Archive for the 'Blog' Category

Last summer, we had the pleasure of working with a crew of guys from the New York City creative agency, Exposure. They came up to do a photo shoot in our shop for one of their clients products, the Casio G’zOne, but the stars aligned, and swell from Hurricane Bill arrived the same time that they did.

Thursday night March 18th, G’zOne will be hosting a film screening and an exhibition of photographs at Saturdays Surf NYC in SoHo (map). Brad and I will be on hand with the crew from Exposure to showcase the body of work that came out of that trip, which includes a short film on life in the Grain shop . Images from the shop, and around the area as well as of the epic waves that lit up the coast will be on display for all to enjoy.

Hope to see you there.

It’s always a great compliment when people travel from afar to take a class at our shop. And about a year ago, a guy named Mori came all the way from Japan just to build a board here in Maine. It seemed that Mori, recently laid off from his job, was casting about a bit trying to figure out what was next for him. Somehow it occurred to him that hanging around in Maine for a week would be a good idea. We had a great time with Mori – he was so fun to talk to, and so completely stoked on the boards and the surf we got that week that it was a perfect.

While building his own 6′5″ Seed, he got to know our friend Ty Williams who then ended up flying over to Japan for a visit. The two palled around for a while, heading off to Bali for some surf and generally enjoying life. Back in Japan, but tired of the rat race, Mori decided it was time to make a change. So he joined forces with Akio, a good friend of his, and helped along by Ty’s creative input, they created a new surf shop in Kanagawa, Japan called “Buoys”.

While Mori was here, he had a chance to try several of our designs (and Ty’s had a wood board for years) but it wasn’t ’til Buoys was coming together that they started talking about our boards for the new shop. After talking it over, Akio placed an order for four Paipos including an experimental 5′2″ that we’re really excited about. I guess you never know how one thing will lead to another: Mori coming here out of pure love of the idea of surfing wood, leading to a web of friendships that ended in our sharing our boards with Japan.

We feel so lucky to have grown these friendships, and to have had the opportunity to build boards for this special shop. We also know how excited the guys at Buoys are to have these cool Paipos to share with their customers, so if you live near Kanagawa, be sure to stop by.

The new issue (#15) of Slide Magazine is out and in it is a great look back on how Grain came to be, with words by Jon Coen and photos by Nick. Be sure to pick a copy at your local surf shop or book store or order it online from Slide. Download the pdf here for a preview.

Slide Magazine, Cover Issue 15 (click for pdf)

Here’s the second installment from our friends Denis and Adam in Oregon. The first installment is on YouTube as well. Funny noses optional.

Note: These vids are not an actual how-to for building kits. They were made some time ago, and the guys are working in their garage from an old manual, so they may be using techniques that we don’t use anymore, or perhaps never did use, but we love to watch them!

Who wants to have some fun? Saturday March 13th from 6- 9pm, we’ll be opening the shop for tours, showing some classic surf films on the big screen and displaying some of the fascinating artwork of our friend Dug. If you don’t know Dug or his art, this is a great chance to step into his head and see things as only he can. This will be his first public appearance since his newly debuted “The Dug Show” on Get In The Van.

Invite your friends. We’ll have some food and drinks on hand, so don’t be late cause it won’t last. We look forward to seeing you then.

I found myself working alone in the shop this afternoon. Brad was out on the island, John was home with strep throat and Nolan had left early for the mountains. While I think I can speak for the whole shop when I say how much we enjoy the social aspect of working together, it is nice to have some quiet time to really get some work done… just you, your spokeshave and a little Steely Dan. While making my rounds before leaving for the day, checking that the iron is off, the heat is turned down and the compressor is unplugged, it occurred to me just how darn cool this place is. So I thought I’d walk around and snap some quick photos with my phone to show you some of the things we see on a daily basis. All in all, 5 kits packed and ready for UPS, somewhere around 15 boards in various states of construction, and our beloved Pug in the shop for final touches before our next demo tour (East Coast here we come).

We’ve been checking out the beautiful fins made by Captain Fin Company. Unique, artistic and functional, just the kind of thing that gets near and dear to our hearts. Check ‘em out, and scroll down through the news section to see Scotty Stopnik and his brother Turkey posing with Scotty’s new Paipo. Word has it that after building it in our shop last October, Scotty took it with him on a recent trip to Japan, so hopefully we’ll be seeing some photos from the adventure.

Speaking of which, we just designed some new stickers featuring Scotty and Paipo in silhouette. Keep an eye around town, they’ll be popping up.

We thought you all might enjoy this mini-documentary done by a crew from a marketing group called “Exposure”. They shot it right around Hurricane Bill with sponsorship from GzOne, but they missed alot of the best surfing because they had to head back to Neuva York.

They were an inventive group of guys – particularly Dennis who constructed his own set-up for dolly shots out of stuff like a shaping stand, a plank and a skateboard.

Anyway, despite how exhausted we were that week it was cool to watch them work as they watched us work, and we thought they really captured the way it feels to be here in Maine, doing what we love. Enjoy.

Click here if you have any trouble viewing.

Some time ago, brothers separated by a continent came together at our shop to spend a vacation week together – which at Grain, means eight hours a day on your feet in a workshop. Sloane is a fast-talking, biz-making, computer-selling world beater from NYC. His older brother Chris at the time was just dialing in the recipe for his awesome organic candy bar, the Angell Bar.

They each built longboards they could love; Sloane a pintailed Root, built New York Style – fast and furious. Chris did a rally-striped Waterlog. Both boards came out pretty choice, and the fellas just sent us some pics of them getting ready for the first surf they were able to have together.

It’s a funny coincidence that I got their pics during a rare surf trip I’m on with my own brother and it pleases me that much more to see Chris and Sloane loving their new boards. Happy New Year, boys.

Hey Guys,
Just wanted to wish you a peaceful and prosperous and wet and woody 2010. Here are some snaps of Sloane and I rocking our Grain finest before and after our first (believe it or not) session together on our boards, on Christmas 2009. What a gift!
Best,
Chris

Over the last several months, New Hampshire photographer Brian Nevins, Maine videographer Joe Carter and my brother, Nick LaVecchia, have been turning an idea into reality. Between the three of them, they have shot and filmed surfing and surf lifestyles all around the world and in some of the craziest places you can imagine. While they strive to sell their work to support their habits, you have to imagine that for the one or two photos that get published, there are hundreds if not thousands, that don’t. Get in the Van is their solution. Check it out and check back often for updates. It looks to be a great resource for inspiration and entertainment from the east coast and beyond.

The New Year brought with it some classic New England weather, something to make just about everyone, no matter what your sport, happy. The mountains received a ton of snow and the coast was hammered with epic high tides and perfect swell. Here’s a few photos from the first 3 days of 2010. What a great start!

We recently received an email from California musician Tristan Prettyman… she and her dad, Terry have been working on a 5′10″ Waka, fitting it in around Tristan’s busy career. They’re actually working from one of the earliest kits we produced and, though there’ve been a number of changes to the kits over the years which have made them easier to build, it looks like Tristan & Terry have been doing a great job. Hopefully the board will be ready to surf in the near future. Check out Tristan’s music here. We’re really pumped to have her on a board.

It’s late, we all know it, but if your still wondering what to get that special surfer in your life, why not make it wood. We have fun making these gift certificates. Each is made from our own off-cuts left over from the boards we’ve built. We get inspired by the grain patterns in the wood we select for the boards, but when the wood is clean and plain, it’s a blank slate to let us go wild. Order a gift certificate before Monday December 21 and we’ll do our best to get it to you before Santa slides down the ole chimney.

We can do any denomination you want – even a gift cert for a custom board or a kit or a class. if you don’t see what you want in the online store, just give us a call.

We were introduced to Mick Waters and Little House Productions through a friend of ours in California (Ed at the Leucadia Project). Mick is an Australian film maker, who has produced some incredibly beautiful films including his last work entitled Believe. We were honored to be invited by Mick to send two of our fish’s down for Dave Rastovich to surf for Mick’s yet-to-be-released film, Little Black Wheels. Here is a short video that Mick put together for us of Johnny Abegg on our 5′4″ Waka. Enjoy!

Well, the weather outside is frightful… actually, we’ve had the best fall and early winter that anyone can remember. Sunshine with temps ranging between 50 and 70 degrees most days. Add some consistent swell almost every week, and you’ve got to feel like you’re on the nice list. Here are a few photos from around the shop today. While they have been waiting patiently, I think Mikey, Scotty and Kassia are going to be happy this holiday season.

Kassias board with resin tints – just about shred ready.

The DeTemplate, Mikeys Simmons inspired 5′0″.

Scottys contribution to the Paipo revolution.

I didn’t really cut it down.