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Jon Winfrey’s trade plan began with a stack of not working skateboard decks. And they weren’t even his.
Winfrey’s friend Ryan Vecchiarelli kept a big pile of worn out, busted decks in his room. Vecchiarelli could never figure out what to do with the wrecks, but he held onto them for years in case an idea struck him. Instead, inspiration struck Winfrey, who saw an ad for a pair of high-end sunglasses with wood frames and thought how cool it would be to make shades out of recycled skateboards.
Murphy’s Law intervened: By the time Winfrey told Vecchiarelli about his plan, those decks were in the trash. Still, the two friends, both 23, hunted down some busted boards, bought a scroll saw and a few other shop tools, and got to work.
“It took three or four months to get anything decent,” Winfrey said.
After playing around with what styles translated into plywood, they settled on a design reminiscent of classic Ray-Ban Wayfarers. The curves of the deck translate into the natural bends for the nosepiece and the arms of the glasses. A single enter, depending on how busted it is, can yield four or five frames. The plywood frames are stronger than you’d think, Vecchiarelli said, have a food-safe finish and, naturally, float.
