Recess Keeps You In Style on the Pickleball Court with Playful Patterns & Delightful Designs
This Austin-based brand offers chic pickleball paddles & accessories that mix classic collegiate style with nostalgic vintage vibes
After breaking out of post-pandemic isolation, Grace Moore and Maggie Brown grew increasingly fatigued by the bland designs of pickleball paddles that online giants like Amazon peddle out to potential players.
“There needs to be paddles that complement the fun aesthetic of the sport,” Maggie Brown mentions as we discuss the origin of Recess. Maggie continues, “Talking to Grace, who is my childhood friend, she brought the vision to life.”
Drawing up paddles with playful patterns, Grace and Maggie worked to highlight nostalgic and vintage vibes in their products while riding a wave of inspiration from the popularity of the sport. “Everything you see looks like it was out of a Wes Anderson prop box,” Grace jokes about the visually delightful designs of their paddles, hats, apparel and accessories.
The Hyde Park Paddle (named after the beloved North Austin neighborhood) could easily be in the hands of Margot Tenenbaum. Their Recess Water Bottle would fit perfectly in “Asteroid City”, and the Flatbill Hat would work well on a Khaki Scout in “The Moonrise Kingdom”. Recess gear gives players a visually delightful alternative to the more utilitarian designs that are commonplace across recreation. The Rally Bag with a slight avocado shade and shape comes in a very 80s country club vernacular. Their Clubhouse Shirt looks straight out of Netflix’s “Red Oaks”. Even their balls come in colors atypical to what you can find online, with a soft cream or jet black for their Leanne Ford collaboration.
Local love for Austin
Their passion for Austin allowed them to eventually set up their manufacturing operations here. So, their paddles can be locally made and not simply shipped overseas. “ Why would we not try to invest more in the community we’re already part of?” Maggie rhetorically asks. Armed with a complete production line by their office, Recess’s roots are deepening in Austin as their designs receive an ever-growing reception across pickleball players all over the globe.
As their brand grows and their offerings expand, their core mission to reflect the playful spirit of the sport in the equipment they produce will always remain at the heart of what they do. Maggie mentions the dream of opening a colorful court of their own someday, meticulously designed by Grace. Still up in the air for now, even as the demand for space for the sport grows beyond bars and converted tennis courts, this rocket ship of a stylish brand surely can land a spot for pickleball to thrive in a nostalgically campy court.
Where to find Recess collections
Their entire collection and collaborations can be found on their online store or through their Amazon storefront. A laundry list of specialty paddles made for brands like Henri Noël, J.Crew, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Outdoor Voices, Neighborhood Goods and even Bouldin Acres can be bought on these various websites.
RELATED: Pickleball in Austin — Here’s What You Need to Know