Ryan Lovelace down under shaping trip

Ryan Lovelace who was at last years fish fry will be down again next month to do some shaping in March. I am not sure he will be here for the fish fry , but I believe he is heading to Noosa for the Festival the week after. So if you would like to get a board , you need to get in touch and in line.
Great guy and talented shaper that will hone you out a something special.

Contact him direct : ryankentlovelace@gmail
Or : hello@the shopnextdoor.com.au

Pretty to watch

Intuition from Ryan Lovelace on Vimeo.

Ryan speaks his mind and puts it out there.

Ryan Lovelace from Santa Barbara who was at this years Fish Fry has just posted the following comments. I must say that I support him all the way. Hand shaping a board from scratch is an art that is rear these days. Finishing a CNC shaped board is a skill for sure , but light years apart and to say you hand shape boards and you don't is not on.

It seems trivial to a lot of people, and to others it's a pretty hot topic; but either way, the term hand shaped is being bastardized pretty hard at the moment. The following isn't a rant, just a humble observation on some wordage and some pretty blatant lies being told.

The term hand shaped, for years, has referred to a board that was whittled down by a planer, sandpaper and whatever other hand-held tools the shaper liked; chunks of foam flying, tight lines and experienced eyes laying down the cuts that make up our favorite boards. Not a CNC shaped board, that was then 'hand finished'. Finished and shaped are two very, very different words.

There seems to be a rash of shapers marketing "Hand Shapes" that when you do a little looking into, are most definitely not hand shaped. I'm not sure what the thought process is behind calling a machine shaped board anything else, but taking some router bumps down with a sanding block doesn't warrant the use of the term hand shaped. I'm sorry, but customers are being lied to daily and thousands of people are walking around with CNC shaped boards sporting the term hand shaped.

Let me digress for a second.

Machine shaped boards are fine, they surf, and they look nice like any other surfboard, they get glassed and have pretty colors.

What it comes down to though, for me, is creating a belief around your product through marketing and the terms that are used, and then selling something else. Thats telling a lie, just like our mommy's told us not to. I don't frown upon machine shaped boards too heavily, just the lack of distinction and honesty behind them.

Heck. If I was making machine shaped boards, I'd market THAT; they are flawless, perfect copies of each other and you have a very very narrow margin for mistake, that's got some value. My feathers start to get ruffled though, when every few weeks I learn exactly whose boards are machine shaped and marketed as hand shaped. When you're being dishonest and toting a term thats not applicable, in order to make a product more 'classic' and warrant a higher price tag, the truth usually comes out.

I'm guessing that most people reading this at the moment are thinking shortboards, hp longboards, etc. as the products I'm speaking of. When what I'm talking about are full on 'retro' 'classic' or 'alternative' boards. The ones all over the blogs and websites that you're cruising through today, by big, popular shapers, by the most 'soulful' shapers. I know people who have sold their entire quivers once they figured out the truth about their "hand shaped" boards. Making one or two honest hand shapes per week (I'm giving you guys the benefit of the doubt on that one), and 20 machine shapes, doesn't deserve the term 'hand shaped' for all of your boards...It's a blatant lie and to me just shows lack of respect for your customers.

Machine shaped boards have a place in the industry and honestly are likely the only way to keep board prices under $1,000 in the coming future. The demand for boards is just too large and honestly not everyone wants to spend more money on a hand shaped board. There are people out there though, doing justice to the term and being supported by people who care. I'd just like the lines to stop being blurred, and for everyone to be proud of what their product honestly is, even if it's machined...Just own it.

There's a laundry list of guys who fall under the pointed comments above, and your heart would likely break if I named them and you cared much for the debate.

I'm not trying to out anyone in particular. I haven't written this directly at one person or another, these are thoughts and bits of conversations I've been having for the past couple of years.

I'm pleading for some honesty from my fellow shapers that are, in their quest for their place in an honorable craft, dishonoring one of the last real traditions within it.

Pass this on if you feel like it, I hope the message is clear and not misread.

4ft 11" Velosim from Ryan Lovelace

Ryan , a guest speaker at this years Fish Fry is one of the new wave of innovative , young gun hand shapers. Yes the future id in good hands.

Fish shapers night at The Gold Coast Surf World Mueum

A great facility that the Gold Coast should be very proud of.

Ryan Lovelace , Point Concept Surfboards from Santa Barbara .

Rich "Toby" Pavel from San Diego and the proud owner of "The Green Room"

Jordan Nobel , Note Surfboards from Victoria

A great night was held on Saturday night prior to the Fish Fry on Sunday. What a great facility and how relevant to be gathered there surounded with such an extensive collection of surfing history .Rich representing the older guard and Jordan and Ryan the new young guns taking us forward is so good. Young guys , hand shapers and passionate to the core. They all had a great message and some interesting questions were put to them.

An insight into Ryan Lovelace

Ryan Lovelace - InnerViews from www.KORDUROY.tv on Vimeo.

This is a short clip filmed by Cyrus Sutton of Korduroy Tv on Ryan who is coming out from Santa Barbara for the Fish Fry this year. He will also be a guest speaker on next Saturday night at the Surf Museum. Cyrus will just miss being here himself , but will be at Noosa the following weekend to show his new movie Stoked and Broke.

Looking for something a little different ?

Ryan Lovelace from Point Concept Surfboards in Santa Barbara will be here for the Fish Fry and is available to shape you a board while he is here.Check out his sites to see what he builds :
www.PointConceptSurf.com
www.PCProgress.blogspot.com

Remember that the Fish Fry brings together the best of shapers and the innovators of the shaping world so if you are interested in a new board this is the place to see what is out there.It is also you best opportunity to meet these great guys and even have a surf with them or try a board. Bring along the fish you have and compare it or swap with someone else on the day. This is what the whole day is all about and what makes it so different.

Great to have Ryan Lovelace @ the Fry

Ryan is a great example of the new young guns out there hand shaping and experimenting .He hails from Santa Barbara and is the owner of Point Concept Surfboards.

“He shaped his first board in Santa Barbara on his 19th birthday because he didn’t have enough coin to buy a Fish off the rack. What started as a one-man operation along with the help of best friends, namely Connor Lyon, Ryan has managed to turn his art, skill and energy into a dynamic business that creates between 5 and 20 boards a month for surfers who drool over his creative shapes and attention to detail”. He is self taught and willing to experiment with shapes, designs and materials which has led him to explore many aspects of board design and building. A shaper of the future with a keen following of young guns that inspire him to push the boundries.
It will be great to have Ryan , Connor and a number of mates come down for the Fry this year.Ben at Six Ounce in Sydney is stocking some of his boards and Ryan is keen to shape a few while here so get hold of Ben to line one up.Ryan is also one of our guest speakers the night before the fry at the Gold Coast Surf Museum. Be sure to book a space and get to hear from Ryan about his take on things fishy.