How are your board sales of late?

Industry Talk
181

…you have very good angles there specially second and forth; also very artistict the retouches made on photoshop.

I m not a retro builder or a wallhangers builder man; so I do my best to provide satisfaction to my customers, that in the end try to go where they want on a wave too.

show me pictures of non “pro” or like that surfers on your boards.

-Nothing bad to make money; I insist that this is not the concept behind this thread

but I feel the hegemony of the machine-marketing near totalitarism.

I do all types of shapes

here s some in the style you posted and one customer riding in Lombock

Surfboards picts were done by me and the action were done by a photographer; no of its were photoshoped.

 

 

surfboards are one of the few things still “us” have the control (see what Midget say about the foam companies that try to get the blanks formula, etc)

its a cottage industry and that s the way we should maintain it.

I cannot sell my soul to the devil for a few dollars more. Im not the one who went to the crossroads and sold out, more the one who tried hard to understand things an provide decent equipment; also Im very easy to find if some one have a problem with a board that I made; I cannot knock knock in the door of a big factory in China or whatever and see if they could help me about it…

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182

Reverb very well put.

…you have very good angles there specially second and forth; also very artistic the retouches made on photoshop.

Yes some the photos are PHOTOSHOP ENHANCED.

Surfboards pics were done by me and the action were done by a photographer; no of its were photoshoped.

Reverb I find you very competitive? This is not a competition (forgive me if I misunderstand?).

I make my boards in California custom for people who actual surf and yes I make Wooden Wall Hangers too for High End Homes in Newport Beach. I guess that makes me Evil?

I do make a lot of boards for contest surfers and retired pro’s as well as average guys. Photos are sent to me daily of the Pro’s that ride my boards. It’s harder for me to get shots of the average guys.

This is INDUSTRY NOTES AND THE TREAD IS BOARD SALES OF LATE?

I was only sharing what I do to keep selling boards.

Keeping track the boards you make is an important part of the process .

 

Kind regards and I wish you only the best,

surfding

 

 

183

“its a cottage industry and that s the way we should maintain it.”

 

At least my board sales keeps the guys in the shop empoyeed and food on their table.

 

MADE IN CALIFORNIA

 

PHOTO: SURFDING FROM BLACKBERRY NON PHOTOSHOPPED!

Kind regards,

surfding**
**

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184

Reverb, Mate, please don't take my "bunch of blokes around the barbeque" lightly.  I really meant we are a bunch of good guys , not to mention master craftsman talking business. There is no one on earth who understands you more than me on this subject, remember when I went off totally on the german who invented one style of machines. Surfding is a guy who has pushed through the barriers to still be doing it, lets keep strong with the guys who are worthy, cheers H.

185

Kind regards

186

…Surfding,

was you that put those picts first to show how cool some kind of pro surfer ride with your boards. Im not selling my stuff here.

Is a thread about the lows and highs in the board orders and if we really need gobs of boards (machined-branded-with marketing) that are distorting the process and the market.

-Yes, very cool that you keep the crew fine. That s the real thing and what happened if you don t have these guys?

what happens with the holy machine without the crew?.

Possibly, you thing that Im a hater or a rough guy that insist always with the same; but bear in mind that at least one, should say something against this situation.

Im not the advocate of the handcrafting and Im not a master shaper (we all know who are the masters) but Im into this thing fully, very deeply; Its very important that others understand that still are a small % of people who try to keep this stuff real.

Because of that, Im always kind of hard in these threads.

Also, the people mostly prefer to shut up or be mellow to not dislike or are affraid to be different and don t say nothing.

well, Im a very “organic” person in all what I do; say surfboards, music, relationships, design, study. So, Im the opposite of be a light person

 

Harris, yes man,

I understood right

keep it hard there too.

187

 

Kind regards,

surfding

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188

I just keep asking myself how many low volume, high quality, experienced, handshaping craftsman you have affected negatively while pumping out those machined boards.  Boasting of " keeping the food on the table" for your full time sander really opens a can of worms.  Not worth debating but the domino effect of mass production is interesting to say the least.

Going back to your posts after returning from Indo really shows that you know deep down where its at.  Surviving the rat race takes a toll.  Justifying why we sell out is sad but what are the options?

The rich surfboard shapers are the few.  Shaping was and still is an art form to many of us.  Greed and art don't mix well.  How much is enough? 

Reverb stands his ground in the face of it all.  Way more to it than agree to disagree.  Boards are getting very generic and cheap.  Yes, they work better than ever.  To most that verifies the whole machining trip.  But at what cost?

The market is flooded.  "Shapers are everywhere".  Everyone surfs. :>)

It is still an honor to shape(and a bitch to glass).  My board sales remain at just enough to get by without compromising my beliefs.  For this I am thankful.

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Kind regards,

surfding

 

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190

Machine, no machine… not really my debate since I no longer build professionally. Still passionate about it, have friends on both sides of the argument: apples and oranges and different strokes.

However, my two cents worth - Surfding, a lot of us would appreciate you’re sticking with Sways.  Too time consuming, certainly, and sometimes unproductively so, but having your input is a positive thing for a lot of shapers here.  Its hard to step back from a cyber argument, but take a couple of days before writing off the forum, if you please.

Harris, thanks for stepping up and being above the cyber-shite. People who will say that they’ve overstepped are few are far between.

Cheers.

191

90% of all our customers couldn't give a frogs fat arse wether their board came off the machine or was hand shaped by the frigging Dalai Lama himself while levitating in the mountains, as long as it performed well and looked nice. The machine is just another tool to make toys for rich white people as is the surform and electric planer. I've said it before here, no one is curing cancer or feeding starving kiddies.

My board sales have been very good this year, and I have been using the machine as well as handshaping to get through the numbers I have. Nothing worse than making customers wait 6 weeks for their boards so I will use the best tools that I can find to put out the best quality product I can in respectable time.

 

Daren

192

That's the problem, the customer doesn't really care and the ones that do are too few and far between. A surfboard used to be worth the equivalent of a weeks wage here for decades, now they are less than half and for one reason only, too many surfboards and why are there too many surfboards? So good for the guys who have a machine to use instead of their surforms or planers, no law against it, just stop saying they have helped the industry, they have helped to make a zillion boards full stop.

193

 great stuff… ive been holding back on this thread for a while as there is no right or wrong (lemons or limes), but i really can associate with Daren and Surfding. i feel the same way as you guys…  Build the best mousetrap you can with whatever tech or lack of, add the customer service and the customers will come…

do it for love, get love in return… do it for a living, get a living in return… what you give, you recieve. Think about why deep in your heart you make surfboards especially why you started. thats what will keep you doing it! if you whine the big corps have done you wrong, your customers dont want to hear that… good luck if you get them back.

194

Harris: Yes the machine has made surfboards cheaper. Guess what so are computers, chrome wheels, guitars, stereos, tv’s, golfclubs, Ipods, exc…

Maybe they haven’t helped? The world is changing at a rapid pace. Surfing is very small compared to the grand scheme of things.

My point that I was making was the machine is a useful tool. Sure there are people who abuse it and corporations that exploit it.

Some of the members of this site accuse me of abusing it? Making a few boards each week for core surfers is evil?

I am involved in some projects were we make boards in California with our local labor for Japan. High end longboards gloss and polished for a lot of money by wholesale standards. This creates jobs for the shapers, laminators, hotcoaters, fin setters, sanders, pinliners (resin), glossers, polishers. Plus the blanks are made with documented workers build here in our home state. Therefore we support our local community. If I was in Australia I would do the same and buy blanks from a local producer and use labor of the community.

 

So I get Cyber Bullied for owning a machine and am criticized for making HPSBs for a few PRO’s. This makes me a sell out? I thought Industry Notes was to talk about the Industry. This tread was about board sales which as turned into a debate on the evil machine. I am not some big overseas factory making boards for COSTCO. I’m not worried about those types of surfboard sales anyway. Making custom boards with a machine or a Skil 100 is still a OK business for me. I think the economy has been hit hard more buy the crisis than overseas production. SUP’s are filling the factories in Asia according to a few sources and surfboards are being produced less due to overstock the world over in retail shops. Many companies would love to build boards locally however the workers are so flaky. It’s work ethics being the bigger issue in some cases.

Entity and Feral Dave seem to have the right ideal and run good business. Those that are not doing so well are blaming the others for their misfortune.

We all have to adapt to the situation that is given to us.

My sells are ok and sure could be better however I haven’t lost customers because of overseas machined boards. They are just ordering fewer boards because they don’t have the dispensable income they once had. I had a customer call me today that  I haven’t hear from in 3 years? Guess what riding the same board I made him last time. Time for a new one. He didn’t go to Costco He just hasn’t had extra money for a board. The commodity builders are suffering more. However my business plan is working for my situation. It’s far from perfect and not were it should be however I’m OK. So is that so evil?

Kind regards,

surfding

 

Reverb I don’t use this site to sell boards. My customer aren’t interested in a site like this.

Maku your are an outstanding complete craftsman. You are pure and I respect that. When I was referring to the Rat Race I was thinking of the 9 to 5 grind of commuting on the 405 FWY and spending your life in a hopeless job to save enough money one day to take a trip to Paradise. While in Tahiti I reflected on how pure and simple life was for the islanders. Big Smiles and such nice people. I thought to myself they are the luckly ones born into paradise while we mainlanders only dream about it. They live it everyday. I still hold on to that reflection and will return for Christmas this year.

True Aloha,

surfding

 

 

195

Blah blah blah blah blah… live what you love, love what you live.

Tune in turn on sell out.

You decide.

196

Business is business , and surfing is surfing , and never the twain shall meet......Ding , for a guy with a machine , you have a good attitude , and you cut boards for guys who have certainly payed their dues , but how many others  could fill large orders without a machine.... my guess is very few.................the true knowledge is still with surfer/shapers , and if thats lost we all got big problems ........ there will be a world full of followers  with noone to lead them.......

197

Surfding, last time I checked I was personally sticking up for you, so I'm at a bit of a loss why you are taking it personally, at least from me. For me and I will use the word, I hate shaping machines. To the guys that are really using them to make their own boards, k serah serah, I have no problem. I shaped 1 board today and the factory next to my old one, that is owned by builders, is now rented out to a young mate of mine that is growing his glassing business by the day, why, cause of the machine. It's full of machined blanks, waiting for the different labels. I had a talk with him and we had a laugh, I asked him , "is there any difference between the boards"? He said "na, just the stickers", they were mainly taken up by a new guy, or from out of town, has just moved here, so when he starts to market [give some boards away] there's your fucken machine, so do what you want with it, every mother fucken one of you, ha got you just pulp fictioning, Really I dont care except when asked, cheers H.

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Just look what happened to my home town Lennox-Ballina.

Fuk… “A” sell out…  “B”, write off… (Time, tick-tick-tick)…- “B” suck up… - “A” sold  ! - " A & B" soul doubt -  Both “soul less” … " B" getting old ! grab for $.  “A” Young strive for $… Both Kooks!

haha

I really don’t give a rats arse anymore.

In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king!..as they say!

 

 

Hands + Heart + Soul = Art! …  simple, complete circle

Anyone care to disagree?

Surfing is heart soul religion to us, surfers.

Hands=machine…I think not.

 

Machine, sorry. But you lost. Nothing sacred in Them at All.

No turning back time though, So ???

 

 

199

Yorky old, young mate, you have kept out of this machine debate mostly and it will continue till the end of time. I first went to to Lennox when I was 17, shit, 72, I moved there in 74 for abt 2 years, then back again in 88, when I met you, it's my favourite backhand wave ever, I've surfed it once since 95'. The place eats itself, some great people, some others who will climb the back fence to fuck your girl, hey maybe same as anywhere, I'm not sure. The board building scene was Bob and some south Africans, I like those guys, but that was it. For you to move from your area was a fucken brave move. I don't know anything about your finances or your conections up there, all I can say is, hit it up the middle mate, wont hurt you to give me a kick up the arse sometimes, I surfed yesterday and drank beer today, love you 2 mate, H.they might say get another girl,or build a bigger fence, haha, had several since, fences and girls , lol

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Harris it’s too bad things here in cyber space become distorted. Sorry that I’m  such a KOOK!

Reverb I will leave the site and sorry for all the grief I may have caused you.

Huie you are the KING. LIVING LEGEND!

DEADSHAPER RIP. I will not bother you anymore.

KAYU has a good spirit!

YORKY YOU ARE “MICHAEL ANGELO” RE-BORN FROM THE 1500’S good luck with your new factory.

Believe me I have bigger fish to fry and I am truly not as fortunate as you legends.

It’s time to disappear.

Have fun guy’s!

This is a waste of my time at this point and probably even more of yours…

Harris you are a complete gentlemen and scholar it’s very unfornuate we never met in person. You would most likely view me differently. We make judgement of people behind a keyboard which is PLUP FICTION. Surfers Journal needs to do a piece on you. I love your tread about the pre thruster days and I will just relect on those times Thanks for bringing back good memories.

Reverb your spray jobs and fin work are incredible.You are an Intellectual giant and I wish you only the best.

Maku its cool that your make your boards from start to finish. I have too many orders to do that. It takes a team in my case.

Huie thanks for the hand plane you made for my collection.You taught me a lot about Core. Thanks!

Deadshaper I will put the Hitachi F30 you gave me in my Living Trust in your name. Until then I’m not dead yet. I still have a few Balsawood boards to shape out with it. Thank you for such a nice tool. It is the nicest thing any board builder as ever giving me. Normally shapers steal tools out of my bay. You are the first to actually give something. Very big gift! You will be remembered.

This site has been fun.

I wish all of you the very best for your board building careers and may you provide the very best for your families.

It was fun while it lasted!

Kind regards,

surfding

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