Backyarder that I am, I hope you guys know that you drive the industry in which I barely dabble. While the group to which I belong occasionally creates something new, for the most part, you’re the ones with the answers. We need you filling orders, refining shapes, putting foam & glass in the hands of surfers who can give constructive feedback…
I really hope that 4 things happen, pretty much immediately.
Shapers, take a deep breath and listen to Rich Harbour. You have skills. A rare craft. There is demand for your product. Whatever you end up producing, you will have customers who like it. The industry needs you working.
While you’re waiting for Walker or Austrailian or Chinese foam, go ahead and try some EPS. You already have all the tools, and the space, and the time, really. Its cheap & plentiful. Maybe not all of your customers will like it, but some will. You might be surprised at how many. But you won’t know until you try.
You absolutely have to get some finished shapes into the hands of your glassers. They can’t possibly learn how to use epoxy without blanks to glass. Go mow that EPS and then have it glassed with 4 oz S, 6 oz E, volan, tints, hemp, everything you can think of. The glassing industry needs your work. They are, I believe, in a tougher spot than the shapers. You have an alternative, a little different, but with virtually no learning curve. They have to change some of their methods, especially timing, etc., and they depend on you to help them practice.
Get some of the finished product into the hands of all your customers. Not just your team guys, who will be the most sensitive to the “Hey, this isn’t what I’m used to” factor, but into the hands of the groms, the weekenders, the stoked beginners…go ahead and get some cash flow going with these folks. Some won’t like the product, sure, but their feedback will be beneficial for you to evolve your shapes, your EPS density choice, your glassing schedules. And some will like the boards as-is. Go make some money, fer chrissake!
If you sit still, the buying public will turn to the pop-outs. Even a weekender will love bragging to his friends that he got a “prototype” from you. The stuff is out there, go to work!
I second this motion. May I also add that WE have purchasing power too. Although many of us shape our own boards, we can also help in these changing times (if we so desire to keep the industry alive). I for one am going to order up at least one CUSTOM-SHAPED EPS/Epoxy board when I get back to CA. I figure it is the least I can do to help this lifestyle back onto its feet after it has given me more than I could ever repay.
USE YOUR CAPITAL POWER. It speaks loudly in the land of the free.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m looking at the closure of Clark Foam not as the end of Mandala or the custom surfboard industry, but as a challenge to make the best out of a changing world.
At this point, we know that Clark Foam is no more. I also know is that I’m still here, Mandala is still in business, and there’s more alternatives to Clark Foam than you’d think. We’ve got guys in-house who have been cutting EPS blanks for years, and that’s a direction I’ve wanted Mandala to take for some time now. I’ve always wanted Mandala to have a smaller impact on the environment and I think this event is quickly becoming the catalyst for change in the business. Change is hard, but it’s inevitable; those unwilling to change will be left behind, while those who adapt will continue to evolve.
Everyone in my shaping queue is still in my queue. Things might be slow (or slower) for a while, but please bear with us. If we go in the direction of EPS and epoxy, I won’t be able to offer tints, but this definitely opens up boards for custom artwork. If we’re able to get blanks from Walker Foam, Clark Australia, or even Burford, we’ll still be able to produce quality surfboards with color laminations. We’re looking to start making our blanks in-house, much like the Patagonia Point Blanks model. Either way, EPS or poly, we’re still going to making boards for you!
Well, there’s a long hard road ahead, but I’m still optimistic about everything because there’ll always be waves, there’ll always be surfers, and there will always be a way to make good surfboards that go super fast…
Thanks > Manuel
p.s. Thanks to everyone who’s called in to check up on me and support me through this strange and exciting time. Who knows, maybe I’ll be making EPS boards with tapered bamboo stringers…
Bravo, Manny!
Greg, I’d say Norcal is gonna be quick to become an epicenter of materials innovation…I’d even have to throw RF in, because he got so many people at least talking about epoxy…
I’ve been very surprised in reading ALL these threads on Clark that no one has been stating to boycott the pop-outs until the switch to EPS or a new PU source is done. I am looking forward to trying an EPS/epoxy board as my XTR has been my best performing board to date. I have enough boards to last the winter (pending any breakage) and plan on holding out to see what happens. In the mean time I hope that surfers will continue to support their shapers and not the marked up retail shops or overwhelming stack of Asian boards that hopefully will pile up and not be bought no matter what the price.
