These Limited-Edition Skateboards Feature Eames Office Designs

The Eames House in Los Angeles is iconic for its structure—and for the rows of Eucalyptus trees planted by Abbot Kinney in the late 1800s. As part of an ongoing landscape management plan, that historic wood is sometimes sold to be repurposed and used for new products. That’s how a relationship first developed between the Eames brand and Australian skateboard maker Globe, which developed a few special skateboards made of wood harvested from an Eames House eucalyptus in 2021.

Now Eames and Globe have another collaboration, this time adapting not wood from the site but designs from Charles and Ray Eames’ storied career. Three are represented in this collection: their 1957 Solar Do-Nothing Machine, 1953 Hang-it-All, and 1943 molded plywood sculpture. There’s also the Blazer, a playful mini skateboard sold complete with wheels and hardware. The process of adaptation happened all online during the pandemic, with teams spread across four different continents, from Globe designers in locked-down Australia to Los Angeles-based Eames Office staff overseeing etching and carving.

Behind the Design of the Limited-Edition Skateboard Decks

To answer the big question, yes, every one is a fully rideable skateboard deck with no compromise on functionality. They’re standard Globe shapes, which happily are made through the same bent-plywood techniques the Eameses used for their furniture design, and even using the same species of wood: maple and walnut. But for those who find them too beautiful to ride, they come with wall-hangers in the box. You can display the underside with the product silhouettes, or the top with archival imagery of the original designs and an informational caption. “We don’t mind whether people hang them or skate them so long as they enjoy them,” says Globe’s creative director Dave Gitlin.

In the skateboarding world, Globe has a reputation for maturely crafted build-to-last products, while the Eames brand is always looking to bring their mid-century designs to a younger audience. It makes the two unlikely partners a perfect match. “The creative collaboration has been a joy,” says Eames Demetrios, director of Eames Office and a grandson of Charles and Ray Eames. “Eames Office and Globe are both dedicated to good design, and the craft of the product.” And luckily, there are more collections still to come.