About my projects with Trimcraft & LOVEMACHINE
Modern solutions to modern problems.
When I won the shape-off in 2016 I was approached by a multi-time-winner of the same contest, part in congratulations and part in challenge - He asked now that I had ‘proven’ myself, what would I do with it?
I took the question to heart and thought a lot on what I might be doing this all for; then spent the next 6 years acting on my solution: The goal became to provide opportunity for younger shapers to have to support that I never did, and in that, create projects with greater transparency, providing value and doing so with integrity and clear definition from my own work. I like solving problems, and in doing so, creating opportunity for other shapers and surfers who are seeking more than a cheap pop-out or the latest fad.
Myself and a few friends started Trimcraft Surfboards, and more recently LoveMachine. They are my two vehicles to share designs with greater accessibility:
TRIMCRAFT is the result of wanting to help others navigate the rocky path that I had, perhaps a little more smoothly and with community and support. I started the company with my friend Phil Browne of Glide Surf Co., and we began to create a network of like-minded shapers with the goal of making a brand that offered legitimately hand-shaped surfboards designed by multiple shapers young and old; a fist-full of years in and Trimcraft is a healthy and respected brand that has connected a lot of planer-minded people with each-other and put a lot of cool boards under peoples’ feet.
LOVE MACHINE is the new kid in town. Probably the most asked question I’ve had over the last 10 years is ‘When are you going to switch to the machine?!” It’s the natural progression in the modern surf-world, but I simply don’t enjoy scrubbing pre-shaped blanks myself, and can’t rightly put a resin dot on anything pre-shaped by a machine before I touched it. My opinions on the use of the CNC machine have been rather clear and public for quite some time, so whether I was being asked in jest or in all seriousness, I replied the same - that for my boards, I won’t, and that if the time came and I were to start seeing a need to produce boards by CNC that I’d just be super honest and clear about it and make a whole new brand outside of my work - call the whole thing something like ‘Lovelace On The Machine’”…simple… Well, one clever suggestion from a friend on the name, an endless backlog of custom orders and a desire to make some of my favorite designs more accessible to y’all and here we are. LOVEMACHINE is a stock-board production brand highlighting technology, transparency, and partnership. No tweaks, just dang good replicas of a few of my favorite designs offered at a lower cost.
I truly enjoy hand shaping surfboards.
Maybe I’m an idealist. Definitely a glutton for punishment, and probably a workaholic. When I was little I always assumed that ‘things’ were created by the people who’s names were on them - not so much major commodities like toilet paper or cars, more like the ‘things’ that were really special to us. The art that I was surrounded with, the house I was raised in, the go-karts my brother and I hurt ourselves in; All came from the hands of people I knew, and the community that I was surrounded by; Those things shaped my ideals - It became the framework of what I wanted if I was to put my name on something.
When I turned 19 I started building my own surfboards because I couldn't afford the ones I wanted to try. A couple years into an obsessive compulsion to make more boards for myself, I saw what would have been a ridiculous notion becoming a possibility; I started to realize this could be a real thing for me and something that I could try to support myself with through my last two years of college. I figured I better follow through with this thought while it was at my finger tips and people were stoked on my work because if it actually worked, it would be the biggest stroke of luck - and if I failed, at least I tried. When I made the decision to give it an honest shot, I told myself I’d stop when I wasn’t having fun anymore - I’m just shy of 20 years in now, and hand shaping surfboards is still the best part of my day.
That initial leap in 2005, and that promise to myself, has given me opportunities I never thought possible. Boards of mine have shown up in the pages of surf publications that I worshiped growing up; In 2016 I was invited to participate in and won the Icons of Foam Tribute to the Masters Shape Off dedicated to Gerry Lopez - a contest which I have held in the highest regard since its inception. I shaped over 5,000 custom boards by hand by 2019, and started Trimcraft Surfboards which is dedicated to hand shaping and sharing the craft of hand shaping.
I am humbled and beyond fortunate to have grown into such a supportive community of friends and customers. It has allowed me a life building things with my hands, the most amazing gift I could have dreamed. I try my best to pay that forward and share what I can when and with whoever I can, and remain an open book for new adventures and challenges. Thank you for taking the time to look into my world and allowing me to build water toys for a living.
-Ryan Lovelace
Morocco 2018, 7’4” ThickLizzy
