About Us
We met at the beach.
A northerly sea breeze and a session on the water facilitated the introduction and 8 years later, three kids, a dog and a ring, we are trying to make a small business out of our passion. Some say that it is not a good idea, but neither of us can understand how it could work any other way.
We live about as far north in Australia as you can go and we return to the beach most days. It’s part of us. SUPing the sunrise swell, kiting the afternoon sea breeze and choosing our fancy when the monsoonal weather sets in and sends us solid westerly winds and formidable swells.
To the north, Indonesia is closer than the nearest significant population overland to the south. And looking across the sea, you know that you have come to a stopping point and you are at the edge of something timeless. This place has got the oldest continuing culture in the world, its myths are rich and real and you can feel it, if you bother to pay attention. Lots of people believe in gods and here you can choose your own, and for us, in this place, a pagan god of mischief will do just fine. We sit with our friends, an odd bunch with vastly different backgrounds, bound together by a water sport dependency. We gaze into the distance, we talk, we laugh and we share what it is to be where we are and do what we do. The scene revolves around the only Kite and SUP business in town – ‘Fun Supply’ - and the group probably wouldn’t exist without it.
We both value art and we keep ourselves busy with creative hobbies. Years back, we used to screen print shirts for our friends because we enjoyed it and there just didn’t seem to be many designs that resonated with us – we were all wearing the labels: Billabong, Quicksilver, Rip Curl, Roxy… The designs seemed similar, and generic, to appeal to a broad demographic. We pondered if the market, already saturated with multi-national corporates, had space for a small brand focusing on kitesurfing, stand up paddle boarding and foiling… With plenty of encouragement from the group, the concept for this Label was born.
So with a love for salt water, and an awareness that there is something going on much bigger than ourselves, we named it ‘Pan’s Ocean’. A pagan god of mischief for the soul and an ocean for the source!
‘Pan: (/pæn/; Πάν, Pan) Pagan Demigod, god of the wild…, of nature, … and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs.’
‘Ocean (noun): a body of salt water covering much of the Earth, where wind blows… and waves are made.’
Our friends model our designs… and they let us photograph and film them as they perform their magical feats on the water. It is them in the images on our website, Facebook and Instagram posts. It makes for good fun, and one day we might be able to return the favour. We hope so.
That is how we got to where we are. Hopefully we will be able to make our money back. If not, it makes no difference. It’s our passion, and it’s been enough fun already to make it worthwhile. So, thanks for taking an interest and maybe we will meet on the water one day – if we do, let us know you read this story. It would give us great pleasure.
E & D
2020
“The Ocean is our playground. Our designs capture the soul and the source of our love for the sea.”
