Our Logo
By Rich Mudge
The evolution of our logo began in 2000 when I took a surf trip with two close friends to Indonesia. One of them is a talented tattoo artist who also happened to make custom choppers from Ducati motorcycles. The other just got a skateboard company off the ground and was moving up within the surf action sports community. Joanne and I were two years into running Creative Fire Clay Studio.
Indonesia is situated along the Pacific Rim, also known as the “Ring of Fire,” and many of the islands are volcanic in nature. We first arrived in Bali and surfed Airports Lefts the next day. We had an incredible hook up through one of my friends that included a chartered boat. We set sail on our third day and anchored for an evening surf session at a spot called Shipwrecks off Nusa Lembogan. Once we went to sleep, the boat crew sailed us overnight to the island of Lombok. We jumped in the water and surfed legendary reef pass Desert Point. We also anchored at the Gili Islands for some snorkeling. Our destination was a house built by the parents of my friend’s wife on the Island of Sumbawa. Once settled we surfed Yo-yo’s on a nearly daily basis, while also driving to Uni’s, Super Suck, and Scar Reef. Our trip was absolutely magical. The scenery was exotic, we experienced both Hindu and Muslim cultures while eating new and interesting foods.
I ended up having to come back a week earlier than my friends. On the plane ride home, I was in deep reminiscence of everything that I experienced. I thought about the ring of fire and drew a set of 7 waves situated along a ring that faced and spun counterclockwise. Typhoons, also known as cyclones, or hurricanes, spin counter clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Six waves represent the spots that we surfed, and the 7th wave is symbolic of the entire trip. The wave style drew inspiration from Hokusai’s “The Great Wave of Kanagawa.” I sat on this image for several months before having my travelling buddy tattoo it on my back. I eventually changed the image to “Flaming Waves” as a logo for our clay studio. It worked well with the spinning pottery wheel and the essential elements of water and fire necessary for ceramics production. When we began making and bottling hot sauce the Flaming Waves logo couldn’t have been a more perfect fit!
