With the Gulf Coast of Texas five hours away, Dallas is hardly an obvious site for a surf brand with a summery slant. But then, Picnic Surf Shapes founders Alden Pinnell and Gregory Ruppe are not your average entrepreneurs.
Like many good ideas, the concept arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Ruppe was landlocked far from the Texas coast and decided to get crafty to pass the time.
“An interest in surfing and surfboards started at an early age, but I didn’t start making boards until the Power Station shut down,” says the artist, referring to the ambitious Dallas gallery where he serves as director of exhibitions. “I wanted to be on the water, so I built a paddleboard and instantly fell in love with the process.”
Pinnell, owner of the Power Station, was looking at the time for ways to back curatorial activations that didn’t fit the scope of larger exhibits at the gallery. The former founder of SkinCeuticals recognized an opportunity for an entrepreneurial line that could support research projects and artistic collaborations.
“I started looking at all this and saying, ‘This is so rich, it’s so much better than any surf brand,’ ” explains Pinnell. “I thought if we can make a brand that sells surf wear and work with other artists and collaborators, we could build something that takes that profit and generates projects.”
The brand officially launched in a Japanese teahouse-inspired structure on the grounds of the Station in early 2023. That structure has since served as an exhibit space for artists such as Amy Yao, Miguel Sbastida and Will Boone, often with an ecological or environmental slant.
Also in 2023, Ruppe opened a brick-and-mortar store for Picnic in Galveston, where he sells his intricately crafted surfboards made from western red cedar, cork and polycore foam, as well as artist-produced graphic tees, tote bags, hats and zines that fund future activations.
Picnic Curatorial Projects, the nonprofit arm of the brand, is now on its 12th activation, a limited-edition towel and surfboard design by Mexican artist Gabriel Rico timed with his current show at New York’s Perrotin Gallery. But Ruppe and Pinnell believe this particular Picnic is just getting started. Timing events for the spring and fall in Dallas and the summer in Galveston, Picnic will hopefully expand to include art events across the United States and in Mexico.
“There are people we have relationships with we’re looking to support, artists who don’t have an opportunity to show and be seen,” says Pinnell. “If we can finally give them a place, be it in the annex, in Galveston or offsite, it’s more needed than ever in this current world.
Picnic is, at its base, a soulful, real, organic project. We’re happy with slow to moderate growth, but I’d like to see this expand. The more we can sell, the more art projects we can do, and I’d love to double the number we do a year.”
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