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Update!

Hey everyone!

I wanted to post a short update to fill you all in on some pretty awesome news that's been flowing since the launch of the project.
First off, I've been getting flooded with emails from other shapers, artists, photographers, even clothing designers who all want to help pitch and collaborate for the art show/benefit. That means that not only are people reeeeally excited at the prospect of what could be; but also that the show could end up raising a LOT more money for Save Naples in the end. Very, very cool, and very encouraging!
Secondly, the first week of the fundraiser has been awesome, and it's spurred on some really cool press for the project, my business, the eco-materials and Save Naples' cause. All of this means that I'm a really happy camper, and I'm only getting more excited for the outcome!

I'm asking everyone's help in spreading the word as much as you can about the project. There are so many encouraging things mounting on this that I feel even more strongly now than the past number of months I spent building the campaign. I do know that Kickstarter campaigns tend to rally and gain lots of funding in the last few hours of their lifespan and usually tip the scales at that point, but I'm encouraging everyone to reach out to anyone and everyone who could be interested and who could also help spread the word even if they can't donate right now; This project has the ability to make some really big changes in what I do, and create some really cool community momentum towards a really important goal!

Thank you all so much for the support so early on, just a few days in and we're already 25% there!  I'm blown away by the help and can't wait to see it all progress and come to life!

-Ryan

Dynamic Equilibrium

6'8" Shrunken Sherbert variation For Mike McCrary...Mike is one of those magical customers that somehow always gets the most radical boards; this time he told me to ponder over his next board while I was in Oz, and make it when I get back...I shrank the 8'2 Sherbert that I shaped a few months ago and this is what came out!  The bottom shape is pretty mellow; turned up in the nose and a wide double concave running out through the fins (I didn't go full bonzer bottom on this one, just utilized the fins to add some grip and drive through meaty turns).  The rails are pretty full but hard down, with lots of edge in the tail...  I even got to have some fun with the colors, too ;)  

Like I said...I've been having fun with my resin panels the past few weeks!

For Troy Mothershead

8'2" x 22" x 3" v.Bowls with a pintail borrowed from my Sherbert template.

Utilizing the powers of the real oldschool teachings de Gregg Tally along with some lovely pastels to give a little extra flavor.  Abstracts weren't done in the glass back in the day; they possess this

 other-worldly depth that you can't get when done in the lam. 

Real acid splashes are the go for me at the moment:

This is the feel I'm feeling right now.

I'm so madly in love.

and that's all I have to say about THAT one!

The Office

If I had to pick a place to be 7 days a week, this would be it.  My little slice of heaven; a place that I can build whatever I want, whenever I want...Magical!

She may not be a shining example of organizational mastery, but everything is within reach and is never too far away if lost...  10' x 16' of shaping bay, laminating room, sanding room, and showroom, all rolled into one.  It may not be delux but I'll be damned if I don't always have a handful of boards in the works that keep me rather excited to be there.

last two photos: Brandon DiPierri

Fundraiser Announcment!

ITS HAPPENING! FREAK OUT!

It's taken me a whole lot of time to put this project together and it means the world to me; if you can do it, please take the time to help support what I think are two things that are definitely worth your time.

If you've got the ability and the heart, please consider making a donation and spread the message.  This is a 30 day project so I'm going to be doing anything and everything I can in those 30 days to spread the word.  All it takes is 720 people do put in $25 each, not such an unattainable goal! ..Especially when I know that 500-ish people look at this blog alone every morning (yeeeeeeeah I'm lookin' at you!).  So even if you just pass on the word and a link to the project to some friends it'll mean a world of good for what I do AND the mission of the Save Naples Coalition...what could be better!?!?!?!?

Here is the link to the project page, there are some epic rewards for doantions...you may find your name burned into the walls of my shop forever and ever, or you can even get the same thing I gave my parents for Christmas...heavy!

----> LINK to Kickstarter page with full info! <-------

Heads Up!!!

Hey everybody!

Tomorrow I'm launching a Kickstarter fundraiser and wanted to give a heads-up on what its about, its been in the works for about 6 months and it would mean the world to me and could make a very very real change in my business and the viability of what I do for the long-run, while at the same time donating a chunk of money to a great organization!

My project is all about environmental and community responsibility.  I want to build a line of environmentally friendly-er surfcraft to offer at an upcoming art show and auction, then pay it forward by donating the profit from the show to a great local organization.  The boards will bring attention to environmentally conscious surfboard building materials while allowing me to expand my horizons as a small business and at the same time donate a lump of cash to a worthy cause...I can't think of anything better!

The funding of the campaign will allow me to use plant-sap based resins and recycled foam products to build a collection of beautiful surfboards.  Once my work is finished I'm going to hold an art show/silent auction and donate the profit from the line's sales to the Save Naples Coalition, who is a small group of people helping to protect one of the last areas of privately owned coastline on the Gaviota coast from major development.   

Larger scale change is always spurred on by grass roots efforts that raise consumers' expectations.  I want to be part of the challenge and help change the demands that customers put on our industry.  

As surfers, we rely completely on our environment for our pleasure, and we tax it heavily in the process.  The act of building a surfboard has been known for a long time to be very toxic, yet the industry has turned a blind eye towards the effect that it has on our surroundings as well as the effect it has on the people who build them.  The chemicals contained in polyester resins and polyurethane foams are extremely high in VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) and are widely known to cause cancer and serious health problems.  Not only does using better materials turn a surfboard more environmentally sound, it creates a healthier environment for the builder.  

The resins that I want to use, in place of VOC-rich polyester, are a plant-sap based resin which is extremely strong and readily available.  Not only do they put less strain on the environment in production, they have the potential to outlast traditional products, making the demand for new surfboards far less.

The technologies required to make a better surfboard are no longer experimental, they're high quality and available for those willing the invest the time and money necessary.  The materials are new and cost more than traditional ones but create a valuable and conscious product. 

Wanna learn more about Save Naples?  http://www.savenaples.org/

For more info on Entropy's unreal Sap-based resins check out http://www.entropyresins.com/.

I'm humbled and honored to be able to do what I do for a living with or without this campaign and I'm excited beyond belief for the possibilities.  I'd like to do my part to make it healthier for all of us and our ocean as I find my way through it!

This blog has for years been a place where I share and discuss my passion for my work around surfboards.  I rarely ask for anything but if you do one thing, this would be my humble request; please help support this project when it launches, it means the world to me!

The Latest

Oh man, where to start!?
I've been back in the shop full time this week, working out some new ideas that impregnated my brain while in Australia.  I've shaped 5 boards in the past few days that I'm really pleased with, including a plug for a new spoon mold thats a bit smaller than the old one and more refined; suffice to say I'll be poppin' out some sweet little flex spoons when the mold is done...frothing!

In the meantime, here is Nico's spoon that I built with him in Byron Bay.  I stayed at Nico's for 2 weeks so we made the best of our time and used his back yard to do the majority of the work on the board while we weren't surfing.

I didn't forsee building a spoon so I didn't bring the template with me; I put this one together using the Greenough/Wildnerness stubby template I've been shaping the SB Stub from.  With hardly any tweaks it laid out into a perfect spoon template; from 6'7 down to 5', the curves matched up really cleanly...It showed me very clearly how direct Greenough's influence was being used in surfboard evolution at the time.  Pretty flippin' cool!

All Day I Dream About...

High lines and my 8' v.Bowls in harmony...