We’re a group of educators, designers, and artists engaged in studying of the design, making, and enjoyment of surf craft on the great lakes.

Our research is supported by The University of Illinois Chicago Award for Creative Activity, a seed funding program that supports scholarship in the arts, humanities and social sciences. The awards provide funding to initiate new projects and support broad dissemination of continuing work.

Ted Burdett is a member of the graduate faculty in the UIC School of Design, teaching as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Design Entrepreneurship. His courses focus on materials and manufacturing for design and entrepreneurship in design. He earned both his BFA in Industrial Design and his MBA, focusing on Entrepreneurship, from UIC.

Ted is co-founder and principal designer of the furniture and housewares studio, Strand Design, and the cookware brand Fourneau, which designs, markets, and fulfills unique kitchen products. Through these endeavors and client engagements, Ted has launched 10 crowdfunding campaigns and advised on dozens more through his teaching at UIC.

Bodysurfing since childhood, Ted is an experienced Great Lakes sailor and surfer. Ted began surfing Lake Michigan year-round in 2018, and frequents breaks on both the Chicago and Michigan coasts. Pandemic closures made surfing an even more important part of Ted’s life as the practice provided a socially-distanced, outdoor form of play and relief from winter isolation.

Jen is currently a Senior Instructor at the UIC School of Design. Holds a BA, in Advertising and Communication Studies from Northern Michigan University and an MFA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois Chicago.

Her process is rigorous and experimental, edging between design and studio art practices. Handcrafted and low-tech image-making meet heavily processed digital mediums to evoke new narratives, playful experiences, and multi-level interpretations. Her use of various mediums range from large format mural work, site-specific art installations, print and publication design.

Inspired by organicism, color, and movement, she invites viewer participation, asking audiences to draw on personal experiences and collective perceptions of social environments. Jen has surfed the Northern Pacific Coast and spots around Maui. Raised in the midwest, having lived in Chicago and Marquette she has long nurtured ties to the Great Lakes. Regularly traveling remote, to  locations around the great lakes region for outdoor recreation and creative practice enrichment.

Benjamin Sass is Marketing and Design Manager at Third Coast Surf Shop in Saint Joseph, Michigan. Ben joins the research team to serve as the primary photographer for the project and to contribute established connections to others in the Great Lakes surf scene.

Ben is a devoted designer, craftsman, and waterman living a life that revolves around the Great Lakes region. As a builder, his skills are varied, but his dedication to craft, detail, and intentional design are evident throughout his work. Ben graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor's of Science in Architecture with a Minor in Sustainability from Ball State University.

Ben was born in a small town 20 minutes from the shores of Lake Michigan, graced with beautiful, warm summers and frigid, awe-inspiring winters. The landscape, the water, and the architecture of the Great Lakes region influence and inspire Ben’s work as a photographer, builder, architect, visual designer, and storyteller.

https://www.benjaminsass.studio