Umbe Surf

Intro

Designed to Be Lived In

As lead partner and Creative Director, I created Umbe as a brand rooted in sustainability, using reclaimed and overlooked materials to craft surfboards, apparel, and home goods. Every product was designed not just to reduce waste, but to reimagine it as something beautiful and functional.

To expand reach and build cultural relevance, I pitched a TV show concept to Canal Off that promoted the lifestyle behind the brand. It followed our shaper traveling to other countries with limited resources, creating and selling goods from found/discarded materials and embracing improvisation — a natural extension of the brand’s ethos. The show was picked up and became a powerful content platform that introduced Umbe’s philosophy to a wider audience.

We also brought the brand to life through a physical space — a house near the beach transformed into an open, lived-in store where customers could fully experience the world of Umbe. With a café, a board-shaping area, integrated product displays, and community events, it wasn’t just a store — it was a place to feel the brand in action.

Umbe wasn’t just a business; it was a creative system built to show that sustainability, when applied with purpose, could shape not just products, but an entire way of living.