As we all settle in to the start of the new year and get back to normality I've been thinking I'd be keen to start writing a blog for Scenic. I've had thoughts about doing this every now and then over the year and a half we've been running the shop but the urge for me to begin now is strong. Maybe it's a case of new year new me?
When I was younger I used to blog quite a bit having 3 different blogs going at once from my gaming habits to my experiences with skateboarding. I kept them going for quite a while but they never gained any traction with followers (although I did them purely for myself anyway) so at some point I dwindled off from writing entries and eventually they ceased to exist. I say that but maybe they are still up on the web somewhere but which platform I used to write them on has long gone from my head.
Anyway I feel now with this skate shop running I have an incentive to get a blog running and provide more context and information to what we're up to than social media channels offer. I've had experience before in long form writing so why not utilise that. When I write a post about a new delivery we received (such as this one that I uploaded today from a recent Keen delivery) I often find myself struggling to write much about it as it's difficult to write something in short form that I haven't already done before. Sure I mentioned we've got new socks in and now stock some more brands but I couldn't delve in to the research I was doing prior to the order or the decisions me and Dave had to make when we chose what to get in.
For example as we were now going to be stocking Quasi Skateboards I wanted to know when the brand started, who rode for them and more. I have to confess that although the likes of Gilbert Crockett and Tyler Bledsoe ride for them (couple of skaters I enjoy watching) I knew very little about the brand. I grew up watching Alien Workshop videos and really enjoyed Mindfield but my knowledge of the brand being bought out and the team riders leaving in 2015 to create Quasi was something that I wasn't aware of. In fact Quasi was originally called Mother Collective before they received a cease and desist from another company that owned the name Mother. There's your fact of the day if you didn't already know!
2024 has seen slow sales for us thus far but overall me and Dave are very pleased with the progress we've made and continue to make. It might be a tough few months ahead but we're still focused on growing and continue to provide value to our local skateboard community. As I continue to write entries in to this blog I'll be sharing much more on how things have been going, how we are striving to develop a strong ethos between our team riders by going on skate trips together plus our future store development goals and more. If you've read this far then please feel free to leave a comment below and let me know. Here's to another progressive year for Scenic Skate Shop!
- Jason