Girl Gets Board, now Girl Gets SoCal, emerged out of a desire to challenge myself. Going out of my comfort zone and picking up snowboarding again, this time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest mountains. Taking another risk and moving down to SoCal after eight years in Seattle to experience what the southern part of the coast had to offer. Because of it, I met many people doing what they love, made new friends, and had unbelievable opportunities that my seventeen year-old-self would have only dreamed of.

I’m so glad I said Yes. Yes to taking on intimidating commitments. Yes to going out on a limb–beyond my comfortable box. Because of it, I’m slowly learning that risking is worth it, and the outcome exceeds most anything imaginable. The best part? Becoming friends with amazing and inspiring people. And it can all happen just with one, three letter word.

Ending this project is scary–and exciting. Because it means I am saying Yes to new adventures. A new path. I’m ready.

Yes.

“Uh, rattlesnake vaccination? Are you serious?” I had a lot to learn about living in California.

We were talking about the perils of local hiking spots–crowds, coyotes, rattlesnakes–and I had been recounting my first foray to Zuma Canyon.

Mitch and I love going hiking with Afton. We all get to breathe fresh air and stretch our legs. So on a sunny Saturday morning we loaded up our pack with water and sunscreen, hopped in the jeep and headed north up the Pacific Coast Highway.

I got worried when we pulled into the almost full Zuma Canyon trail head. There were groups of hikers having snacks next to their cars, obviously done with their hike. Maybe we were too late. Maybe it got too hot after 10 to hike. I had no clue.

Mitch insisted it was fine, and we smeared on sunscreen, locked the car, and headed to the trail head. If you go, the maps don’t match the trail signs exactly, so make your best guess, head in the direction you think you want to go, and you’ll probably get to your destination. You can’t go wrong.

The trail veered into the canyon, away from the Pacific and we began to hike up the canyon wall, following the Zuma Loop Trail. The sun was out in full and was heating up the dirt trail. The brushy chaparral had buds that were beginning to form on the the branch. Birds zoomed about and a snake slid into the underbrush.

As we rounded a corner the wind hit us. Talking was useless. We just let it roar by, heading out to the ocean. It felt good, even though it was dry and warm. Something about California, that is unlike anywhere else I have been is that the weather is wonderful most of the time. 75 and sunny. But when it shows it’s face, it makes you sit up and take notice. The rain pours from the sky, filling wide drainage ditches as large as a small river with dark swirling water. The wind blows furiously and sounds like a freight train.

We followed the trail down to the bottom of the canyon and the wind stopped. There were trees and a small stream. Afton couldn’t believe his luck. He ran up and down the creek and then stuck his long nose in the water up to his eyes, whipped his head back as he came up for air, spraying water everywhere like an elephant.

Afton had a new spring in his step after his cool off as we headed up the Ocean View Trail and the Kanan-Edison Road. The trail got a steeper as we climbed up for a view of the Pacific. The trees disappeared and instead were replaced by wild dill and sage and lavender. Maybe we’ll be sourcing our herbs from an ocean-side hike? The road we were following was completely washed out and hard to walk on since it was so uneven from rain and dried mud. It was getting hot, but the promise of a view kept us going.

When we reached the top, we had an unbroken view of the Pacific. It was a crystal clear day and you could see a small swimming beach in front of us.

The hike went further up to another canyon ridge, for probably even more spectacular views, but we were running low on water and decided to turn around.

As we hiked back down we could see tiny people moving around the sides of the canyon. Since the brush is so small, about knee-high, lines of sight are pretty easy. It kind of felt like we were in a wild west movie.

We went back to the stream for Afton to get water and cool down one more time before we headed home. We sat out on a rock in the middle of the water under a tree as Afton sniffed and stood cooling off his paws. The trail was getting busier. Kids came down the creek, one girl proclaiming that she had found an 8″ arrowhead in the water and was on the hunt for more. A woman and her horse trainer walked by, letting the kids pet the horses before they moved on. A British woman in a large hat was out birding. The lunch rush had begun, and Mitch and I headed back to the car.

Our first hike in California had been a success. The trail was pretty empty except scattering creatures and birds. We had beautiful views of the ocean at the top. And, we didn’t have any run-ins with rattlesnakes, although Afton probably has a vaccination in his near future.

If you go:

• Zuma and Trancas Canyon, trail maps and information.
• Dog-friendly hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains

Last Christmas, I was once again overtaken by the need to have delicious smelling candles, only this time I was at Maple Leaf Orchard in Wisconsin.

My mom and I were making beeswax ornaments to give as gifts, and we had driven to the orchard to pick up the beeswax. It was only a few days before Christmas and it was the last day the farm was open before they closed for the season. It was a cold December that year, and when we arrived at the farm we ran as fast as we could from the car to the barn to try to avoid the icy blowing wind, but it wasn’t much warmer inside. Cracks between the wood plank walls let snow and wind blow in and the concrete floor radiated ice. We made a beeline for the molded wax.

Have you smelled beeswax from bees that roam apple orchards? It’s sugary and warm, like a steamy apple pie with cinnamon and cloves and allspice. I was shivering in my light jacket, but all I could think of when I smelled that beeswax was the heat of summer. This was something worlds apart from the candles I inhaled at the mall. Immediately I had visions of grandeur – I will make candles, my house will smell like apple blossoms and honey. That’s all it took for me to buy six more of the heavy beeswax cones to save for candles.

I’d never made poured candles before so it took awhile before I had all of the tools I needed. I did learn from making the beeswax ornaments that you don’t want to use tools that you use for cooking. It takes forever to clean the wax off.

The supply list:

• Beeswax
• Jars – glass yogurt containers (Make sure your jars wont break with the heat)
• Wicks – ordered a spool from Amazon
• Wick clips – metal piece that holds the wick at the bottom of the candle, from JoAnn
• Tacky wax – affixes the wick clip to the bottom of the jar, from JoAnn (I’d recommend using a glue gun instead)
• Toothpicks – to hold up the wick while pouring wax (You could use anything, a pencil, a skewer, as long as it reaches across the mouth of the jar or bowl you are using)
• Newspaper – for wrapping around the jars to even out the temperature
• Container – for melting the wax, used a loaf pan found at the dollar store
• Ladle – for pouring wax, also a dollar store find (Try to find one with a pour spout it makes controlling the melted wax much easier)

This past week I finally had everything in place. I began.

I pulled the wick through the wick clips, crimped the wick clip so the wick would stay in place, stuck a pea sized piece of wax on the bottom of the wick clip and pressed it to the jar. Then I tied the wick to a toothpick so that when I poured the wax, the wick would stay straight. I also wrapped the jars in newspaper to help the wax cool slower, which I read would create less cracks. I later found it had the added benefit of keeping my hands from burning as I poured the wax. It worked on both counts. I highly recommend the newspaper.

Meanwhile, I set-up a double boiler on the stove, letting the boiling water come up to the bottom of the pan of wax. While I waited for the wax to melt, I finished prepping the candle jars, wrapping them in newspaper and finishing the wicks.

Once the wax melted, I poured. The hot wax moved fast and was hard to control the pour since the mouths of the jars were small and the ladle was big. Wax dripped down the outside of the jars.

The next day I checked on the cooled candles and there were air pockets in some of the candles, so I heated the wax up again and filled in the candles with holes. This mostly worked, but since the jars I used are clear, it doesn’t look the best. If you look, you can see that there are two layers of wax. All I can think of is the wax got too hot, or the jars weren’t thick enough and cooled too fast. Do you know what I should do different next time to keep the holes from happening?

All the things I didn’t know when I began the project:

• You don’t want the wax to get too hot. For beeswax the ideal temp is 170 degrees F. (Test this with an old candy thermometer.) The wax shrinks when it cools creating holes, so you have to re-pour.
• Beeswax is flammable. One site says it only catches fire when it meets a flame. Another says not to use a gas stove to heat the wax – a hot plate should be used instead. I used gas and survived.
• Use a ladle with a pour spout, it makes the aiming bit a lot easier.
• And, pour carefully, scraping wax off the outside of a jar is not fun.
• The tacky wax was OK, but melted once the hot beeswax hit it. I had to make sure not to bump the wick when I was pouring. Next time I’m going to hot glue the wick clip to the bottom of the jar instead.

Have you had luck with candle making? Do you have any additional tips?

I’ve never been to Dean & DeLuca, the New York based, uber-fancy, grocery store. Can I call it a grocery store? Either way, I’ve been wanting to go and just be around really great food, so when I saw LA Mag’s review of Deluca’s Italian Cafe, I told Mitch we had a date. It made sense that it would be an offshoot of the larger store, and I couldn’t wait.

We didn’t realize it until we got to the last set of directions in Google Maps, but the deli is in a mall. Not just any mall–the Americana at Brand in Glendale. Is this how malls generally are in SoCal? Because this was insane, immaculate, and a little intimidating. Everyone was trying to get shopping done, kids were dressed up to see Santa, and a three-story tree was at the center of it all.

It was quite an introduction to the deli.

Inside, everything about it made me think – whee – my own little taste of Dean & DeLuca! Products from Italy–bottles of olive oil and vinegars, pasta, candies, wine. It was all expensive, so I only got to  drool, but still Dean & DeLuca is expensive, so it made sense.

Mitch and I ordered. Creamy tomato soup. Eggplant lasagna. Tuna and cannellini bean salad. Water. It was rainy and getting dark outside. People walked by the windows carrying umbrellas loaded with packages and tired kids. This made our late lunch taste extra good.

We left happy, full, and feeling lucky that we didn’t have to do any shopping. Plus, I’d been to a Dean & DeLuca deli. It was fancy. Italian. There were groceries. It had the same modern and airy feel as the Dean & DeLuca website. Even similar fonts.

But then I got online. That review? The one on LA Mag? I read closer, “…deli is an offshoot of Trattoria Amici next door.”

Noo!! So I didn’t eat at a Dean & DeLuca deli. Looking at their website, they don’t even have a deli. They should though, people may want to go for a late lunch.

I, being the older and wiser sister, would sleep in my own bed under warm flannel since I knew the whole Santa game thankyouverymuch. D never got to see Santa, but the cookies he left out were always eaten and remnants from the carrots set out for the reindeer could be found on the front porch.

This year, D made homemade Oreos to set next to the tree. Christmas morning there were presents under the tree and the milk and cookies left for Santa were almost gone.

Lucky for us, D shared some of his cookies before we went to bed on Christmas Eve. I am lucky to have a brother that knows how to share his love of Christmas is such a delicious way.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzIrpYRxDbI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m0vjzI0wtg

Moving from Seattle to Santa Monica was a bittersweet move. We love our friends in Seattle. I love snowboarding at Stevens Pass and I was starting to learn about some of the good spots. We knew where we could find the best French toast, where to go when we wanted to hike, and the fastest route around our favorite grocery store. We knew it, we had it down. That’s why, when we got the chance to move to California we took the leap. We had the chance to soak in a new culture, a chance for new adventures.

There is a lot to do next to the ocean, with the mountains close by. Especially with 310 days of sunshine a year.

I’m still going snowboarding–that’s always going to be a part of me–before I agreed to move I had to make sure that the mountains weren’t too far away.  I’ll still be sharing all of my trips to the mountains. And, I will always be about getting more women into snowboarding. Always. But, there is so much else going on, and I don’t want to feel like I can’t be here if I’m not talking about snowboarding. Being in California is a surreal, and I want to find out as much about it as I can. To make it real. I want to share it here. And I want to hear from you. What’s good. What’s fun. What you are doing. Because it’s all about the adventure.

I want to get out in the ocean and try out surfing.

And Santa Monica has a great farmers market, so I’m looking forward to checking out food from the market..and checking out all the great restaurants and food trucks. Like last week, Mitch and I went to Philipe’s for French dip sandwiches where we waited in a line that went out the door. It was more packed than I have ever seen a restaurant. But there was a camaraderie among the ranks and it was fun, we were smiling, happy, waiting in line. Waiting for oozing cheesy, beef sandwiches. When do you ever hear of Angelinos who are happily waiting in line?

I’ve also heard of some great hikes in the local mountains and I’m looking forward to a trip to the desert–something I haven’t done since I was six.

I hope you’ll stick with me. I don’t know what I’m going to find, but either way its going to be an adventure.

If you haven’t heard, Spacecraft is all about creating art and making it accessible through hoodies, beanies, iPhone stickers, and traveling art shows. It is built around inspiration from snow (the logo is a snow cat) and the people and culture in Bali, where a lot of the knit beanies are handmade at small family-owned businesses.

THE BEGINNING

I wanted to find out Sarah’s story, which starts by working as a fisherman in Alaska to save up money for trips to places like El Salvador, Nepal, and Bali. After lots of winters fishing, and then going on trips, it was on a trip in Nepal in 2001, when she realized she was burnt out. In a journal on her plane ride back to the States she wrote, “maybe I’ll start a wholesale company.”

She was in Skykomish, her home, and she wanted to stay. It was then that she met Stephen-who lived to travel. He was going back to Asia and he wanted her to go with him. Instead, she took out a loan–her first for traveling–and went to Panama. Stefen came back from his trip with handmade beanies, met up with Sarah, and the idea for Spacecraft was built.

In 2002, she invested $10,000 in the company. She said, “I thought I could spend $10,000 and be done. I didn’t know what would happen, but then everything unfolded.”

What got you so involved with the project?
There was a big demand for the product. I wanted to do something and I was looking for a project, so I put everything of myself into it.

What keeps you interested?
Just supplying product isn’t enough of an interest for me. I want to balance the product with the art. I think that people are looking for authenticity and that is what we have. Over 2,000 hats are handmade in Asia. When we first started, we knew everyone that made our products. We met them as artists and travelers. We also helped them with mass production. Now in the industry that is more the norm, but at the time it was unusual.

What is the hardest part of your job?
Leadership and management. It is easy to lose sight of the vision and get lost in the day-to-day. When you are a smaller company you might not have it perfect and you have to wear a lot of hats. When you are bigger, you have to spend time on things like HR.

Do you find it difficult to be a woman in a male dominated industry?
Because I grew up in a male dominated industry, I don’t really notice it. I owe a lot to my parents for making it seem possible that I can do anything. The way I was raised, I didn’t even realize I was a minority. Also, on fishing boats most women aren’t physically as strong as men so you learn how to use your talents strategically. Instead of carrying a bunch of crates, you get a hand truck. Overseas I experienced sexism, however it was more cultural. Once the relationship with our vendors had developed I was treated equally as Stefen was, however at first I was ignored.

What have you learned as an entrepreneur?
Being proactive is a huge thing, motivating people to find solutions, and organization is a huge part of the job. There is a time to make a quick decision and a time to take your time with making a choice. Knowing when to do what, is critical.

What are you interested in right now?
Right now I’m reading Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Being at the helm, there’s so many things you have to balance. I’m learning about myself–what I can do and what I can delegate.

Do you have any tips for people who want to be an entrepreneur?

• Setting a mission, vision, and values may seem cliche, but knowing what you want to do really helps.
• Have your finances in place.
• Find advisers –they can help you.
• Don’t be overly cautious. If you feel passionate about what you are doing, you’ll find your way.
• If I knew how hard or how great it would be I might not have done it, so if you really believe in it–go for it.

Thanks Sarah!

Watch for Spacecraft’s upcoming art shows and check out their work in person.

*All images from Sarah.

I got a chance to meet up with Molly to check out the revamped shop and find out more about what a community manager actually does -the good and bad parts, filming and photography, where women are at in snowboarding, and what tips she has for being able to do what you love.

So, what does a work day look like for you?

It was hard to create a title since I do so many things, so we went with strategery. So what I do is engage customers in a meaningful way and promote Evo through blogs and social networks. I work with vendors to promote events and get products to give out at those events. Basically I do events, social networking, PR, store ads, and work with the team.

How did you get started at Evo?

I was managing an event company and running my own videography company, but I had aspirations to link my passions to the snow industry. I worked at Mt. Hood Meadows and competed. I moved to LA to get video editing skills with the dream of making snowboard videos. Then I moved back to Seattle. I had this great idea to start an e-commerce company. One of my friends was looking for a job and came across an internship at an e-commerce company in the snowboard industry and she thought I should check it out. I had worked at that point for awhile and wasn’t really wanting to be an intern again. I checked them out online and it looked like a cool place to work, the crew looked cool. When I met Bryce (owner of Evo), he had such contagious energy. I loved that the environment wasn’t intimidating, it was super open and inclusive on the business side and on the community side.

What is the best part about your job?

People come to mind right off the bat. There are so many perks to working in an industry that I am so passionate about. I get to shoot photos, video, snowboard, be around product.

When I get to  see someone light up because of what we have done, is my favorite. I love being in the store and seeing people light up when they find new gear or talk about their latest trip up to the mountain. At the end of the day, I like being able to help other people get into the sport.

I also have a lot of freedom. Evo is pretty progressive, it’s young and nimble, and we have an ability to try new things easily.

What is your least favorite part about what you do?

Having to be on stage all of the time, it wears on a person. Being so connected on the ground, I feel like I am a conduit to the company–that takes a lot of work. It also takes a lot of coordinating, remembering all of the people connecting everyone. But, despite that, I love my job and I love connecting people and getting them excited about things.

What got you interested in filming and photography?

Not sure if any one single event or any one person got me interested, but I know that my interest really came at an early age.  I was always begging my mom and dad to let me take photos or to command the old VHS Camcorder when we’d go on family trips. As I look back on my childhood now, I think it came from my inability to really communicate in words the beauty in all of the things that I had been experiencing and seeing around me as a kid and as I started venturing out further and further into this great big world.  Not just the big things though… I was amazed by and still am amazed by how awesome you can make the “small things” seem thru still imagery.  Haha, but also some would say its inherently an Asian trait, which maybe so since my interest goes back as far as I can remember.

How did you get your skills? Did you go to school and take classes or did you pick them up on your own?

Well, I definitely wouldn’t call myself a pro or anything.  Most of what I know I learned by trial and error, through books, and from friends and mentors that I have reached out to over the years.  I’m not shy about asking people questions, and if I’d see someone doing something I liked, I would ask them how they did it.  Now I guess you can Google everything, but there is something about the “human touch” and the context that you can get from a conversation versus reading a book or Googling.

Any tips for someone learning how shoot on the hill and do video edits?

My best advice would be to “just do it”…Nike was really on to something! :p

No really though, I’d take a few minutes to watch your favorite films. Jot down what you like, what you don’t like, what you think you could do better, and make a simple script/outline.  Grab whatever camera you have available and just go do it.  You will learn so much as you apply yourself and through trial and error.  When you are filming, make sure you are keeping the editing process in mind though.  Think about how each of the clips you are shooting will “seam” together.

Where are you from?

Well in a nut shell, my mom is Russian and my dad is Egyptian. I was born in Kuwait., then I moved to the United States when I was six.  Dallas, Pennsylvania is where I grew up until I moved to Oregon in 2002.

What is your home mountain?

Montage mountain, which has a new name now.  Snow Mountain I think?  Even though it is not a mountain….more like a rolling hill.  I spent a few years working at Big Boulder.  Both resorts are in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.

How long have you been snowboarding?

About 10 years now.

What first got you interested in trying it out?

I had some friends in high school that convinced me to join ski club at school.  The school basically took us to the mountain each Friday night for 6 Fridays in a row.  I started out skiing but I was super motivated to learn to snowboard.

What keeps you motivated to keep riding?

Support and personal satisfaction.  Every time my sponsors extend an increased amount of support, I get super motivated to keep that support increasing.  More significantly, every time I learn something new I gain an extreme sense of happiness and self satisfaction that keeps me searching for that feel more.

So currently you are down at Mt. Hood, what are you up to out there?

I live here year round which is the beauty of Mt.  Hood because you can snowboard here 12 months out of the year.  Currently the summer snowboarding is amazing and I have been taking full advantage.  I’ve been snowboarding about 3-4 days a week and skating, camping, golfing, and kicking the rest of the time.

You also work with Cilla, what got you interested in the company?

Pat Corelli who is currently the NW Rome rep introduced me to the company.  He knew Priscilla Levac, founder of Cilla, because she was a pro snowboarder for Ride and Pat was a rep for them as well.  He referred me to Priscilla as an athlete to sponsor and she was kind enough to hook me up.  After riding for her for a season she presented me with the NW sales position which I happily accepted because Cilla is an amazing company.

You’ve done a lot of competitions in the past, are you going to be doing some this upcoming season?

I am planning on competing but not a lot.  I’d really like to focus on traveling and filming.

What would your ideal day on the snow be like?

An epic pow day with good friends.

What would you say to female riders who are thinking of snowboarding this winter or who are just learning?

Function over fashion.  Snowboarding is a cold sport and you really need to consider your gear and making sure you stay well insulated so you can tolerate the cold.  Also most importantly, don’t give up.  Snowboarding can be extremely difficult to learn initially which means it can be extremely frustrating.  Don’t give up.  It will get easier every time and then eventually you are going to have the time of your life.

Sponsor shout-out?

Ride snowboards, Smith Optics, Pow, Spacecraft,  Evo gear, Cilla, Shredbetties.com, & Kind Bars.