida Keys.

One of the Fury Surf Shacks that Letty co-owns.

Why do you love living in Key West?

Key West is its own little place. It’s a three and a half hour drive to Miami and it’s 90 miles from Cuba. People from all over the world — artists, business people, people who spend time between Key West and NYC — everyone lives in the same neighborhood together.

What is Fury Surf Shack in Key West and the new Key West Sunshine Club where Seea is sold?

The Fury Surf Shacks are three surf shops I co-own with Marius Venter in Key West, Florida. They have been open now for seven years. We stock the big core surf brands.

Key West Sunshine Club is a brand new boutique we just opened that is surf-inspired, but really select in brands that I have discovered through living in California. I had to introduce them to the Key West/South Florida market. I wanted them set apart and in their own space.

View from the outside of the Key West Sunshine Club at night.

Inside the Key West Sunshine Club.

What is the women's surf scene like in Florida?

North of Miami, it is definitely prominent. I recently surfed with Frieda Zamba who was an amazing athlete. South of Miami and into the Keys, it is more of a SUP scene. It’s surrounded by reef, so no waves. When the water’s really still, its Caribbean blue. There’s lots of manatee, dolphin and wildlife.

Where do you usually surf?

I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by waves in San Diego when I'm there so you can normally find me anywhere between Grandview and Mission Beach.

What kind of support do you encounter from other women in the surf community?

I have recently started having great conversations with Coco Tihanyi who owns Surf Diva in La Jolla with her sister Izzy. It's been great to compare notes and ideas with her. Florencia Gomez of Greenpacha and I have tossed a lot of great ideas around about art, business, and the surf industry. Lisa Anderson just said yes to being painted. Lyndie Irons of Acacia has also been a subject of mine and an inspiration.

What were the keys to your success as a co-owner of Fury Surf Shack stores?

First, to have fun.  I also had to learn to share the reigns, not only with my business partner, Marius who is male, but also with my staff. I was open to try their new ideas and we were able to create successful shops. I also had to learn to keep a good balance of merchandise with everything from quantity, sizing, color palettes, and when to push the limits of style.

Marius’s parents had surf shops while he was growing up in South Africa and my parents had surf shops in Michigan so it is pretty cool to share some of our own now.

What special touches did you offer to the business as a woman? 

I have been able to make the interior of our spaces almost totally custom with a look that is held over into each of our shops.  Custom racks, tables, and counters are built along with found re-finished furniture. Most of the little bowls and baskets, which hold our jewelry and accessories, have been brought from my travels or made from my artist friends.  It is the personal touches that I think customers appreciate in our type of stores.  I learned this from my Dad and wish I could do it as good as he could.  We have really gone all out in our shops, as they are an extension of a lifestyle we love.

Letty in the original Malibu!

Letty painting in the studio.

How did you get into painting?

I started painting because I knew I had a strong attachment to my art and my grandfather told me to go for it as I had nothing to lose coming out of university. It was great advice.

How did you find your voice in painting portraits?

We had to choose one style/subject for an entire semester at university. At the time, portraits seemed like the hardest thing to learn so I chose them to have help from my professor who, funnily enough, ended up being an abstract painter. I found my voice for portraits after the first one I finished. I have never looked back since that class. There was something about the challenge of taking something so personal and recognizable and then making have it's own life as a 2D painted object.

You’ve painted a lot of important people in the surf community for your “Faces of Surfing” series. How did you come to be able to paint these personalities?

It started in Tavarua, Fiji. My boyfriend took me there for my 30th birthday. There, I met Richard Woolcott [co-founder of Volcom] photographed him, painted him, and showed his painting in New York City, which was secretly the start to the Faces of Surfing. On my next trip to Tavarua, I met Bob Hurley [founder of Hurley]. I was telling him about my work and he offered me an exhibit at Hurley's headquarters. The community support has been really unbelievable.

What do you try to capture about a person's personality when painting a portrait?

There is not a lot of expression I am looking for — just pretty frontal and honest. If I do it right, their personality will come through as I paint them through my marks and colors, leaving lines soft or hard, with the light that is reflecting on them.

The Florida Keys are an easy place to try kite boarding.

Or just enjoy the waterfront view.

What attractions would you suggest to visitor coming to Key West?

[Outdoors there’s] diving, snorkeling, SUP, fishing. Take kiteboarding lessons. You’re just learning to kite board in waist deep water. Put on a mask and snorkel and check out the fish in Fort Zachary Taylor State Park forest.

Go to some art openings. The studios of Key West bring resident musicians and have gallery openings. It can really change your experience in Key West.

Get coffee at the Cuban Coffee Queen, which I painted a big mural on. For breakfast/lunch/dinner, Blue Heaven. You sit outside amongst roosters just running around. There’s a band and they have their own bakery on premises. It’s in the same area as Sunshine Club, one of the last old parts of Key West with families that have lived there forever. Seven Fish is a little restaurant only open for dinner that’s hard to get into because its super small but its in an old town neighborhood. Finding all the hidden gems off the beaten path is one of the cool parts about Key West.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park.

What kind of advice do you have for women who want to make a living as an artist?

"ABL," Always Be Learning. That is what I told myself from my first days out of college. Nurture your style, push your limits, and realize the possibilities are endless. Be confident and persistent. Work towards your goal.  If you believe in yourself, it will happen.

To read about more inspiring women surf shop owners, check out stories on:

Sawyer Land and Sea Supply in Santa Cruz, CA.

Wetsand Surf Shop in Ventura, CA.

We love breathing in the comforting scent of Sex Wax, neoprene rubber and swimsuits when walking into a surf shop. The local retailers that stock Seea suits are integral partners in getting our labor of love into your hands.

At first glance, our newest California Seea dealer, Huntington Surf and Sport in Huntington Beach, doesn't look much like a mom and pop shop. What many people don't know is that HSS is still a family owned business. Behind the glitz and glam and corporate surf logos that dominate PCH and Main, there is a core of enthusiastic employees with a passion for surfing, some of whom have worked at HSS for over 20 years.

Recently, we caught up with Ashlyn Pai, daughter of owner Aaron Pai, to find out more about the HSS story, and to find out what it was like to grow up surrounded by all the things we hold dear.

Then: The first HSS 15th St. location in Huntington Beach.

Now: HSS Pierside store at Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street in Huntington Beach.

Seea display at HSS.

The story starts with Ashlyn's father, Aaron Pai, who moved from his birthplace of Honolulu, Hawaii to Southern California as a child. Aaron fell in love with surfing in Huntington Beach when he was 12-years-old and spent his adolescent summers visiting his great grandmother in Honolulu.

In 1978, Aaron was the first employee to be hired at Huntington Surf & Sport and one year later, he had the opportunity to buy the shop. With the help of his parents, he started living his dream of running a surf shop. Today, the whole Pai family—parents, brothers and sisters—are involved in the store. As part of the women's merchandise team with buyer Latisha Tavarez, Ashlyn told us about what life is like being in a surf shop family. 

What was it like growing up in a surf shop, in a place like Huntington Beach?

Growing up in Huntington Beach and in a surf shop, surfing has been all around me.... or I've been all around surfing. It wasn't until I got a little bit older that I got to step back and see the unique dynamic of southern California, and the roots a lot of our cities have in the sport of surfing. I see much more of a community now than I saw before, and I'm happy to be apart of it. 

Pai family Aaron, his sister and cousin picking pineapples in Hawaii in the late 1960s.

Given your family roots in Hawaii, how have you seen the surf culture differ in California and Hawaii?

I don't get to Hawaii as often as I used to, but being there last summer really opened my eyes to a lot. When I was younger, it was such a great place to visit every summer. I can remember my dad pushing me into waves, the sunrises over Diamond Head, the saltiness of the water.

It wasn't until the past few years that I realized how much Hawaii has shaped my father's life, my life. I have such a love and appreciation for Hawaii, and as much as it may change in some areas, I still get the same feelings as when I was a kid.

The surf culture there is very simple and laid back. I can remember being 8-years-old and meeting a girl the same age. Her dad was friends with mine and he took us out at Waikiki for some waves and a burger after. Not very many places are like that. I think it's true that time slows down there a little bit. It's magic.

How have you seen the HSS business grow over the years?

When I was young, HSS had already been around for 13 years. We had two stores (our Pierside location and PCH and Warner Avenue location), and not too much girl’s product really existed in the industry. In the mid '90's we added the girl’s section at our Pierside location, and eventually had a girl’s store on Main Street as well, which is now our Billabong store. In 2006, we opened our store located at Bella Terra. In all, we have four stores located in Huntington Beach. It's been really awesome to watch HSS blossom into a fruitful thing. The future is something I look forward to.

Pai family as children. Pictured from left to right: Trevor, Lindsay, Taylor, mom (Sher) and Ashlyn.

How do you feel about coming into the family business now? Did you think you would always join in when you "grew up" or have another career?

I've been working here now since I was 12-years-old. My parents would let me help out on weekends, and I loved it.

When I was younger I thought for a while I would grow up and do my own thing. Once I hit a certain age, I was able to see what was around me and what I could be apart of. Everything just started to make a lot more sense. If I could work with my family that I love, why wouldn’t I?

On top of that, I've always had a love for fashion and clothing. My sister, Lindsay, is six years older than me. She has definitely influenced me. It's really cool to see the stages people go through, whether it's fashion, choices in life, where people are, how they got there and the steps they are taking. I'm happy to be apart of HSS.

Ashlyn with her father in Hawaii.

Trevor Pai and his wife Jenna (wearing the Seea Swami's Playsuit in Waterstripe) fishing off the coast of Tavarua.

What do you want to contribute to HSS?

I feel like I have an eye for detail, which I owe to both of my parents—that is what I want to carry on and contribute. I feel that it is very important to put the loving touches on things. It makes everything so much more meaningful.

How is your style and perspective as a girl influencing the store buys and decisions?

I think that nowadays it's more important than ever to set your store apart from others. So much product is available online. The team and I really want to create an experience when customers come into our store. It's important to keep things youthful and fresh, and that's what Latisha [Tavarez, HSS women’s buyer] and I like to strive for as the girl's buying team.

Lindsay Pai, now a mother of two children, at San Onofre in 2009.

HSS is located at the intersection of PCH and Main Street—opposite the busy pier and right across the street from Jack's Surf Shop. How do you differentiate yourself from the other stores in town that essentially carry the same brands?

My father has surfed the pier since he was twelve. My mom, brothers, and sister have all worked or are currently working at the store. We all share a deep love for the ocean, and for the most part all of us surf.

I think the fact that it is a family business sets us apart. We're very passionate about what we do. We also have a very knowledgeable and experienced staff. Many of our workers have been with HSS for 10, 15, even 25+ years. We care more about helping our customers than making a sale. The sale is just the fruit of our work.

We like to have our customers feel at home and we want them to have a positive experience. This is our 35th year in business and we are always finding ways to better ourselves!

Seea is a very grassroots, personal line. Why is that important for HSS to support those kinds of lines?

We love to be able to offer and support brands like Seea because of the unique nature and the passion. The passion shines through and has so much appeal. We love to be able to support brands that are motivated by the same thing as us: the ocean.

We want to offer our customers a variety, and really, there's no other brand like Seea that is so simple, fashion-forward, and functional. It seems like any girl that surfs has been waiting for something like Seea.

What's your favorite thing about Seea?

The simplicity! It's so refreshing. And the fact it's run by a power couple, Brian and Amanda. They have a true vision. The Palomar Crop Top and Leucadia Skirted High Waist bottoms are my absolute favorites!