Art comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. For skateboarder Tyler Stier, his artistic talent is upcycling old skateboards into usable and cherished objects. His business is called Repurposed Plies.
Stier, who is from Buffalo, has been skating the streets of this city for the last 19 years. He is a self-professed urban street skater, who has taken his love of skateboarding to a whole other level.
Before we get into what Stier is making, it’s important to point out the painstaking process of repurposing old skateboards into upcycled (and practical) works of art.
First, Stier must source the discarded skateboards.
“I know tons of skateboarders throughout the country,” said Stier. “They have between three and 100 skateboards lying around. No one throws their old skateboards out. And if they do, they end up in the landfill, because they’re tough to repurpose. At the same time, the decks make the best plywood because they are built to last (to take a beating).”
Along with hitting up his friends for their spent decks, Stier also sources the boards from a dozen skate shops throughout the East Coast. He has built quality relationships with the skate shops, which send him the beat up boards that are typically lying around the shops’ back rooms.
With plenty of decks on-hand, the process of making the block slabs begins. Stier removes all of the grip tape with a heat gun, and sands down the graphics. He then laminates all of the decks together and applies pressure with a custom press that he made with car jacks. It’s the only way to get the erratic shape of the boards flattened out. At the same time, due to the resilient nature of the decks, each block slab will retain unique characteristics, with different curves and patterns. Even the truck holes get covered with glue, which leaves random exposed holes in the finished product.”
“Each slab is truly one-of-a-kind,” said Stier. “It takes 20 hours just to make a block of wood. Then I have to resize with a bandsaw. 22 skateboards gives you 8″x8″x29″ of workable material. The yield is not that much in the end.”
The colorful slabs of wood are so impressive looking, and so durable, that Stier has had lots of requests for lumber from other artisans. But the cost prohibits most woodworkers from being able to afford the material. That alone makes Stier’s creations unparalleled. After all, he actually creates the material that he then fabricates.
As for the creations? Stier makes charcuterie boards, coasters, pocket knife scales for higher end blanks, small tables, Lazy Susans, bottle openers, clocks…
“I make a limited amount – around 5 – of each product,” said Stier. “They sell out pretty fast. I have a good following of people that support what I do. Basically, I use the edges of the skateboards, which are colored like a rainbow. That’s why the products have so much character.”
I asked Stier what his favorite item was to make.
“Chessboards,” he replied. “Chessboards are also my top selling item. I’ve never played chess before [laughing]. My former roommate wanted one.”
Stier credits his ability to excel in his craft to The Guild @ 980.
“I was looking for a cheap workspace to work on my side project,” said, Stier, who is also a general contractor for Build WNY. “A place to get my foot in the door. Eventually I started doing some work for The Guild @ 980. That allowed me to update to a bigger unit. This year, I plan on making a coffee table and a dining room table.”
Not only does the added space at The Guild @ 980 allow Stier to work on bigger projects, he also gets to interact with the various tenants, who all have their own artisanal specialties. The Guild @ 980 has become somewhat of a regional mecca for makers, a number of which I have been writing about lately.
Because Stier has a full time day job as a GC, he tends to work at his studio during the evenings, and one weekend day (typically Saturdays). He promotes his wares mainly by word of mouth. It’s easy to see why Stier has managed to build a devote following of fans who dig his work. Repurposed Plies is definitely one of the more unique and impressive small craft businesses that I have come across. I don’t even skateboard, but I’m itching for a pocket knife that has seen some serious Buffalo street skate action.
Get connected: Repurposed Plies | Instagram | The Guild @ 980 at ReUse Action | 980 Northampton Street Buffalo NY 14211
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