Journal
The latest news and stories from our workshop, and beyond.
The latest news and stories from our workshop, and beyond.
Do Make has now been out in the world for a couple of months, since publication day on the 3rd of September. I’ve never considered myself a writer, so it has been quite a journey to take something from a conceptual dream, right the way through to a finished, printed and published book. It began when I headed up to Cardigan, on the wild west coast of Wales, to run a couple of handplane workshops for the wonderful folk at the Do Lectures...
This Sunday, the 29th of November at 11am, I'll be in conversation with Mark Shayler as part of the Digital Craft Festival, live on Zoom and...
Good Timber By Douglas Malloch (1922) The tree that never had to fight For sun and sky and air and light, But stood out in the open...
If you’re missing the sea and surfing, then Lockdown Surf Film Festival might be just the tonic to help you stay connected to surf culture and...
“We tend to think of landscapes as affecting us most strongly when we are in them or on them, when they offer us the primary sensations of touch...
At present, HRH Prince Charles has tested positive for Covid-19 and is out of self-isolation and on the road to recovery. We wish him the absolute best and hope he returns to full health soon. On Friday 6th March, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales signed one of our 7’10” Clipper wooden surfboards to signify and celebrate the announcement of his patronage of marine conservation and campaigning charity Surfers Against Sewage...
As has now become tradition here at Otter, as we drop into a new year (nay, a new decade!) we like to take the opportunity to look back at the last...
With Christmas almost upon us (gulp!), it seems a good time to tell you all about our last postage dates and some bundle ideas we've pulled...
The Silver Surfer Journal is a project close to our hearts and our home, that we hope some of you may decide to support if you are able to. The...
At a low enough latitude, which for surfers here in the UK means the north of Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, on the summer equinox when the sun...
Booking on to one of our workshop weeks is like booking a holiday. In fact, it is booking a holiday, but one that is pre-populated with daily activities and that you’ll return home from with a brand new wooden surfboard, new friends, new skills and perhaps greater self confidence. The first question that we often get asked after booking is about where to stay and possible ways to get here; we have a document that we send out detailing all of...
With Christmas fast approaching, and because some of our products such as handplanes and bellyboards are handmade to order, we need to let those...
Allow us to introduce Ally. Ally is one of James’ best friends, and the latest member of the team here at Otter Surfboards. For his 30th birthday,...
Surfing is often referred to as “The Sport of Kings” thanks to its ancient history as the preferred pastime of Hawaiian kings and queens, but it...
A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to be featured on Kate Humble's new series of Back to the Land, which has been shown on BBC Two over...
It was our Chris' birthday last week but despite him having the day off, he came in to the workshop anyway. Why? Because the surf in the little bay just around the corner from us was booming, and he wanted some company for a birthday bodysurf. We managed to get some photos of him too, from a great student called Vinny who was in filming with us for the day and also from local photographer Sarah Bunt. It was sizey, heavy and fast, and there was...
All of the people who walk through the big blue workshop doors here are multifaceted; everybody has more than one interest, and the same goes for...
As autumn ends here in Cornwall yet more neoprene is taken out of the backs of sheds and garages to help us keep surfing through the winter. We’ve...
This autumn our friends at Surfers Against Sewage have been busier than ever with a twin-pronged attack on the plastic pollution that blights our...
