board#046: single for "Victoria"

she decided it was her board! Fine!

Dimensions: 5'0 
[Completed in April 2014]

The story: one day I messed-up a blank. I was aiming for a 5'7 and for some reasons I still have not figured out I cut the blank at 5'0… I kept that failed outline in the corner of my shaping room with hope that one day I can recycle the foam into something useful. I had it around for months when my friend Rudy looked at it and declared it would be a fun single fin board. So be it! I put the messed-up blank back on the stand and shaped it into a retro single. 

The shape: because I never done a single fin shape before, I went to nearby surf shop to study. I came back and had...fun! No pressure as this was nobody's board, for occasional surfing, more like a gadget board. I signed it "for Vincent & Rudy" because they were both pushing for me to shape it like a "performance-single-to-throw-airs". Therefore I followed their vision and carved a deep single concave instead of the traditional V bottom. However the concave gradually transitions to a little belly on the nose in order to give it a retro vibe!

The artwork: I could not resist to paint this cute little thing with girly colors. It was definitely a "she". My inspiration was the VS stripes (again! I know…) and the french marshmallow I loved in my childhood. When I was done with the paint job, my daughter came to look at it and gasped "you made a board for me mommy????!!!!!!"… I melted and said "….yes!" because she can't read the names on the signature yet… Until that day Vincent & Rudy have to ask her permission to ride "her" board. Anyway I will probably change the signature for her name as this board reflects her personnality so well : cute and fun!

Testimonial: my daughter "surfed" it once, of course. I knew that would happen :) The boys play with it from time to time. But definitely an eye catcher as people stop us to comment on this board (and sometime try it!).

Vincent

Rudy

Rudy 

Rudy

Rudy

Rudy

Friends are welcome to try it… like Joe on this picture

Joe looks perplex

The real owner of the board

the one leg froggy move: definitely a 10 for grace and agility!

The beginning of it

my "lipstick" board was my very first step
in the surfboard making adventure
(although I only did the paint job)

As a backyard shaper, I get the following question a lot: " how did you get into this??"

Well, it all started because of a trashed surfboard. I can't stand wasting food but also anything else which could have a second life. I took the board home and brought it back to a useful life (click here to read details about the make-over). A few weeks after, I had the visit of my friends David Charbonnel and his partner Fredo. He's the owner and shaper of SWOP Surfboards, a very successful surfboard company in France. He convinced me that I could give a try to creating the shape itself! He has been my mentor since then and his boards are my inspiration (click here to read about my SWOP workshop).

Last week-end I took my "first board" out. I got the couple of usual  comments about how special (and very pink :)) this board is, which made me realize the reason behind Mère-Made Surfboards: I crave for original creations which will reflect the rider's personality, like surfing on a tattoo.

guys tend to think that a girl on a very pink board will not charge.
Bad mistake.

(Thank you honey for all the pretty pictures)

the shaping bug is contagious

It is mathematical:  Children like crafts + Shaping is a craft + Kids imitate their parents = My son asked to shape.

my son's first contact with shaping:
by playing with the left over foam

so fun to play with a saw
(mommy is closely supervising the activity)

The bad news is... The good news is...

We got our first winter swell hitting south California.

My husband got out at the peak of the swell on friday morning (at dawn!) and later sent me a text with this picture attached:

The good news is he broke it at the end of a great session...

I texted him back: "the good news is that you have your own in-house shaper ;))"

The other good news was that the broken board was his big wave board...which was not a Mere-Made one...  yet!  The bad news is for Mark and Chris: I will have to post-pone your orders. Sorry guys.... You know my husband: he wants his new big wave board RIGHT NOW! 

The other good news is that I am going to give the broken board to my friend Ed Lewis so he can recycle the foam into one of his awesome handplanes. If you break your board, please don't trash it. Give your board a second life. Check out his website : http://www.theleucadiaproject.com/