Grain (surfboard company)

Grain Surfboards is an American company based in York, Maine that manufactures hollow wooden surfboards. The surfboards are made primarily from northern white cedar, with some western red cedar added for color accent. Grain manufactures custom boards,[1] as well as selling kits and offering classes where surfers can build their own boards.[2]

Grain Surfboards
Founded2005
HeadquartersYork, Maine
ProductsHollow wooden surfboards
Websitewww.grainsurfboards.com

History

Founded in 2005 in York, Maine,[3] Grain has boat building and cabinetry influences.[4] The first of Grain's boards were constructed in co-founder Mike LaVecchia's basement.[5] A New England magazine, N'East, featured a story about the startup, which was followed up by a report by the Associated Press in December 2005.[6] Around the same time, Clark Foam, a major manufacturer of blank foam surfboards, shut down after disagreements with California's Environmental Protection Agency.[6] This led surfers to rethink the environmental impact of their boards, and business at Grain picked up.[5] Brad Anderson joined the company as co-owner, and Grain moved into a workshop at Side Hill Farm in York.[7]

Grain has made a wooden version of Channel Islands Surfboards' 'Biscuit' since 2009.[6] The original Biscuit won the 2008 Surf Industry Manufacturers Association Award.[8] The Wood Biscuit is heavier than a fiberglass board, but the extra weight gives better momentum over choppy water.[9]

Grain launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2013 to raise funds for a bus and trailer to use as a mobile workshop for board building classes.[10] The campaign was successful, raising over $40,000 dollars in one month.[10] In keeping with the company's green ethos, the bus is powered by alternative fuel.[11]

In 2017 Grain had to leave the workshop they had rented for over a decade.[12] They crowdfunded a deposit for the purchase of a new workshop,[12] but ultimately were unable to raise sufficient funds to buy the property.[13] Later in 2017, Grain was one of the founder members of the nonprofit trade group Maine Outdoor Brands.[14]

In 2018, Grain partnered with the Glenmorangie distillery create a limited edition of boards made from whisky barrels.[15] The board was made from Glenmorangie's whisky barrels, along with reclaimed western red cedar and Maine-grown northern white cedar.[16] Each board contained twelve barrel staves, which is half of a whisky barrel.[17]

Production

New designs are drawn using 3D cad software.[4] Each board has an internal wooden frame onto which planks are glued before being sanded into shape.[18] The frame forms the backbone of the hollow board and is intricately designed like an airplane wing.[7] It takes up to 60 hours to construct a board, with many tiny pieces of wood used.[18] The final step is to finish the board with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, which is necessary to prevent the wood from soaking up water.[6]

The wood used to craft the boards is white cedar, grown locally in Maine,[1] and sustainably harvested.[19] Left-over wood is not wasted; shavings are collected for use as animal bedding, and off-cuts are used to make sea-sleds or skateboards.[19]

Customer engagement

As of 2018, Grain had over 50,000 followers on Instagram, 12,000 on Facebook, and more than 7,000 newsletter subscribers.[2] Grain's website and social media presence have been praised as an example of using open communication on the internet to spread ideas and create customers.[20] As people attend classes with Grain and build their own boards, they share images of this on social media, which fuels further interest in Grain's surfboards.[21]

References
  1. Powell, A.J. (July 29, 2015). "Grain Surfboards Profile". Gear Patrol. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  2. Daniel, Diane (June 2018). "Grain Surfboards". American Craft Magazine. American Craft Council. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  3. Rice, Nelson (March 10, 2016). "Grain Surfboards' handcrafted works of wave art". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  4. Donnelly, Kate (June 11, 2014). "Feeling For | Sustainable Surfboards Made in Maine, or in Your Own Garage". T Magazine. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  5. "Grain Surfboards Profile". Gear Patrol. July 29, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  6. Smith, Peter A. (September 4, 2009). "Whole Grain". The Maine Mag. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  7. Sneddon, Rob (May 27, 2014). "Making Waves". Down East. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  8. "Board Breakdown: Top 10 SIMA "Surfboard of the Year" 2005-2015". Surfing News Daily. August 26, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  9. Rose, Brent (December 30, 2011). "The Channel Islands Wood Biscuit Is the Ride of My Dreams". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  10. Van Allen, Jennifer (September 2, 2014). "Problem Solved: Wave of social media expands Grain Surfboard's reach". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  11. Hollands, Courtney (April 30, 2013). "Waves of Grain: Handmade Wooden Surfboards by York, Maine-Based Grain". Boston Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  12. "Grain Surfboards turns to friends & fans to find new home". Eastern Surf. April 4, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  13. "Indiegogo Backers- A Slight Change In Plans". Grain Surfboards. April 18, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  14. Writer, Peter McGuireStaff (November 16, 2017). "Maine outdoor companies to form trade group". Press Herald. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  15. White, Jeremy (September 12, 2018). "This £5,000 surfboard is made from Glenmorangie whisky barrels". Wired UK. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  16. Gall, Charlie (September 13, 2018). "Old whisky barrels given new lease of life as surfboards". Daily Record. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  17. "Glenmorangie And Grain Surfboards collaborate on board made From whisky barrels". GQ Australia. December 5, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  18. Brown, Aeriel (December 22, 2017). "How to make a surfboard". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  19. Coen, Jon (May 16, 2012). "Handmade Boards - A Better Blank". Huck Magazine. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  20. Scott, David Meerman (2017). The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, Newsjacking, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-1-119-36241-8.
  21. Scott, David Meerman; Scott, Reiko (2020). Fanocracy: Turning Fans Into Customers and Customers Into Fans. Penguin. pp. 171–175. ISBN 978-0-593-08400-7.

Further reading
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