The Slideboard is one of the many designs of Erwin Woldring. He started his career as a furniture designer, with his own brand Automatico. He also worked in the engineering field, designing production machines for the industry. As a lover of the "Do It Yourself" mentality, he also made a lot of other products rather than buying them.
For instance: surfboards, guitars, guitar amplifiers and effects.
He also works as a teacher at the Academy of Arts in Utrecht (HKU), metal and plastic workshop, and teaching Industrial Design at the NCOI .
To learn more about the why and the what of the Slideboard we've included a short interview with de designer:
Interview with Erwin Woldring
Q: Why did you design the slideboard?
Well, I was snowboarding in the French Alps and there I wanted to do some rail sliding. But of course I had to train first. I had to stay in the snowpark to practice all day and I thought: ”What a shame to stay in the park all day, when there are all these mountains waiting for me to shred” That’s when I decided to think of some sort of training board to learn to boardslide better.
Q: So that is the basic idea behind the Slideboard?
Well at first it was, but after the first prototype I found out that you could do a lot more with it.
Q: You wouldn’t call it a training apparatus for snowboarding?
No defenitly not. But snowboarders could benefit from riding it of course, as with all sideways sports.
Q: What do you mean with that, sideways sports?
All the sports were you go sideways, like skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding etc.
Q: Ah, ok, and do you practice all these sports?
I also do some surfing and windsurfing, yes. I shaped a few surfboards myself. You can find them on the Swaylocks website. I even designed a collapsible surfboard for free transport in an airplane.
It is a real good feeling to not being ripped off by the airline guys.
That idea is not new, it is basically an idea that already exists since the 60-ies, but I made a design that can be made by everyone who is able to shape a surfboard. It is a low cost backyard solution, you can find the explanation how to do it on Sways.
Q: If you’re so concerned with the poor, how about the pricing of your Slideboard, isn’t it a bit expensive then?
No, it is not. Maybe it is a lot of money for something you haven’t ridden before, or even don’t know if you’re gonna like, but you must realize the enormous amount of work there is in making these things.
From purchasing all the materials, to welding, coating, screenprinting the bases, pressing the boards and finishing the whole lot. After that the assembly of course. The making of the deck is almost the same amount of work as making a snowboard.
And then there is still the rest, we even make our own wheels!
Q: Ha, ha, you make it sound like it is actually a bargain.
Well in fact it is! And it is even signed by the maker. To be honest, it is hard to think of something better to spend your bucks on. A piece of fucking Dutch Design, that’s what it is!
Q: Alright then, thank you for the interview. And to everybody: grab this piece of Dutch Design while it’s still hot!