Can you wear a skateboard? With Dave De Witt’s creations, it’s possible. After skateboarding for 32 years, De Witt is now repurposing disused boards into sunglasses. “We need to be more responsible with our waste,” he says. Rising consumer demand means many items are mass produced and eventually discarded, resulting in excess rubbish. De Witt’s innovative accessories are relieving this environmental burden.
With a background in carpentry, De Witt upcycles wood and old skateboards to craft pairs of elegant sunnies. “I don’t need to cut down trees to make my products,” he says. “They just come wheeling in on their own.” After posting his work online, De Witt sold his first pair of Sk8Shades in 2019. Local and international blogs picked up his unconventional design and the orders started rolling in.
To date, De Witt has made close to 2 000 pairs of sunnies. In the future, he hopes to teach people how to use the material around them to construct the products they desire. Treasure isn’t found in waste, it’s created.
