The name ‘KOARSE’ was dreamed up in 1997 by Craig Ellis and Ryan Muirhead, a couple of teenagers who were crazy about dirt bikes. The boys spent a lot of their time philosophizing about a multitude of subjects in Ryan‘s Grandmothers’s garage. One of those conversations probably went something like this – “Hey man Koarse would be a sick name for a clothing brand”. Long story short, the seed was planted, and KOARSE was born.
Later in 1999, Craig decided to put the three-fourths of a university design degree that he had to good use. For starters, he purchased an A1-size digital printer and started printing band posters, along with other promotional material. Soon enough, he purchased an old Gerber vinyl cutter from a friend’s father whose Sign Writing business had just closed down. Craig decided to call his new business venture ‘Koarse Graphics’ or ‘KOARSEfx’ for short. He spent his time running his new business from a house in Wanaka, and later from a tattoo studio in Dunedin before ending up at the current location, Mt Cargill Dunedin.
Koarse Graphics started making dirt bike graphics in the early 2000’s. The first graphics were made by overlapping die-cut stickers after which they were covered with scuff-proof. Over the years, this process has evolved and today, they use only the best quality materials, run the latest and greatest top-of-the-line printers and machinery specially developed for creating high-quality graphics.
In 2018, a new purpose-built studio/workshop was built on the Mt Cargill property that overlooks the city of Dunedin. The Studio also has views of a supercross, motocross, pit bike tracks, an FMX compound, and a foam pit which also occupies the property, affectionately known as the Koarse compound. Craig describes these berms and jumps and shit as his life’s work.
Koarse has been nurtured loved, and growen into what it is today – a well tendered bush, a koarse bush.
To make enough money doing
something we enjoy,
to afford to do other things we enjoy.
© 2021