Salt Lake City, UT – Bluehouse Ski Co. is here to stay—at least for another ski season. The Bluehouse team is gearing up for a second year of ski production, community involvement, and brand advancement. The independent ski company started as a college dream for founders Jared Richards and Adam Hepworth. It remained a dream for several years until March of 2007 when the LLC was formed. First-year accomplishments include a successful pre-season sale last September, well-attended events/competitions on and off the hill, a fully checked goals sheet for sales and customer attainment, and hundreds of positive reviews on products and customer service.

“We were really excited about our pre-season sales and the way the brand spread among skiers. We knew relatively early that we could start thinking about the 08-09 season. When we started this thing, we had no idea if that would happen,” said co-founder Jared Richards.

The early start on thinking has paid off for Bluehouse. They have big plans in development, including two new ski models and more lengths in previous models. Bluehouse also plans on putting its customers first by creating a Web site that encourages user interaction and feedback. And it will continue its tradition of unique promotional offers for the involved skier.

“Whatever we do, we think about the skier,” comments Hepworth, “all of our energy goes toward two objectives: skis our skiers want and prices our skiers can afford. That’s tough at times, but we rely on our independence and creativity to pull it off.”

Co-founders Jared Richards and Adam Hepworth and two other partners, Dan Nebeker and Shane Larsen, manage Bluehouse Ski Co. Jared, Adam, Dan, and Shane are skiers and were born in Utah.

For more information or for publications interested in doing a story, please contact Shane Larsen: shane@bluehouseskis.com, 801-440-4053.

Bluehouse is announcing their public design contest.

Let’s be honest, we could ask our neighbor’s nephew’s brother for next year’s graphics. Or we could do it ourselves. But how “Bluehouse” would that be? If we’re building skis according to the public’s wants, why not have the public do the art work too? Here are the details:

Anyone is eligible to submit a design. Submissions will be judged by the general public (50%) and the Bluehouse team (50%). The winner(s) of the contest will have their artwork printed on a full run of a Bluehouse ski model in the 08-09 season. Winners of the contest will also win two pairs of skis–one pair to ride, another pair to put on your wall.

Entries are accepted until 11:59 PM, January 15. To enter your art, click on Design Contest under the SHARE link and follow the directions.

If you have questions or you’re having problems with the submission process, send an email to Shane (shane@bluehouseskis.com).

We look forward to your involvement in the Bluehouse ski-building process. Good luck!

Bluehouse Ski Company is providing independent film crews the opportunity to feature their edits at Bluehouse events. Bluehouse is hosting the KGB film, “The Sublimation Project” at the UVSC Board Club’s Swap Event on Saturday, Nov. 10. Local filming crew, 4bi9 will be featured before the KGB premiere.

Bluehouse is also hosting the Rage film, “Enjoy” at their own company launch party on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the Post Theater on the University of Utah campus. Films from the following production crews will be shown before the featured film: 4bi9,  Off Trail, Roots2Riches, and Clown School.

See you all at the Party!

The guys at 5ones.com got with Jared to get a little more information on Bluehouse.  To see the full interview, check out www.5ones.com. The interview includes information about Bluehouse’s Chinese manufacturing partner as well as general comments Shane recieved about the skis while in Chile.

(Comments from non-Bluehouse skiers will be posted early next week.)

Greetings to all you ski junkies out there who have caught wind of Bluehouse’s pre-season sale. . . Yes, it’s true, from September 1 through September 14, Bluehouse will be selling a limited quantity of its skis for $250 (shipping not included). The sale will begin sometime in the early morning on September 1 and will last until inventory is gone or 11:59 p.m. on September 14, whichever comes first. Because this is a unique deal, there are several clarifications we need to make:

1) Each participant (shipping address) will be allowed to purchase a maximum of 3 pairs of skis. We really want those who purchase the skis to use them, not just put them up on eBay.

2) A one-year warranty will accompany skis associated with this special sale. Although Bluehouse normally backs its skis with a three-year warranty, this is impossible at the price we are offering these skis. Skis purchased at the normal retail price will be provided a full warranty.

3) Products will ship no earlier than September 20, 2007. From the response we have already received we expect to be shipping quite a few skis. With our vast staff of three people, we think this will be quite a task and are asking for your patience. Utah residents will be given the option to pickup their skis at no charge at our facility.

4) Within the next week, you will be able to create an account at Bluehouseskis.com. All those who create an account will be sent a reminder email approximately one hour prior to the sale at which time the exact commencement time of the sale will be announced. Early registration on the site will also help us to know exactly how many skis we will need to make available so we can produce more in advance if necessary.

The underlying reason for this sale is twofold: First, we wanted to thank those who have encountered Bluehouse early on and are willing to take a risk on a company with whom they have had little or no experience. Second, we wanted to get our products out early in the year so that we might get your feedback in enough time that we can incorporate it into our next year’s designs and improve upon current designs, and expand upon what you dig in our products.

David Lu author of a new ski blog dedicated to indie ski companies, http://skishack.bryansoft.com/, will be posting an interview/article about Bluehouse shortly.  Dave asked some very candid questions about the company and I am interested to see what he will have to say about Bluehouse.  Dave and his blog are based out of Canada . With his dedication and initiative  I am sure his blog will soon be a central source for all things indie in the ski industry.

Bluehouse is extremely pleased to announce that U.S. Freeskiing Tour Competitor David Wintzer has joined the Bluehouse team. David has only been on the tour for two years but is already a rising star. What’s most impressive about David is that not only is he a fearless skier, but he is a quality person to the core. We’ll keep you posted on David and the rest of the Bluehouse Team’s progress throughout this coming year. Dave’s character and caliber of skiing epitomize the Bluehouse Team.

A couple of pics of David thanks to Altabird.com

Alta Cliff 1
Alta Cliff 2

Bluehouse will be demoing products on Saturday, December 15, 2007 at Brighton Ski Resort.  Arrive early as our demos are limited.  No restrictions on these demos, take them OB or to the park, you’ve gotta push ‘em to really feel what these skis are like.

As a sidenote, we’ve got to thank the the guys at Brighton for being super cool to work with - no red tape.

Bluehouse Ski Co. has quickly reached a notable milestone in its hopes to becoming a successful ski-manufacturing company. Utah native, Shane Larsen, became the first employee to join the efforts of Adam Hepworth and Jared Richards in advancing Bluehouse as a unique and independent ski producer. Larsen will be primarily responsible for BH’s interactive marketing, public relations, and general sales.

Larsen grew up near Logan, UT, where he learned to ski at his local resort, Beaver Mountain. His college winters were spent skiing often and studying rarely. Larsen is currently finishing his Master’s degree in professional communication at Westminster College. He is overtly passionate about the ski industry.

“I’m stoked to be a part of something I love. The ski industry is super energetic and the people are always out for a good time. I can’t imagine a better place for me than with Bluehouse.” BH is pleased to have Larsen’s enthusiasm at work and on the hill.

Utah skiers Adam Hepworth and Jared Richards form Bluehouse Ski Co., LLC to produce two lines of skis for winter 2007-2008. Bluehouse products are made from exceptional materials and with master craftsmanship. Bluehouse is laying a quality groundwork to become a well respected industry participant along side other Utah companies like Black Diamond and Backcountry.com.