We put 100 percent into it. And by the time something leaves our shop, Ardas has touched every single fiber of it.
Ardas and Logan Phillips are partners in life and partners in business. Their small business, Kindred Board Co., makes hand-crafted surfboards, paddleboards, and hand planes, from their boutique shop located in Orlando, Fla. In addition to their hand-shaped boards, they offer stand-up paddleboard yoga classes and eco tours, through which they bring together like-minded people and give them a true local experience — getting them out into the wilderness and showing them something they may not otherwise see.
Ardas Phillips grew up in a family that was always making and crafting. “I learned very early on how to work with my hands and how to be constructive. If you need something done, you don’t have to find someone to do it all the time. You can teach yourself how to do whatever it is you need to get done.” He was taking the first board he ever made for its first surf, and was stopped almost immediately by someone who loved it. “So I knew I had to keep making more.”
While Ardas is crafting, Logan Phillips handles the tours and marketing side of the business, which is similar in its “do-it-yourself” approach. “We do all grassroots marketing,” she says. “So during the week, we’ve found it’s about who we can connect with.”
For Kindred Board Co., it’s important to support fellow small businesses and the local community, and in the future they hope to do more charitable work and ensure that customers can get the Kindred Board Co. experience for a lesser cost than larger companies.
“I feel like we’re fortunate to have built our business into what it is now,” says Logan. “I definitely want to give back and let people know that small businesses are the way to go.”
Photos by Kike Arnal