It feels great to be back with a new episode of Maker’s Insight. Today, we are talking to a man who is a well-respected fingerboard maker and contributor to the fingerboard community. His name is Stefan Lundberg, also known as the Founder of Devise Fingerboards.

Here is the story and insight of Stefan behind Devise.

(NY) Please introduce yourself to our readers!

(SL) My name is Stefan Lundberg. I am 30 years old, living in Southern California. I am a FlatFace team rider and most of all the creator of Devise Fingerboards!

(NY) Where did the name ‘Devise’ originate from?

(SL) I was very indecisive on finding the right name and in January 2012 I just decided to just go with Devise Fingerboards. I had my first metal mold created where I felt confident in my own shape and felt it was ready to launch a small brand. Originally, I wanted to name the brand something like Create fingerboards. I started digging through the thesaurus and went with Devise because it means to create from the existing. I wanted the world to see what I thought a good fingerboard would be like based on my perspective and inspirations at the time. I was highly inspired by the FlatFace G12 and Berlinwood “New Mold”!

(NY) When and why did you start making fingerboards?

(SL) In late 2010 I did a trade with a friend where he sent me 5 pieces of veneer as an extra in a trade. Little did I know it would change my life! I spent all of 2011 experimenting with deck making in my free time. It blew me away to know that these fragile pieces of wood could solidify into a well performing deck that was much better than a plastic board. I had a lot of free time on my hands as I was still a teenager, didn’t have a car yet, and was living on the east coast where I experienced a lot of snow days. I experimented with concrete molds I found on eBay, created my own bondo molds, and finally invested in metal molds because I was tired of the inconsistencies.

(NY) Where do you get the inspiration for your art (for example, the iconic ‘crayon cruiser’)?

(SL) Exploring different types of veneer online and at woodshops plus I have been having a lot of fun dyeing my own veneers lately! I love the natural beauty of the wood and love transparent graphics that have some art to it. When I first made the crayon cruisers I was doing them with paper graphics because that is all I knew at the time. Now that I have discovered heat transfers I am having a lot of fun exploring new ideas for crayons and more!

(NY) Please take us through the journey of creating a new collection (From coming up with an idea to the day of the launch).

(SL) My stocks / collections are very random as they are whatever I am most inspired by at the time. Let me take you through designing a Pro Model deck: I reach out to the rider for graphic suggestions on what they would like to ride. Once we agree on an idea that hopefully won’t get copyrighted, I reach out to my graphic designer Nick Barthe. Nick is someone I grew up skating with as a kid and he takes my idea and blows it out of the water every time! Him and I go back and forth on what the team rider wants to see and I mostly look for the correct proportions to fit on the board. I’ll usually get a sample printed up and then send it off to production along with a bunch of other graphics as it is much easier to do it this way. After that I start laboring away on the stock, I send boards to the rider to advertise, and post it up on our site!

(NY) What does Devise and fingerboarding in general mean to you in life?

(SL) Devise is a way for me to express my creativity and help support some of my best friends who are family to me whether it’s motivation or giving them board royalties for their pro model decks. Fingerboarding might not have a ton of money in it, but I enjoy doing it more than anything! To get deep with everyone for a minute I used to have a rider named Allan Agudelo who passed away in 2021. He was such a positive person, talented filmer, and an even more talented / stylish fingerboarder. The fact that I was able to shine some light in his life, stoke him out to ride for my team, and support his family with some money from a stock of decks for his funeral to me is absolutely mind blowing. It’s a path of life I never expected a miniature skateboard to bring me to. We never had a chance to do a Pro Model graphic for him, but I felt some fulfillment in my life for being able to help support his family at a very sad time. I still think about him constantly and I feel sadness, but I also feel inspired by the impact he left behind on me. We miss you Allan! 

(NY) Apart from your company Devise, who are you as a person? What other interests do you have other than fingerboarding?

(SL) I am a skateboarder who works full time as a Store Manager for Vans. Other than skateboarding I enjoy hanging out with my girlfriend and my two cats! I love hanging out with my family and my friends who have become my second family. I also enjoy collecting Pokémon cards and playing Pokémon GO in my free time!

(NY) Lastly, is there anything you would like to add for the readers?

(SL) The most important part of fingerboarding is to have fun with your friends. I made Devise because I wanted to get high quality wooden fingerboards in easier access to my skater friends and myself. If you don’t have any friends who fingerboard, check your local skateshop or Instagram to find events. Fingerboard companies are being created monthly if not weekly at this point. Reach out to some brands to see if they have any free time to help you promote an event in your area and help spread the joy of fingerboarding! The world we live in has a lot of darkness in it unfortunately and this is our chance to help spread some light!

• Stefan Lundberg

  Instagram: @devisefingerboards