Just read the post about surfboard prices going through the roof and most appreciated Ambrose and Genius’s (J. Phillips) comments. Not everyone on Sway makes their living by working with their hands, as most here are part-time surfboard shapers. Perhaps fair to say that most of the folks here simply love making boards for themselves and make their living doing a “real job”.
For those who make their living crafting things by hand there are perhaps two major areas of saddness that we encounter in this life working mostly by ourselves in small shops. One, seeing poor craftsmanship being passed off as “quality”, and two, people who either don’t care or refuse to understand the difference between junk knock-offs and true one of a kind products made with integrity.
I understand disposable products and I’m the first to buy junk when I just want junk, like disposable razors instead of expensive electric types, or cheap timex watches instead of gold Rolex models, or t-shirts without logos. We’re all free to pick and choose, and the lessons of supply and demand can not be altered any more than we can change the forces of gravity. However, I’m talking about the people who talk quality, march in support for made in America, and point downward thumbs at foreign made trash, while all the while going out of their way to purchase inferior made products and gripe about the prices of quality items. We read post after post here on Sway about Asian factory boards, but we also see those who denounce the prices the pro shapers get for their beautifully handcrafted boards.
I had two recent customers that sum it all up: One was a very wealthy surgeon who was interested in one of my balsa boards and also wanted a bid for a piece of furniture. He lives in a mansion and drives all kinds of fancy cars and sports a designer wife. When I told him the price he just snickered and said, “Are you kidding”? He eventually bought two surftech wood lam boards and found his furniture in Mexico.
The other customer is why I do what I do. He’s a regular guy who owns a small money management company. Not much flash, just substance. What he said to me is something that almost never happens: “I want one of your furniture items for the entrance of my office…I don’t care what you make, or when it’s finished, and I don’t even care what it costs…I’d just like you to see my office and then let me know if you’re interested in making something for me.” I saw the office and decided what I thought would be right. Several months later I called him to let him know the piece was finished. I told him I would love to keep it for sale in a gallery if he did not feel it was priced right or was not what he had in mind. At several thousand dollars, I did not know what to expect when he came by to see it. He smiled and wrote a check. I later received several calls and notes from him thanking me for the piece.
Everything about that experience seems backwards - perhaps a flashback to the olden days. There are a lot more disposable surgeons out there than the guy who bought the piece for his office. I asked him what he liked most about the piece and why was he willing to stick his neck out for whatever I wanted to make and charge. His answer still makes me smile when I think about it. He said, “I just like knowing it was made by hand, and it just makes me feel good when I walk into work and see it each morning.”
Sooo, this is nothing more than a word of encouragement from a fellow Swaylocker to do the best work you can, be proud of it, and press on to learn more and be better at whatever it is you do. Hats off to the full-time surfboard shapers who earn their living making functional water sculpture. Buy their boards, smile, thank them. It’s all about Enjoying the ride!
Richard