6'4 Clover: All Hallows' Edition

How did the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a necessary practice for warding off ghosts and evil spirits, morph into modern day Halloween?
Beats me, but I do know this: my girls have been in an H-day fervor for the last week, blasting through so many princess-with-wings variations that my living room looks like the Disney Corporation mid orgy with an Oregon wiccan solstice festival. A whole new world!

Halloween, believe it or not, can also be a time for reflection as we wave goodbye to summer and hesitatingly hold the door open the door as winter, sad boots and all, trudges in.

This 6'4 Clover for local shred artist and rad dad Lucas has enough volume for summer, but enough rocker and fin snap to carry him into the more light-challenged months ahead.
True Story: I'd been shaping this model for over a year when Lucas ordered his. Deep in a creative fervor, I had coined the shape the 'widepoint-forward pulled-tail egg'. Lucas was cool with that, and only asked that a include his graphic with daughter's name, Clover, on the deck of the board.
It was referred to as the Clover Board at the glasser (Patrick at Northern Light, who did a bang-up job, as usual), and then again by board fondlers when they saw it in my shop. It stuck.

Here, local shredmaster and two-wheeler enthusiast Joey tries to get a little fresh with Lucas' new board. The golden light and his long shadow are clearly mid summer, the venue clearly the Toad in the Hole pub. Fresh new stick, long sun-drenched days, and a few pints of Lagunitas IPA (also handmade in Sonoma County!). Not a bad way to be.
ps--see that unbelievable two-tone '68 bus in the background? Mine's the '06 minivan parked to its left...

Lids Part Deux

The road to hell may be paved with trucker hats, but you’ll definitely need one when you arrive—it looks pretty bright down there!

Since my last run of hats a few years ago, I’ve been working with Tommie at Dedicate Brand to put something together that would satisfy even my toughest customer (Craig, who, now that I think about it, is kind of a dick). Tommie’s got the connections and set me to work product testing up here in Sonoma County, on the East Coast, and in Ames, Iowa with a guy he only refers to as ‘Corntooth’.

I recorded scads of promising feedback like, “this is nice,” and “it kept the sun out of my eyes,” and, “I probably shouldn’t be throwing up into your hat right now.”

I incorporated criticism like, “my dog stole that hat and licked it under my bed for three hours,” and, “nobody with a mustache and that hat is allowed in the jumpy castle.”

Sewn-on Patches+Pinot Noir=Classy

As you can see, I applied the same rigorous, user-generated feedback with these hats as I do with every surfboard that leaves my shop.

And it shows in the results. I’ve got three different shades of blue. Buy them all and tell your friends, “I’ve got the blues.” When they ask, “what the hell are you talking about?” shriek, “Are you saying I’m fat?”

I’ve got a grey that states, “this hat is fifty shades of awesome! Also, I wouldn’t mind getting spanked right now.”

And a brown that claims, “I work for UPS…psyche! I actually shred my sack off in pumping surf.”
Interested parties should email me. Then send me $25. Then I'll send you a hat of your color choice and a hilarious note scribed onto a piece of scrap paper that says something wildly sardonic like Thank You! Or, if I'm feeling the whole brevity thing, Thanks!

Clover XL

The government may be shut down, but damn if Boehner can stop the stoke!

Here's an XL Clover for Central Coast ripper Jonathan (the 'J' is pronounced like a 'Y,' as his origins are definitely Viking). He's a big dude, so he gets a big Clover. Hence the Custom in Custom Surfboards.

Every once in a while, Le 'Stache lets me carve one out in his shaping room. Sometimes he offers feedback, like, "yeah!" or, "fun one!" or, "how much longer is this going to take?" or, "you're going to have to put on some pants if you want to continue shaping here."

This Clover is 8'0 and nearly 23" wide. I can barely carry it, but Jonathan's arms are Paul Bunyan to my Woody Allen, and he'll be able to throw this thing around like he just caught it kissing his sister.
It's gonna have three fins.