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In the bedroom of Nick Pourfard’s San Francisco home is a collection of furniture he built himself. Pourfard is a self-taught woodworker who seems to have a knack for crafting wooden wonders. Instead of turning his professional attention to dressers and bed frames, however, Pourfard decided to craft something a bit more exciting: guitars. And he doesn’t craft them from Home Depot-fresh lumber, he makes them out of old skateboards. We met him in the garage workshop of Prisma Guitars to take a look at his process.

CM: What inspired you to start doing this?

NP: Curiosity mostly. I wanted to build something I couldn’t buy that was sentimental to me. I passed by the old stack of skateboards my brother and I accumulated over the years and that was it.

CM: Do you have to go hunting for old boards to use?

NP: Actually, I get all of them donated to me by skate shops, distributors, skaters, and fellow board recyclers.

CM: And once you have them, how long does it take you to make one guitar?

NP: I was juggling school for a while and that made the process take about 4-5 weeks per guitar. Now that I’ve graduated, it takes about 2 weeks to build one.

CM: And you taught yourself, right?

NP: Right. It started with skate ramps, then furniture, and now guitars. I would also try to hang around people who did know a lot so I could learn more about woodworking and guitar building. Basically, work for free to learn, get experience, and make connections—plus it was fun!

CM: What’s your favorite part of the process?

NP: Getting the skateboards to become usable material is so labor intensive, and I have no idea what patterns will emerge. When I finally get to see the pattern that comes out, I get excited. The pattern helps me decide what type of guitar I will make. That’s my favorite part.


CM: How can someone get one of your guitars?

NP: I have an online store, and that’s where I make most of my sales. I also get custom inquiries to build a guitar from scratch. I’d say I get one of those requests at least every few days.

CM: When you’ve actually got time to play, what’s your go-to song?

NP: Yeah, I’ve been playing guitar for about 12 years, and I’ve been skating for just as long. I’ve been playing “Cissy Strut” by The Meters for as long as I can remember. For some reason, that song never gets old.


Learn more at Prisma Guitars.

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Unzip your coat and have some mulled wine on the house—you’ve arrived at your final gifting destination: The Holiday Gift Guide. It’s like your friendly neighborhood one-stop holiday shop, except instead of balsa wood ornaments, ours is packed with thoughtful gifts for everyone on your list. Future heirlooms, small-but-significant stocking stuffers, and gear for getting out there (or staying in)—are all right here. There’s no music playing in the background though, so you’ll just have to hum Bing Crosby while you click around instead.

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