Ski wall art, made from skis that actually went down a mountain
There is a pair of skis in most garages that nobody is ever going to ride again and nobody is willing to throw away. On a wall, that same pair stops being clutter and starts being the thing guests ask about. Everything here is built by hand in Manitou Springs, Colorado, from real retired skis, snowboards and reclaimed wood.
Wall art is where most people start with us, because it fits any room, it does not need a decorating conversation with anyone, and it costs a fraction of a chair. It is also the piece people photograph and send to their friends, which is not nothing.
Every piece uses genuine retired gear rather than printed panels, so the graphics, the scratches and the faded topsheets are real. The murals are painted by hand in exterior oils. No two are the same, and the photograph on each product page is the actual item in most cases.
The portrait series
A face painted across a set of skis, close up it is gear, from across the room it is a portrait.
Art that works
Crossed antique skis with five double hooks. It looks like decor and holds a winter of wet jackets.
Murals
Hand painted mountain scenes on reclaimed wood, up to 96 inches for a wall that needs filling.
What we make
Hand painted ski murals
Mountain ranges, sunsets, moose, bears, aspens and bigfoot, painted across a set of skis mounted side by side. These are the pieces that read as Colorado from the doorway. Sizes run from a single ski up to a 96 inch office wall mural.
The portrait series
Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp, Tombstone, Django, Clint Eastwood, Spock and a Native American Chief, each painted across recycled skis. They are the strangest thing we make and the hardest to walk past. If there is a face you want and it is not on this list, ask.
Colorado signs
Welcome to Colorful Colorado in several sizes and finishes, including reclaimed barnwood with white letters and walnut stained Thermory wood. The Manitou Incline and its 2,768 steps has its own piece, and so does Garden of the Gods.
Coat hooks and hall pieces
Crossed antique skis with five double hooks, horizontal snowboard racks with four or six hooks, and full entryway boot bench and coat rack combinations. These sell better than anything else in this category, because they are the rare wall piece that earns its space.
Headboards and large format
Queen and king sized ski headboards in any colors, standing directional signs like the ones at a resort base, and custom office wall panels. If the wall is big, tell us how big and we will build to it.
Your own skis, on your own wall
Any of this can be built from gear you send us. Wall art is the cheapest way to do it, because a wall piece takes far less gear than a chair does. One pair is often enough, where a chair needs four to five pairs. Ship them, drop them off, or we will collect them anywhere in Colorado. See Sentimental for the full range of pieces built from a customer own gear.
If you would rather build something yourself, we also sell sets of retired skis by the batch: nineties and two thousands pairs, cross country skis, vintage retro pairs and steel Volants. Tell us what look you are after and we will text you options before anything ships.
Indoors, outdoors and how it hangs
Most pieces are finished for indoor or outdoor use, and the product page says which. A ski is light for its size, so a mural on two or three skis hangs on standard wall anchors. The larger barnwood and Thermory pieces are heavier and want a stud. Coat hooks always want a stud, because the load is not the hooks, it is the wet jacket and the person pulling on it.
Custom work
Custom is normal here rather than a special order. A specific mountain, a specific run, a resort profile, a town name, a date, a set of initials and brand colors. A company logo is the one thing we do not paint: it goes on as a logo decal floated onto a painted background so the mark stays exact, with aluminum and plastic appliques as alternatives at different prices. Send a photograph of what you have in mind and we will tell you honestly how close we can get before you commit to anything.
How ordering works
Most wall art is made to order, typically two to four weeks, and some pieces are ready to ship within a few business days. Wall art ships parcel nationwide to the lower 48, which makes it the easiest thing we build to send as a gift. Local delivery covers Colorado Springs, Denver, Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen and most of the state, and pickup in Manitou Springs is always an option.
Frequently asked questions
What to do with vintage skis?
Put them on a wall, which is the only use that keeps the graphics visible. The three that work are crossed over a doorway or a fireplace, mounted flat side by side as a panel and painted with a mural, or cut down and turned into something with a job, like a coat hook or a shelf. What does not work is leaning them in a corner, which is how they got dusty in the first place.
How do you display old skis on a wall?
Crossed at an angle is the classic and it suits a pair with good graphics. Parallel and tight together turns two or three pairs into one canvas, which is how the murals are built. Mount into a stud wherever you can, especially for anything that will carry weight. Skis are lighter than they look, so a mural on two or three skis hangs on ordinary anchors, but the barnwood and stained wood pieces are heavy enough to want real fixing. And hang it lower than you think. Most people hang art about a foot too high.
What can you do with 40 year old skis?
Those are the good ones. Skis from the eighties and early nineties are straight, narrow and covered in the loudest graphics the industry ever produced, and that is exactly what looks right on a wall. Newer shaped skis are technically better and visually duller. If you have a pair from that era sitting in a garage, they are worth more as art than anything else you could do with them.
Are vintage skis worth anything?
As collectibles, only in narrow cases. Hickory and ash wooden skis from before the sixties, early Head metal skis and anything with a genuine racing history can find a collector. Everything else has almost no collector market. As material for wall art it is a different question entirely, and there the value is in the topsheet: bold graphics, an interesting brand, and a surface that has not delaminated. A beaten pair with a great graphic beats a mint pair with a boring one.
Can it hang outside?
Many pieces can. Most are painted in exterior oils on solid backing and are rated for indoor or outdoor use, and the product page states it. Covered porches and patios are fine. Full sun and full weather year round will fade any painted surface eventually, ours included, so put it under something if you can.
Can you paint a specific mountain or a specific person?
Yes to both, and both are ordinary work here. Named ranges, resort profiles, individual runs and town names are routine. Portraits are the harder ask and we will be honest with you about whether a particular face will read at ski width before you order. Send a photograph and we will tell you.
