Journal
The latest news and stories from our workshop, and beyond.
The latest news and stories from our workshop, and beyond.
There's no entrance fee for the sea; it's a free natural resource that so many people get immeasurable pleasure from. At worst you might have to pay to park at the beach, but it's a small price to pay when you consider what you're getting. Therefore, when the two annual Surfers Against Sewage Beach Clean Series roll around (or any other beach clean events for that matter - it makes no difference who organises them), we see it as our chance to...
During the last week of September, we were joined by Jac, who was celebrating his 21st birthday by making a 5’10 Fetch with us. He travelled to us...
Late last spring we were visited by Chris, Rob and Matt, who were travelling the length of the British Isles documenting makers, producers and...
Last weekend saw our fourth Annual Gathering of Makers, where we invited all the people who have shared a week with us in the workshop crafting their...
The Sunday of the first weekend in September has, for over a decade now, been the day that bellyboard aficionados converge on Chapel Porth beach...
Having somebody join us from overseas for a workshop week to make their own wooden surfboard is not uncommon, but having a completely international group of workshoppers join us for our most recent workshop has been a first. As August transitioned into September we were joined by Larry (French, of American descent, who lives and works in London), Marc (from Switzerland) and Henrik (from Sweden but living and working in London), a wonderful...
Well not quite, but almost. This past week, Patagonia have been touring the UK showing their latest range of wetsuits; wetsuits that are neoprene...
A life for me without using my hands, without making, and specifically without making things out of wood is completely incomprehensible.
Last September Mat headed down to the southwest corner of France for a few weeks with his friends from Surf Simply. Because September and October are...
We've spent a fair bit of time over the last month loading and unloading bits of our workshop in and out of the back of our van, as we've spent a...
We like to keep in touch with everybody who has ever joined us to make their own surfboard, and it’s incredible when we receive an e-mail with a handful of images attached containing stories of a successful surf trip. Matt made a 6’4” Woodburner with us last June and surfed it close to home in Cornwall through the autumn and winter before taking it away for a wide-ranging trip across the Indonesian archipelago. When we recently sent out...
Robert Chapman (known around the Otter workshop as Rob) joined us last November to make a surfboard as a gift for his son who’s currently living...
It's festival season once again, and with the hope that this year's quota of rain has already fallen on Glastonbury, we're making preparations to...
Our friend Tony had quite the complete workshop experience with us over the first six months of this year; he fitted in sessions and days at the...
The Friday before last, on the evening of June 10th, we held our second annual “Boards, Bangers and Beers” open workshop evening. The weather...
We’ve always been fascinated by those most ancient of Hawaiian finless wave sliding craft, alaias and olos. Without fins to hold them straight and steady, the bottom contours and rail profiles of these thin, flat, blades are key to ensuring that they hold into the face of the unbroken wave and generate speed and lift – and what speed! A few months ago, with summer approaching and the prospect of much more time spent playing in the sea in...
You don't have to go very far, or for very long, to feel as though you've broken out of your routine and had a bit of an adventure. A couple of weeks...
You're all invited. In a couple of week's time we'll be sweeping up the workshop and lighting the bbq outside the big blue doors for an evening of...
We drank a lot of tea during our May “Make Your Own” wooden surfboard workshop the week before last. Marcus and David were with us building...
