board#153: shortboard for Nicole

Dimensions: 5'8 x 18 1/4 x 2 1/4
[completed in December 2016]

The story: I was lucky to have Nicole as my first girl team-rider when she was only 13 . Not only she was shredding the shortboard I made for her (board#034) but also, later on her longboard (board#098). As she was growing so fast, it was time for another shortboard !

The shape: classic performance shortboard !

The artwork: since Nicole spends a lot of time surfing in Hawaii, she asked for tropical flowers which I printed out at Boardlams. I also surprised her with a custom Mere-Made logo with the mermaid wearing a matching flower in her hair :)

The glass was done by Tiger Glassing.

board#100: asymmetric shortboard for Vincent

Dimensions:  5'4 x 18 5/8 x 2
[completed in August 2015]
model Versatile-A

The story: to me it was a big deal to be shaping my 100^th board. It was definitely a milestone for Mere-Made surfboards. I had to shape a board that would stay with me. It also had to be very special and a challenge to myself to make the point that I improved my shaping skills since board#001. It made so much sense to be shaping my first asymmetric board (on purpose J).

The shape: it was a total team work with my team rider, Vincent Duprat. Because we are both scientifics, the approach was very scientific too: in order to see if the asymmetry is beneficial, we had to compare it to the same symmetric board. We spec the dimensions to match Vincent actual board (versatile model, board#085) but adding a slight asymmetry to the bottom half of the board only. The asymmetry was designed for a goofy foot rider with more rail length on the toe side. But then more volume on the heel side. Concaves and fin placement are also asymmetrical accordingly. Shaping-wise it was like shaping two boards at once. I had a drawing of the volume repartition on the wall with the bottom view and deck view in order to not be confused every time I flip the board. It was a very interesting experience to design and shape that board. To add to the excitement, our friend Mark was there to document this special day. He filmed and edited the footage to a very nice piece of work, news-story-style. Thanks Mark!

The artwork: I am so proud of the idea I came up with!!!! I paint the stripes slightly off on my side to illustrate the asymmetry. Those artworks are my favorite: cheap, fast, easy but delivering a message.

Testimonial: Vincent rides this board everyday since he got it (last year).

Mere-Made Surfboards from Mark Sackett on Vimeo.

board#098: longboard for Nicole

dimensions: 9'0 x 22 x 2 5/8
[completed in June 2015]

The story: Nicole has been riding a couple of my shortboards in contests and also in Hawaiian line-ups where she surfs regularly. Nothing could make me more happy when she asked for a longboard! Although she is an excellent shortboarder, she wanted a summer board to have fun on smaller waves. But then, she found out she loved longboarding too... Nicole is a complete surfer she can ride either shortboard or longboard and shines in both. So proud to be shaping for her!

The shape: Nicole was borrowing an old Jon Wegener longboard with a beautiful shape. As it was working very good for her, I mainly tried to align my shape to that board. I mixed several of my template to find the right outline for her. The whole time I shaped it I had the Wegener board as a reference on the side of the shaping room. Always nice to have such a classic reference to work  with!

The artwork: Totally Nicole's idea! She said she wanted green/blue/teal waves on a teal board. Because I am always looking for more work, I added the idea of horizontal fading in opposition in the waves. White logo.

The testimonial: I got to go surf with Nicole. That is the best testimonial seeing her riding my board on the noose with a big smile on her face!

watching Nicole from the line-up: priceless

sharing the waves with her. 

board#085: shortboard for Vincent

Dimensions: 5'4 x 18 4/8 x 2
[completed in February 2015]
Model Versatile

The story: pretty straight forward story: that would  be the third Versatile model for Vincent.  The truth is that he likes to ride that model so much!
First one was very bubbly: board#023
The second was the famous zipper artwork: board#039
Here is its third iteration!

The shape: same specifications as the previous one (click here for details board#039) but with more shaping hours in my resume so it went faster ;)

The artwork: what about replicating the artwork too? The zipper artwork was a big hit as Vincent always got lots of thumbs-up for his previous board. let's keep the same success recipe with another zipper pattern, only with a teal color this time.

board#072: performance shortboard for Vincent

Yep, board#072 was a Christmas gift for my husband.
Boards, that is all he wants...

Dimensions: 5'8 x 18 1/4 x 2 1/8
[Completed in December 2014]
Model Veloce

The story: one more shortboard in my husband quiver! He "needed" a step-up board for 6-8 foot hollow waves. This one goes in between his everyday board and his mini-gun.

The shape: Vincent asks for that Mere-Made shape he really enjoyed (Veloce model) with slight dimension modifications to accommodate bigger surf.

The artwork: again Vincent asked for a previous artwork he really liked. I went for a silver metallic paint this time because I go by phases and I was in my silver shade phase. The metallic spray on this   stylized bird gives this board a Bilal vibe which is one of my favorite cartoonist.

PS: I only have one picture of the finished board because my husband could not wait 15 more minutes to wax it and take it for a surf.

Montana can paint

tail before glassing

board#068: mini-gun for Vincent

Dimensions: 6'2 x 18 x 2 1/8
[completed in October 2014]
Model Vavit

The story: In 2010 I was shaping a mini-gun for Vincent which displayed all the authentic signatures of the Switchfoot band members (click here to see board#010). It was a real collector as the band got to see it at the Switchfoot Bro-Am and I got interviewed on the spot by John Foreman himself !!! But most of all, it was a very nice shape. So nice that Vincent took it to his Fiji surf trip but it never returned home. The board broke and, of course, the part with the autographs got lost at sea…
In 2014 and 58 boards later, I shaped Vincent another one.

The shape: I got to use a Clark foam blank I  found at Mitch's in Solana Beach. Same shape except I was 58 board more experienced when I shaped this one. It probably took me 1/4 of the time I spent on the first one.

The artwork: Vincent's keywords for his board were: "color + fast vibe" which I translated into a "Ferrari red + race car stripes". The logos are matching the white stripes. The ultralight glass was done at Global Glassing.

The testimonial: Vincent picked that board for our trip on the North Shore. And he surfed it there. That means a lot. Also I got a very special guest giving his opinion on this board: master shaper Eric Arakawa himself looked at it and give me some very positive feed-back, with a bit of criticism too to make me improve (see when I met Eric here)!
Yep, that board, like her previous version, is very special again.

removing tape after spray painting is sooooo cool

About to be judged by one of the best (if not the best) shapers in the world!

board#065: shortboard for Aiden (Team rider)

notice how Aiden sacrifice his shoe
to make sure his board is safe!!!

Dimensions: 5'1 x 16 3/4 x 2
[Completed in September 2014]

The story: Aiden's family and mine share the same playground. For months we have been surfing the same break, made castles with the same sand, went down the same trail. We are Beacons's crew!!! I noticed Aiden for his cute hairstyle and most of all for his surfing skills. This kid can surf!!! I could also see how he loves being in the Ocean, either on a pink foamy board, or with a short board or a hand plane, anything that would keep him in the Ocean... I approached his mom, Colleen, very surfer too, as I was looking for young talents for my brand. Few months after, we decided to make Aiden a board for his next NSSA competition season. Let me introduce you my youngest Team rider: Aiden Sprunk.

The shape: Aiden was 11 when he ordered his board.  He urgently needed something bigger and longer, more than his current board to accommodate for growth spurt! He brought his beautiful DHD Darren Handley Designs board and I took the outline and we discussed what new dimensions would fit Aiden better. We had a pretty tight timeline in order to get his  board ready within 4 weeks for the first contest of the NSSA season.

The artwork: Aiden was inspired by the boards I made for Rudy Marechal (click here). He asked for a purple blade with brush-painted stripes. The glassing was done at Global Glassing in a record time to make sure Aiden gets his board on time for upcoming contest. Thank you Global Glassing!

Testimonial: Few days after picking-up his board Aiden rode it at the contest and made it to the finales ;) 

with mom