One Blue Eye is a Cornwall-based brand born from a love of surf culture and a determination to do something meaningful about the plastic waste threatening the coastlines we love.
Matt Nott takes plastic that would otherwise end up rotting in landfill or washing up on our beaches and transforms it into surf-inspired products. Each piece is a reminder that the materials we throw away don't simply disappear but that in the right hands, they can become something worth holding on to.
We caught up with Matt to find out more about the journey behind One Blue Eye and what drives him to keep making.
Can you tell us about the idea that sparked One Blue Eye?
That New Year’s Day walk felt different from the start. It was a crisp, bright morning, and like many people I was thinking about the usual resolutions of doing more exercise, "maybe" committing to a dry January. But as I walked along the beach, it suddenly struck me that a resolution didn’t have to be just about self-improvement. It could be about helping people and the planet at the same time.
The idea of cleaning the beach as part of my routine felt perfect. A few weeks later, the idea for the bodysurfing handplane clicked into place and perfectly aligned with that vision of collecting plastic from the shoreline, transforming it into a surf craft, and then heading straight back into the water and back to the beach to surf and pick up more plastic. It became a circular, purposeful and actionable idea.
Image: One Blue Eye
Can you walk us through the journey of a piece of beach or waste plastic – from the moment you collect it to when it becomes a wax comb (or shaka keyring!)?
Plastic for my products comes from two main sources: beach cleans and litter picks, as well as local collection points for post-consumer plastic. Whichever route it takes, the process begins the same way. Each piece is thoroughly cleaned, carefully sorted by type, and then shredded so it’s ready for the injection moulding stage.
It becomes something purposeful and beautiful, like a wax comb or a shaka keyring, an object designed to be used, valued, and kept. In that way, each product gives discarded material a second life, turning waste into something a new owner can truly treasure.
What's the most unusual or surprising item that you’ve found and used to transform into something beautiful?
I get all sorts of weird and wonderful items that people hope I can transform, everything from an old toilet seat to broken toys. It’s always amusing to see what turns up, but also inspiring, because each object holds the potential for a completely new purpose.
One of my favourite examples is turning something as mundane as bits of broken fishing crates or a damaged wheelie bin into trophies and medals. There’s something really powerful about watching people proudly hold those pieces aloft to celebrate their achievements, knowing they were once destined for landfill or washed up on my local beach. It perfectly captures what I love about the process: taking overlooked waste and reshaping it into something meaningful, beautiful, and worth celebrating.
Image: One Blue Eye
What does it mean to you to have One Blue Eye products stocked in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall's Gift Shop during the SURF! Exhibition?
Being featured as a stockist means a huge amount to me. I was genuinely stoked when I was asked to be part of it, especially alongside such a fantastic and inspiring exhibition that celebrates surf culture and its wider impact.
How has your relationship with the Cornish coastline evolved and what keeps you connected to these waters?
Ever since first setting foot in the Cornish waves it feels that the ocean has given me so much. Back then, long before the plastic pollution crisis became so visible, I remember beaches feeling wilder and cleaner. Those memories have stayed with me, and over time they’ve become a real driving force and given a desire to give something back to the waves that have shaped so much of my life.
That connection has only deepened through my work. There’s something hugely rewarding about making a piece of surf craft with my own hands and then taking it into the sea. Which is why I try and pass on that knowledge and give people the opportunity to do the same in my hand plane workshops. In many ways, there is so much enjoyment, if not more, than riding a state-of-the-art longboard. It feels more personal, more purposeful, and more connected to the coastline that first got me hooked on surfing all those years ago.
How do you hope One Blue Eye products inspire beachgoers and surfers to see plastic pollution differently?
I hope One Blue Eye products encourage beachgoers and surfers to see plastic pollution not simply as waste, but as a material with potential and a story behind it. Every piece found on the shoreline has come from somewhere and been something before, and by transforming it into a useful, beautiful object, that story continues rather than ending as litter.
Using these products creates a tangible link between cleaning the beach, reusing what we find, and then returning to the ocean with something made from it in a circular process that deepens people’s connection to the coastline and empowers them to take small, positive actions.
Ultimately, I want the products to spark a shift in perspective: to see plastic not just as pollution, but as a prompt to care more deeply for the places we love. By making the material visible again in a new form, it gently encourages people to reflect on their own relationship with plastic and to become more mindful, responsible consumers, recognising that even simple acts, like a beach clean, can feed into something creative, purposeful, and worth treasuring.
What's your vision for One Blue Eye's future, and how do you hope to grow your impact?
My vision for One Blue Eye is to grow the circular journey I’ve started - collecting plastic from our beaches and communities, transforming it into meaningful products, and using those creations to inspire more people to care for the coastline. I’d love to expand the range of surf-inspired items I make, collaborate with more local organisations and events, and create opportunities for people to get involved in the process, from beach cleans to seeing the material reborn as something new. The more visible that journey becomes, the greater the impact it can have in shifting how we all think about plastic and our role in protecting the ocean.
My recent Crowdfunder is a big part of that future. It will help me invest in better equipment, increase production capacity, and develop new products made from recovered waste, allowing me to scale up both the creative side of the business and the environmental impact. Ultimately, my goal is to build a sustainable, community-driven model that not only reduces plastic pollution, but also inspires others to rethink waste, value the materials we already have, and feel empowered to make a positive difference.
Shop One Blue Eye products at National Maritime Museum Cornwall.