Hello Swaylockians,
My wife and I are producing another surfboard expo in Oct.
Below is the official press release. Hope to see you all there.
Kindest,
SB
[=1][ 3]2008 SACRED CRAFT CONSUMER SURFBOARD EXPO RAMPS UP[/]
The honoring of Bill Caster; an incredible exhibitor list; Machado and other professional surfers ‘shape for a cause’; a hands-on foam exhibit; wetsuits on the floor; and insightful seminars all highlight the 2008 affair.
DEL MAR, Ca., May 13, 2008 – Coming off of an incredibly successful surfboard rendezvous in 2007, the 2008 SACRED CRAFT Consumer Surfboard Expo producers have ramped it up a notch with a larger venue, more exhibitors and more reasons for surfers, consumers, and surfboard manufacturers to festivate as one.
Legendary San Diego shaper Bill Caster is being honored during the “Tribute to the Masters Shape-off” presented by Ice-Nine Foam Works. Shapers from up and down the coast including Santa Cruz’s Ward Coffey, LA’s Matt Calvani, and San Diegan’s Ned McMahon and Chris Christenson will replicate a classic CASTER design with the winning shaper receiving a $1000 prize.
Bill Caster was an innovative San Diego shaper known for his progressive channel bottom rounded pins and humble demeanor. Caster started shaping in 1958 under the Select Surfboards label for his Uncle LLoyd Baker. Caster also shaped under distinguished labels such as Olympic, Challenger and Hobie. He started his own CASTER surfboards label in 1965. Bill Caster was drafted into service in the Vietnam War in 1965 just as his CASTER label was taking flight. He was released from service in 1967 and came home to find the shortboard revolution brewing up new ideas about surfboard design. It was an exciting time to be a surfboard builder. Caster was highly demanding of himself and adapted quickly to the shorter boards, both in the water and in the shaping bay. A quiet, confident and extremely skilled craftsman, Caster let his boards do the talking. At the peak of his commercial success in 1981 CASTER surfboards could be found up and down the coast of California and all along the Eastern seaboard. Surfers that rode Bill’s boards were extremely loyal, most notable among them was La Jolla professional Chris O’Rourke. But Caster was a humble man who deferred compliments to others. Sadly Bill Caster died at the age of 44 from colon cancer. He left behind a legacy of quality hand crafted performance surfboards and a legion of friends. However, Bill’s greatest legacy is the family he left behind: daughters Heidi and Heather, and sons David and Daniel.
This year a few hand selected shapers will be asked to replicate a classic CASTER surfboard during the SACRED CRAFT Consumer Surfboard Expo. These finished blanks will then judged by a panel of experts including Hank Warner, Bird Huffman and Peter St. Pierre and the winning shaper will receive $1000. The boards will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to the CASTER family to help them protect the iconic CASTER logo and trademark.
“Ice-Nine Foam Works is deeply honored to sponsor the ‘Tribute to the Masters Shape-off’ for the second year in a row. The shape-off is a major event devoted to the craft of shaping,” said Jon Stillman founder, Ice-Nine Foam Works. “From the beginning, it’s been our goal to stoke the tradition by providing support to the next generation of shapers.” - Jon Stillman, founder, Ice-Nine Foam Works
“I’ve always felt my dad was one of the unsung heroes of the industry,” said Caster’s son David. “The Caster family is excited to see our father honored.” The finished blanks will be auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting the CASTER family in their efforts to protect the iconic CASTER surfboard label.
Manufacturers already locked in for 2008 SACRED CRAFT include Rusty, Lost, Channel Islands, Ice-Nine Foam Works, Chris Christenson, Stu Kenson, Steven Mast, Walden, Encinitas, Stamps, Noll, Velzy, Hobie, WaveRod, Linden, Shooting Blanks, WetGlass EVF, White Hot Foam, Foam E-Z, Bubble Gum Surf Wax, South Coast, Kevin Cunningham, Matuse, Patagonia, Rip Curl, Hynson, Moonlight Glassing, John Cherry, Mitsven, Hot Batch, Bruno, Mike Sheldrake, and Jim Phillips; with more signing up daily.
Professional surfers are also getting into the foam flying fray. Rob Machado (The Rob Machado Foundation), Pat O’Connell (Surfrider Foundation), Brad Gerlach (SurfAid International) and Joel Tudor (Chumash Preservation Society) will all be shaping a board during SACRED CRAFT’s “Professional Surfers Shaping Auction”. These rare, one-of-a-kind boards will be auctioned off benefiting the pro surfers charity. Other pro surfers are being lined up to participate.
New in 2008 to SACRED CRAFT is the hands-on “Shaping Experience” exhibit. “Shaping Experience” will feature blanks, sanding screens, and other shaping tools so that every SACRED CRAFT patron can try their hand at shaping a rail, manipulating a swallowtail or drawing out a template.
The “Bubble Gum Seminar Stage” will feature entertaining seminars including Drew Brophy’s “Pen and Paint Techniques” seminar, a QnA with David Rensin (author of the new Miki Dora Biography); Jon Stillman on changes in the foam marketplace, plus other informative, insightful banter including some super top secret stuff.
Another new addition is the inclusion of wetsuit companies into SACRED CRAFT. With the cold water season just around the corner and some very unique technologies being implemented into the '08-'09 wetsuits it is appropriate to offer the hardcore surfing patron that visits SACRED CRAFT an in-depth look into the wetsuits, straight from the manufacturers.
“Showcasing our line of premium, ichiban wetsuits at SACRED CRAFT is a perfect fit,” said Aaron Kim of Matuse Wetsuits. “The same level of thought and meticulous design that goes into our products is obviously what the surfboards at SACRED CRAFT are all about.”
WHAT: 2008 SACRED CRAFT Consumer Surfboard Expo
WHEN: OCT 11 & 12; Sat 10-6pm Sun 10-4pm
WHERE: Wyland Exhibit Hall; Del Mar Fairgrounds
COST: $5; Kids under 16 FREE; everyone entered to win a NEW surfboard.
VENDORS: To save big on early bird registration (before Aug. 15):
http://www.sacredcraftexpo.com/registration.html
SACRED CRAFT Consumer Surfboard Expo SPONSORS:
ICE-NINE FOAM WORKS, SURFER MAGAZINE, BUBBLE GUM SURF WAX
Sponsorship/Marketing Opportunities email: info@surfboardshow.com
[/] [=1][ 2]2008 SACRED CRAFT Consumer Surfboard Expo
[/] In the beginning…
… it was all about the surfboard. The only thing that mattered. From ancient Polynesia to the ASP World Championship Tour; from Waikiki to Maverick’s; from The Endless Summer to Surfline; as the eras passed what we’ve worn or said or listened to or traveled to or read or watched are just sidebars on surfing’s timeline. Because the history of our sport is the history of the surfboard. Nothing has defined the surfing experience more than that on which we ride the waves. Nothing defines the surfer more than his (or her) surfboard. So much more than a tool, the surfboard has become a philosophical icon, a sacred craft, a culturally pervasive symbol of freedom, adventure and enduring youth.
This is why the surfboard builder was once the primary arbiter of surfing culture, from those early Hawaiian kahunas to the first wave of board manufacturers in the early 1960s. Think back: Hobie, Hansen, Bing, Weber, Noll. These labels-the surfboards they produced and the way this product was marketed-shaped surf culture, both literally and figuratively. It was all about the ride-what you wore came second.
Yet as the decade passed, the emphasis shifted away from the surfboard. The surf magazines became the main cultural hub, establishing ethical and aesthetic boundaries and ultimately marginalizing the role of the surfboard in their increasingly narrow portrayal of the sport. According to the surf mags throughout much of the 1980s and �90s there was only one way to surf: a mono-board culture.
At the same time the burgeoning surf wear industry began to eclipse all other commercial elements of the sport. Riding a swell of endorsement-based marketing, these soft-good companies became our cultural leaders, creating the imagery and feeding it to a media who, in turn, fed this pre-digested vision back to us: a mirror with no backing, that only reflects outward.
This is not to say there’s been any sort of deliberate attempt to commoditize our passion; the surf media and surfwear manufacturers are not evil, they’re just off track. It is all about the board; has always been about the board. We at the CONSUMER SURFBOARD EXPO feel it is time to reassert that philosophy. To put the surfboard-and the modern-day kahunas who craft them-back at the forefront of surf culture. To place that influence, that importance, that responsibility, back in the hands of the artisans who shape our sacred crafts-and ultimately our future. [/]