Snowboard culture on display
USM teamed up with Chinese snowboard influencer Bai Yifan, better known under his pseudonym Billy Blanc, to create customised USM cabinets for his snow culture space, BOARDROOM. This project is breaking traditional boundaries.
This project merges snowboarding culture with design furniture, breaking traditional boundaries. Billy Blanc, a global snow traveller and content creator, has visited over 50 countries and hit the slopes of more than 200 ski resorts on seven continents. Billy owns more than 500 snowboards and is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and culture of snowboarding around the world.
“My first encounter with USM dates back to a trip to Switzerland while studying in Europe. It’s been at the top of my design furniture wish list ever since.”
BOARDROOM, a snowboard get-together space that is unique in the world, bridges the outdoor snowboard culture and the vibrant urban life of metropolis Shanghai. Unlike traditional snow equipment stores, it hosts over 100 events annually, creating a relaxed and open space that encourages people to explore the outdoors and connect with nature.
“When designing the BOARDROOM I was looking for an appropriate way to showcase the beauty of snow equipment and my snowboard collection that would reflect my personality.”
Driven by this inspiration, Billy and USM worked for nearly two years to achieve a seamless fusion between furniture and his precious collection – his passion.
In another area of the space sits a customised USM display cabinet in orange that holds Billy’s more unique collection piece. Illuminated by USM Haller E lighting, the board is embedded with turntables on both sides and a DJ mixing console in the centre, reflecting its origin as a limited collection piece from a collaboration between the legendary snowboard brand BURTON and the iconic American hip-hop crew RUN-DMC. Billy acquired this rare piece at a charity auction, with only 13 in existence worldwide.
The Snowboard History Museum, a highlight of BOARDROOM, showcases Billy’s vintage collections. The exhibited items are presented within USM display islands in steel blue, with glass top panels and USM Haller E lighting, celebrating the golden era of snowboarding.
“During the installation, we reconfigured the showcase to better suit the spatial aesthetics and storage needs, transforming it into two separate cabinets with distinct functions, placed in different locations. The process of evolving the final design is always exciting. Even in the final phase, we continued refining the layout and design based on requirements.”
If you want to purchase a USM Haller piece yourself design it now in our online configurator or find your local sales partner.
