It all started with the fish when the innovative shapers and board builders out there decided to revisit the past for some inspiration. In doing so they brought back some lost skills such as resin tints and hand foiled fins.The Fish Fry has been a place for these fine craftsmen to showcase their skills. We have seen some amazing boards as shapers have pushed the boundaries over the last few years. As this new look at the fish has evolved to its many forms, it has influenced other shapes and designs along the way.This has spawned a renewed interest in other board forms by this same group and a wider following.Notably the Mini Simmons, Hulls, old school Logs and Pigs. It is pleasing to note that there are an increasing number of people building their own boards as well.All of this is to be applauded and celebrated as a positive for surfing.So it is only natural that these shapers and board builders continue to share their skills with us and include these other shapes at the Fish Fry.It has truly become a melting pot of ideas for like minded people.

Happy New Year from the Gold Coast

 Happy New Year to all of you that have supported the Alley Fish Fry for the last 6 years

Merry Christmas

Micah Wood surfboards


 A talented shaper and artist . www.woodcustomsurfboards.com

Next years Alley Fish Fry is part of the Bleach Festival

What is Bleach ?
Unleashing an artistic tidal wave that will engulf the Gold Coast, Bleach* Festival is set to return from 22nd Feb - 3rd March 2013.

With a global reach estimated in the millions and showcasing the work of more than 168 artists in its opening year, Bleach* Festival will again celebrate coastal culture with a series of indoor and outdoor pop up music & arts events and installations.
 Moving down the coastline like a wave, Bleach* Festival will kick off with Pre Bleach* Weekend festivities in Burleigh and Palm Beach on Saturday 16 Feb and Sunday 17 Feb. The official festival program will then roll through infamous Southern Gold Coast surf towns like Currumbin, Tugun, Kirra and Coolangatta, with a stationary major central Bleach* ‘hub’ remaining in Coolangatta’s beachfront Queen Elizabeth Park for the duration of the festival.
More details about the 2013 festival will be announced in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned!
www.bleachfestival.com.au

2 hours , 2 craft

Big Red gets a run


Big Red from Deus ex Machina on Vimeo.

Josh hall has been in Bali shaping and he mowed some serious board out of a 12ft 3" Burford blank.

A gaggle of Simmons



 A line up of simmons I have made all ended up back with me today so I laid them all out
 4ft 8" - 5ft  -  5ft 10"  -  5ft 4"
 These guys are Paulownia over styrene and no glass.
For more insight into their construction -
 http://surfboardsbygrantnewby.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/the-green-waxless-board.html

A couple more ready to be skinned. 4ft 4"  -  4ft 8"  -  5ft

Temple


TEMPLE Trailer from Deus Customs on Vimeo.

 

Hot doggin the Hot Curl

 Roger Hall, committed , fearless and finless on his 9ft Hot Curl.

A craftsman who loves to experiment, a great combination that leads to great results. Nice one Roger.

Josh Hall on the road

While I was down in Byron Bay the other week for the Surf Festival, I ran into Josh Hall and his dad Dave who were in Australia for the first time. He seemed to be settling in pretty well to how things roll in Oz. They had both just been in Bali and Josh had been shaping at The Deus Temple.

 Josh is a hand shaper and was traveling with his templates and tools. He had been in contact prior to leaving home to see what the chances are of shaping a few boards while over here. I said it probably needed a bit more lead time to organise. But he is keen to come out for next years Fish Fry and so if you would like a board shaped by Josh you should start thinking about what you want  and get in touch with him.
 He loves his fishes and is pretty in tune with what Skip Frye is doing as well.
Check out what he was shaping in Bali here - http://deustemple.com/the-hall-way/

2 weeks on the road

Sunshine Coast shaper , Thomas Bexton and his glasser Jake Bowery have been over in France at UWL building boards for Rui from Magic Quiver and this is the outcome. Pretty impressive effort.


Experimenting with design

EXPERIMENTING WITH DESIGN from Freeway on Vimeo.

The Alley Fish Fry 2013

Next years Alley Fish Fry will now be part of the Bleach Festival. 
Saturday 23rd February
"Long renowned as the global home of surf culture, the Gold Coast was the logical birthplace for Bleach*. The festival embraces the beach heritage of the Southern Gold Coast, reimagining it in the form of a contemporary arts celebration.

With a global reach estimated in the millions and showcasing the work of more than 168 visual and performing artists in its opening year, Bleach* Festival 2013 will again celebrate coastal culture with a series of indoor and outdoor pop up music & arts events and installations. 

Like an undulating flow, Bleach* Festival will roll its way down the coastline through infamous Southern Gold Coast surf towns like Currumbin, Tugun, Kirra and Coolangatta.

Bleach* brings together high calibre artists from national and international markets and the Gold Coast for a 10 day celebration of music, photography, design, theatre, film, ideas and lifestyle events. Bleach’s home is the world famous beaches and foreshores of the Southern Gold Coast combined with major venues within the region. The largest Festival on the Gold Coast, based on its geography, Bleach* will grow as a celebration of Coastal and Beach Culture, delivered through a contemporary arts program.

The natural linkage to one of the most celebrated surfing cultures in the world combined with the natural environment and the need for increased artistic experiences on the Gold Coast, the Festival provides a platform to marry all of these into a unique celebration of our connection with the coast.
Bleach* will build on its very early success and will continue to build the profile of the Gold Coast as a cultural destination and position itself as a major cultural festival for not only the Gold Coast but Queensland."
It will be great to be part of The Bleach Festival and showcase the wide range of boards and designs that are now part of what the Alley Fish Fry has become. Stay tuned closer to the date for more details as they come to hand.

Keep tabs on what is in store :  Bleach Festival


Byron Bay Surf Festival


 What a great day we were greeted with at Wategos Beach. First up at 6am we paddled out for a tribute to Donald Takayama and from there the numbers grew as people embraced the day and all the boards and activities taking place.
 Toru from Japan had people making their own handplanes throughout the day
 He had a great range of tools and planes for everyone to use
 Lachlan Leckie from The Salty Merchants had a nice range of fins on display
 Dead Kooks
 Eden Saul from Dead Kooks helping himself to a nice 13" fin
 Retro Classic Malibu board
 Peter White of Classic Malibu in the middle and some great looking boards as always
 The local surf club did a roaring trade
 Ryan Lovelace and his girlfriend from Santa Barbara made the trip out for the day with a about 8 boards. One was too long for the airlines so he cut it in half and put it back together when he got here.
True story.
 Every man and his dog was there.

 Toru passing on the vibe




 Simon Jones of Morning of the Earth Surfboards
 This Italian guy from Rome liked my wooden board and took it for a spin
 The kids had a ball
 A happy girl with her days work.
Make a date to go next year for sure

Byron Bay Surf Festival this weekend

Check out the site for all the details of a great weekend coming up : www.byronbaysurffestival.com

See you there we had a great time last year.

RIP - Donald Takayama

The passing of a legend , a talented shaper and surfer.

Fins and Fishes

Californian, Steve Schirmacherlikes his fishes and big boards to. Here are some off his latest additions to the quiver. Skip Frye is a favorite shaper of his for sure.

 7'9" diamond tail Fish Simmons, 7'7" Derek Hynd style fish. Both are 22" wide and 3"

Check out his great blog of big and interesting boards.  the-big-slide.blogspot.com.au

 Steve, has been using some of our Gold Coast Burford blanks for boards like this as they make a 
12' 3" blank which is pretty rare these days. Rich Pavel took one back with him last year after the Fish Fry and that got the ball rolling. Rich has shaped a few for his mate Steve as well.