Snow Business: Artists, Parlor Skis Teaming Up In Collaboration

A unique collaboration has offered up some pretty cool skis.

ArtLifting, an online art gallery supporting artists facing homelessness and disabilities and Parlor Skis, a Boston-based customized ski retailer, announced this week that they are teaming up to produce equipment that will stand out on any rack at any mountain.

And on the snow.

Yes indeed ... ArtLifting art will be printed on limited edition Parlor skis in an effort for artists to secure an income through the sales.

“At Parlor we are always looking for new ways to elevate people's experience on the snow," said Mark Wallace, the owner and manager of Parlor Skis. "One of the amazing things about building skis one at a time is that we can put unique artwork on each pair that expresses the skier's individuality. When we heard the amazing stories that each one of our featured artists had, we could not wait to provide them with a new medium to put their art on."

Wallace went to on say the collection will include, "some of the most beautiful skis we have ever made.”

“We are thrilled to partner with parlor skis and have our artists’ beautiful work on their skis. Our artists and team are beyond excited that their artwork will now be seen on the slopes,” ArtLifting officials said.

The skis are (from left-to-right in the picture) “Stumped” by Allen Chamberland, “Succulent” by Jeff Powers, and “Blue Moon” by Jeff Roysdon.

The three ArtLifting artists were chosen for their talents. Chamberland and Powers are both Boston-based, and Roysdon hails from the San Francisco area.

Here are the bios:

Allen Chamberland

Despite physical disabilities that limit his financial opportunities, Allen wholly devotes himself to making intricate and beautiful papercut works. Each of Allen’s pieces is made with a single sheet of black paper. He chooses to create his work out of paper because it is inexpensive. He explains, "You don’t mind if you mess it up. If you do, then you just crumple it up and get a new piece of paper." Allen’s artwork takes incredible patience and vision.

Jeff Powers

Artist Jeff Powers was 15 years old when he started creating art. To him, art is therapeutic and gives him purpose. Jeff says, "Art provides me with a solid foundation of who I am.” Jeff draws every day to keep himself busy. After struggling with addiction, Jeff made the decision to devote himself to his art instead of the addiction. "The more walls my pieces are on, the more empowered I become as an artist,” says Jeff, and now his art will be seen on the slopes too.

Jeff Roysdon

Living with debilitating anxiety and depression, Jeff uses art to manage his symptoms. Art is his way of communicating himself to the world around him. He hopes that his success as an ArtLifting artist will result in higher self esteem, the motivation to continue creating art, and an increased ability to purchase art supplies.

Click here for more information on the collection.

Photo Credit: Parlor Skis/ArtLifting

Chris Dehnel is a Patch editor and a past-president of the North American Snowsports Journalists East Division. The Show Business column appears regularly suing the season.