Meet the couple who create unique products from recycled skateboards

“We were in a phase of upcycling pallets and any old bits we could get our hands on, just for fun,” Cat, 31, explains. “Andy’s skated for years … and he always chose his boards based on the colours of the ply – the layers of laminated wood veneer that make up the board – so he had built up an old stack of them.

“One weekend we decided to cut things up and messed about making some brooches. We started sanding them at angles to reveal the layers of coloured ply – and then things really took off from there. A huge amount of play and experimentation is where No Comply came from.”

Since that weekend back in 2017, No Comply has evolved and now Cat and Andy, 32, create not only jewellery but homeware, furniture, and new skateboard decks from recycled boards and reclaimed hardwood.

With a firm focus on creating products that are environmentally conscious and aesthetically pleasing, the pair garnered the attention of the skating community. Soon they were receiving commissions, some from skaters looking to have something made from their own boards, and many of the Scottish skating shops began donating old boards to the business.

Andy, who also runs a gardening and landscaping business, and Cat, a graphic designer, are completely self-taught in terms of the process and techniques behind creating the No Comply products.

Working from a barn in Andy’s dad’s garden in Perthshire, the pair will first strip the top layer of grip tape from the boards. “Which is the worst part,” Cat laughs. “We try to melt the glue with a heat gun, but then it’s just a case of using brute force to tear it off.” Then using a band saw the nose and tail of the boards are trimmed off before being cut into strips. The next stage is sanding the lacquer off so that the wood is porous, followed by gluing them together and laminating them into strips.

“Typically speaking, if we’re making handles or chopping boards, we would use about four strips of skateboards,” explains Cat. “The skateboards themselves have seven layers of Canadian Maple ply in them that are already laminated together.”

For the final stages of production, a lathe is typically used to sculpt the products into shape.

“I love that there is an aspect of chance and not knowing necessarily how things are going to turn out at the end, you can plan it to an extent but there’s still that sense of surprise,” Cat says.

“We get really excited about colourful skateboards that come into stock as you don’t often get them where every single layer of ply is coloured.”

No Comply products are stocked in a few stores in Edinburgh and Perth, but most of the commissions come from either the company’s Instagram page or via the website.

“We do a few craft markets throughout the year too. It can be tricky to juggle our day jobs at the same time but at Christmas we do a lot of markets … we’re quite selective about which ones we do. But the markets are great because you get that face-to-face interaction as well and it means people can touch and feel the pieces as well, because they’re so tactile and all different.”

As No Comply continues to “grow arms and legs”, Cat and Andy believe a large part of their success stems from the fact that the boards have had a life already and a history behind them. “There’s already a sentimental value associated with the products,” Cat points out.

“I think one of the challenges facing many makers just now is to try and make a shift in perception in terms of how things are made and perceived value. By moving away from fast fashion and having people prepared to invest in pieces that have longevity or history…that have been handmade by people and artists and makers.”

Cat and Andy reference Scotland’s vibrant skating scene and shops as being incredibly supportive in the growth of No Comply, and it’s this sense of community that continues to inspire the pair.  

www.nocomplydesign.com