Grain (surfboard company)
{{Short description|American constructor of wooden surfboards}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox company |
| logo = Grain surfboards logo.jpg.JPG
| name = Grain Surfboards
| foundation = 2005
| location = York, Maine
| products = Hollow wooden surfboards
| homepage = {{url|https://www.grainsurfboards.com/}}
}}
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, as well as selling kits and offering classes where surfers can build their own boards.{{cite magazine |last1=Daniel |first1=Diane |title=Grain Surfboards |url=https://craftcouncil.org/magazine/article/grain-surfboards |accessdate=26 January 2020 |magazine=American Craft Magazine |publisher=American Craft Council |date=June 2018 }}
History
Founded in 2005 in York, Maine,{{cite news |last1=Rice |first1=Nelson |title=Grain Surfboards' handcrafted works of wave art |url=https://www.si.com/edge/2016/03/10/grain-surfboards-wave-art-handcrafted-boards |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=Sports Illustrated |date=March 10, 2016}} Grain has boat building and cabinetry influences.{{cite news |last1=Donnelly |first1=Kate |title=Feeling For {{!}} Sustainable Surfboards Made in Maine, or in Your Own Garage |url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/grain-wooden-surfboards-made-in-maine-or-homemade/ |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=T Magazine |date=11 June 2014}} The first of Grain's boards were constructed in co-founder Mike LaVecchia's basement.{{cite web |title=Grain Surfboards Profile |url=https://gearpatrol.com/2015/07/29/grain-surfboards-maine/ |website=Gear Patrol |accessdate=13 January 2020 |date=29 July 2015}} 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. Around the same time, Clark Foam, a major manufacturer of blank foam surfboards, shut down after disagreements with California's Environmental Protection Agency. This led surfers to rethink the environmental impact of their boards, and business at Grain picked up. Brad Anderson joined the company as co-owner, and Grain moved into a workshop at Side Hill Farm in York.
Grain has made a wooden version of Channel Islands Surfboards{{'}} 'Biscuit' since 2009. The original Biscuit won the 2008 Surf Industry Manufacturers Association Award.{{cite web |author= |title=Board Breakdown: Top 10 SIMA "Surfboard of the Year" 2005-2015 |url=http://surfingnewsdaily.com/board-breakdown-top-10-sima-surfboard-of-the-year-2005-2015/ |website=Surfing News Daily |accessdate=13 January 2020 |date=26 August 2015}} The Wood Biscuit is heavier than a fiberglass board, but the extra weight gives better momentum over choppy water.{{cite web |last1=Rose |first1=Brent |title=The Channel Islands Wood Biscuit Is the Ride of My Dreams |url=https://gizmodo.com/the-channel-islands-wood-biscuit-is-the-ride-of-my-drea-5869909 |website=Gizmodo |accessdate=13 January 2020 |date=December 30, 2011}}
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.{{cite news |last1=Van Allen |first1=Jennifer |title=Problem Solved: Wave of social media expands Grain Surfboard's reach |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/02/problem-solved-wave-of-social-media-expands-grain-surfboards-reach/ |accessdate=25 January 2020 |work=Portland Press Herald |date=2 September 2014}} The campaign was successful, raising over $40,000 in one month. In keeping with the company's green ethos, the bus is powered by alternative fuel.{{cite news |last1=Hollands |first1=Courtney |title=Waves of Grain: Handmade Wooden Surfboards by York, Maine-Based Grain |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/fashion-style/2013/04/30/handmade-grain-surfboards-maine/ |accessdate=25 January 2020 |work=Boston Magazine |date=30 April 2013}}
In 2017 Grain had to leave the workshop they had rented for over a decade.{{cite web |author= |title=Grain Surfboards turns to friends & fans to find new home |url=https://www.easternsurf.com/news/grain-surfboards-crowdfunding/ |website=Eastern Surf |accessdate=13 January 2020 |date=April 4, 2017}} They crowdfunded a deposit for the purchase of a new workshop, but ultimately were unable to raise sufficient funds to buy the property.{{cite web |title=Indiegogo Backers- A Slight Change In Plans |url=https://www.grainsurfboards.com/stories/info/newhome-news/delete-alt-url |website=Grain Surfboards |accessdate=13 January 2020 |date=April 18, 2017}} Later in 2017, Grain was one of the founder members of the nonprofit trade group Maine Outdoor Brands.{{cite news |last1=Writer |first1=Peter McGuireStaff |title=Maine outdoor companies to form trade group |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/16/maine-outdoor-companies-to-form-trade-group/ |accessdate=13 January 2020 |work=Press Herald |date=16 November 2017}}
In 2018, Grain partnered with the Glenmorangie distillery create a limited edition of boards made from whisky barrels.{{cite magazine |last1=White |first1=Jeremy |title=This £5,000 surfboard is made from Glenmorangie whisky barrels |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/grain-x-glenmorangie-original-surfboard |magazine=Wired UK |accessdate=12 January 2020 |date=12 September 2018}} The board was made from Glenmorangie's whisky barrels, along with reclaimed western red cedar and Maine-grown northern white cedar.{{cite news |last1=Gall |first1=Charlie |title=Old whisky barrels given new lease of life as surfboards |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/old-whisky-barrels-given-new-13239750 |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=Daily Record |date=13 September 2018}} Each board contained twelve barrel staves, which is half of a whisky barrel.{{cite news |title=Glenmorangie And Grain Surfboards collaborate on board made From whisky barrels |url=https://www.gq.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/glenmorangie-and-grain-surfboards-collaborate-on-board-made-from-whisky-barrels/news-story/348f09b6adcee3decc66c30e9be63bfa |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=GQ Australia |date=5 December 2018 }}
Production
New designs are drawn using 3D cad software. Each board has an internal wooden frame onto which planks are glued before being sanded into shape.{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Aeriel |title=How to make a surfboard |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-12-22/how-grain-makes-wooden-surfboards |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=Bloomberg News |date=December 22, 2017}} The frame forms the backbone of the hollow board and is intricately designed like an airplane wing.{{cite web |last1=Sneddon |first1=Rob |title=Making Waves |url=https://downeast.com/features/making-waves/ |website=Down East |accessdate=13 January 2020 |date=27 May 2014}} It takes up to 60 hours to construct a board, with many tiny pieces of wood used. 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.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Peter A. |title=Whole Grain |url=https://www.themainemag.com/features/1119-grain-wooden-surfboards-maine/ |accessdate=13 January 2020 |work=The Maine Mag |date=4 September 2009}}
The wood used to craft the boards is white cedar, grown locally in Maine,{{cite news |last1=Powell |first1=A.J. |title=Grain Surfboards Profile |url=https://gearpatrol.com/2015/07/29/grain-surfboards-maine/ |accessdate=25 January 2020 |work=Gear Patrol |date=29 July 2015}} and sustainably harvested. 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.{{cite news |last1=Coen |first1=Jon |title=Handmade Boards - A Better Blank |url=https://www.huckmag.com/outdoor/surf/handmade-boards/ |accessdate=25 January 2020 |work=Huck Magazine |date=16 May 2012}}
Customer engagement
{{As of|2018}}, Grain had over 50,000 followers on Instagram, 12,000 on Facebook, and more than 7,000 newsletter subscribers. 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.{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=David Meerman |title=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 |date=2017 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-36241-8 |pages=1–3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_m0tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 }} 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.{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=David Meerman |last2=Scott |first2=Reiko |title=Fanocracy: Turning Fans Into Customers and Customers Into Fans |date=2020 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-593-08400-7 |pages=171–175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFjDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA171 |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite news |last1=Bedell |first1=Micky |title=Homegrown surfboards go against the grain |url=http://bedell.bangordailynews.com/2016/04/07/home/grainsurfboards/ |accessdate=12 January 2020 |work=Made in Maine |publisher=Bangor Daily News |date=7 April 2016}}
External links
- {{official website |https://www.grainsurfboards.com/}}
Category:Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States
Category:Companies based in York County, Maine