Keren Richter is a big name today as an interior designer and artist, creating luxurious spaces with her company White Arrow in Brooklyn, but she also has a fascinating history that’s rooted in skateboarding and zine-making.
According to her company bio, Keren “was born in Vienna and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. At age 18, she moved to New York (studying Graphic Design and Illustration at Parsons The New School of Design and later graduating with an art history degree from Columbia University).”
Back in the late 1990s, Keren was a skateboarder and wrote about her experiences in her zine Opposites Subtract (1997), which was a follow-up to her first zine called Night Dreams as a 16-year-old living in Alamo, CA, east of San Francisco.
Keren wrote, “I went skating yesterday & the day before (actually 5 times this week) and I love it. I love skating with the wind blowing all around me. The weather lately has been perfect. Amy, Angie, and I have been going out late at night and it’s beautiful. The area we skate is empty and the ground is freshly paved and all ours. I can feel myself getting better and my ollie is getting higher off the ground.
Tomorrow I’m going to grind (sliding on the curbs with yer trucks). I want to get really good and spit all of Simon’s words in his face. I don’t need to prove anything to him or the skating community here, but I want to. Because they all think that girls can’t skate. But that’s not true. We would skate more if there were more people to skate with. Boys skate with their friends and it’s social and fun. For us girls we either have to go alone (which is no fun) or arrange it with each other’s schedule (which is hard cos we’re busy girls) but when we do it’s worth it. I just wish there were more girls like us. That way I could get some encouragement.
I stopped skating with the guys becus I felt excluded & they were better than I was. They had all their years of experience on me and they show off. That’s not what I need, what I need are some girl skaters here.”
Keren then collaged these words, as though speaking to someone, perhaps this “Simon” person who was giving her a hard time. “If I told you I skateboard would you tell me girls don’t skate. Tell me girls can’t skate. Tell me if I do skate I do it for attention, affection, acception? Isn’t a poser someone who does stuff for you? Does it so they like you? Does it just because, not because they want to? Yeah it’s true. So shut up. I may not be as dedicated or as good. But I deserve just as much respect. So fuck you. I don’t have to prove anything.”
On another page, Keren wishes and wonders what it might be like if she could drive a car, sneak out of the house and escape to the city to go to shows and skateboard at midnight. She also included a fabulous quote from Rebecca West from 1913: “I myself have never known what Feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat [or a prostitute].”
On the final page of Opposites Subtract, Keren gives a shout out to her friends, with reference to the “Hoochie Posse,” and gratitude to musicians / bands like Cibo Matto, Cub, Ani DiFranco, Sleater Kinney and Bikini Kill which inspired her during the process of creating her zine. It’s noted in an online catalogue that Opposites Subtract also contained a guest article about Riot Grrrl, her hatred of clone girls at school, her sewing experiments, interviews with her friends Sal and Sarah, etc.
If you would like to browse the zine, it’s available at the Seattle Public Library (ZAPP collection), and Columbia University zine collection in NYC.
Keren’s dream did come true, and she escaped her house and an abusive situation, which is referenced in the zine. The following year in 1998, Keren won a visual arts award as a “California Arts Scholar” to attend the California State Summer School for the Arts, and then she made her big move to New York at age 18 to continue her studies, develop her portfolio, and became the creative director for “Blood is the New Black.” In the September 2006 issue of Jane magazine, Keren’s stylized paintings were featured with their 1970s vibe that must have led to her collab with Vans. She was age 24 at the time.
Keren’s signature designs were produced by Vans as their “Wellesley” shoes for the girls’ division, released Fall 2008 and Spring 2009. In a review of her designs in 2009 from CoolHunting.com, it was written that,
“Keren Richter’s illustrations of creepy-cute mod girls and ethereal dreamscapes have graced many gallery walls, advertisements and products. In fact she’s such a hit Vans asked her to design another shoe for their spring collection, following the success of her first pair last fall. The Wellesley skate shoe comes in two colorways, purple or pink, and features an illustration inspired by Keren’s San Francisco youth on the canvas exterior and a brightly colored mosaic print lining inspired by Islamic textiles and stained glass. Also launching with her shoe is a spring tote bag boasting the same durable canvas and whimsical design as the Wellesley. Keep an eye out for Keren later in the month, as she tours the country promoting her designs at various Vans stores.”
Over at Vans, there’s some promo that explains that Keren’s second collab was inspired by Artemis, goddess of the hunt in Greek mythology, in the guise of a teenager. “For this collection, Richter was inspired by the Psychedelic Pop movement born in 1967, a period that saw the birth of new musical, artistic and literary genres.”
In 2009, Keren was awarded the title of “Young Gun” by the Art Directors Club and in 2010 her illustrations, paintings and design were creating a buzz in Brooklyn with clients like Bust magazine, MTV, NYLON, Sephora, Seventeen, Vans, Vice, VrakTV, etc. Many of her creations are archived on the CargoCollective.com website.
Keren continued with the zine theme in her collaboration with Andrew Janik called “Space is the Place” zine-blog (2011-2012), in reference to 1974 film by Sun Ra that celebrated over twenty-five artists like Brent Wadden and Maya Hayuk. Her curatorial skills were also put to use in Berlin for a pop-up shop called RATS in 2013. And then the following year she launched White Arrow back in New York.
Artwork above: “Balancing Act” sculpture (reminds me of the Girl skateboards OG wooden dolls), collage from 2010 and collage for Nylon magazine, early 2000s.
I would love to hear first-hand from Keren about her youthful skateboarding experiences, how it impacted her path forward, and if anyone has a copy of her first zine, Night Dreams, please reach out. I do have to say how awesome it is that the biggest skateboarding shoe company, Vans validated Keren’s expertise which must have felt so good in light of the dismissive attitude she received from some of the guys skateboarding back in SF from her youth. Good on ya, Keren!
This post was made possible thanks to a very kind and dedicated zine librarian at SPL’s ZAPP Zine Collection.
Update [December 6, 2024]: Keren found the post and contacted me! She shared that, “I actually had no idea my zine was in these libraries. I hadn’t read the words I had written when I was 16 since I wrote them. It’s really a fascinating trip back in time. I now have two young daughters, and I save all my Vans, illustrated T-shirts, and stickers, and I can’t wait to give them to my girls and teach them to skate 🙂 sometimes I wonder what it would’ve been like to grow up in a place like New York City versus the suburbs, but I made it out and I’m very happy!“
Womxn Skateboard History 