Not many people can build a business out of selling old fishing nets, but somehow Danielle Clayton makes it work.
In 2010, Danielle quit a job she loved as a sales rep for Billabong NZ to buy a one-way ticket to the Maldives and work on a surf charter boat. There she met her fiancé and they spent the next three years working as surf guides.
It was in 2012, while still working as a surf guide, that Danny started her blog under the name Salt Gypsy. The goal of Danny’s blog was to connect with other like-minded female surfers living the same surf-centric lifestyle and showcase cool surf gear from independent women’s surf brands.
“At the time, there was little to zero support for independent surf labels from mainstream surf industry and media. At the same time, there was a whole market of women, myself included, who didn’t want to purchase from mainstream brands or wear big, logo-driven products.”
Halfway through her third season working and surfing under the tropical sun, Danny was becoming increasingly conscious of covering up from sun damage. Not finding anything in the market that suited her personal taste (or surf guide wages), she decided to make some of her surf gear.
*A big thank you to Nathan and the team at Moula for sharing some of our story, to our legend mate CB for the shots, and for the Sea Bones team for letting us take over the shop for half an hour!
