Vans opened the doors and parking lot of its new corporate offices on Katella Avenue in Cypress for a big party Thursday.
Several hundred people ate, drank and skateboarded on the mini ramp inside the Vans building.
Two bands performed, including Royal Crown Review, pictured here, and MXPX.
The new headquarters gives the skateboard brand more space and brings them back to Orange County after working in Sante Fe Springs for several years.
“We were totally on top of each other before,” said Vans spokesman Chris Overholser, pictured at left with professional skateboarder Omar Hassan. “We outgrew our old space. Our footwear designers had to work across the street in a different building.”
About 360 people work at the corporate offices, including girls T-shirt designer Shannon Kennedy, at right.
The offices have a cool, industrial feel inside.
There are lots of unfinished wood touches in the interior to replicate the scraps of wood skateboarders use to make ramps in backyards. Here are some photos I shot inside, including my son Liam, 4, at the company poker table.
At left: Steve Van Doren, whose family founded Vans, shows off a shoe.
At right: Doug Palladini with Max, Devon and Hallie. They are in the Vans prototype store, where Vans can test how to display goods.
Vans is owned by VF Corp., a 100-year-old North Carolina company that owns a variety of brands including Lee and Wrangler jeans, Nautica, the North Face and Reef. VF bought Vans in 2004 for $373 million.
