Ordering a Custom Surfboard & FAQ's

Custom Orders are the backbone of what I do, I am always taking orders, and always eager to help connect you with the right board for your own exploration within surfing.  My desire isn’t to build one board that will satisfy all of anyone’s needs. I want to shape you a board that makes you curious and asks you to apply your knowledge, one that grows with you and keeps you engaged for years.  

I try to offer a small range of boards that I believe will get our conversation going in the right direction; Ones that have answered questions for me and close friends, from professional surfers to weekend warriors, over the years.  My approach of hand shaping every board means I often make slight adjustments and changes to each board in order to tune it to your height and weight, local break, or to help get you surfing the way you want to. 

If you can wrap words around how and where you want to surf, someone or something that sparked your imagination in the water, or want to get my opinion on what might be best suited for you, please feel free to drop me a line.  The surfer/shaper relationship is the basis of our journey in the water, and I'm always stoked to connect!

You can email me directly at LovelaceSurfcraft@gmail.com, or fill out the form below; I've made a list of Frequently Asked Questions a little lower on the page, it may be helpful!    

 If you 100% know you want to order and are ready to get into it, send me what youd like to order, your full name, address and phone number and I can send you an invoice for the deposit (thats payable by card really easily) to get you in the que. If you’re just curious or have some questions - all good, just bear with me as it usually takes a week or two on average to respond as I handle all my emailing and administrative work alone and I want to give legitimate attention to every note I get.

FAQ's
How long does a custom order take?
It depends on the time of year and amount of orders I've currently got in line; Once I have a deposit and your order's details nailed down with you it generally takes, on the low, end about 3 months, and on the extremely high end 8-10 months.  My average over the past three years has been 4-6 months, and that is generally my default wait time if everything is business as usual.

How does the ordering process deposit and all that go?
I generally take a $500 deposit by email, that bill is sent to you from my bookkeeping software once I know you’re ready to order - the invoice can be paid with a credit card really easily by clicking through a link it’ll send you. From there I make sure I have all your details sorted in my notes and I’m off and running. Changes to your order can be made for the first 60-90 days without much of a hassle as most of the 6-month wait time on your order is me working through previously placed orders; the work on your board generally starts about 4 months into the wait, at which time it can be difficult or impossible to change anything without starting over.

Do you ship, or how do I get a board in another country?
-If I'm not traveling to your area any time soon, I ship boards alllllll the time - not a problem at all!  I charge a $50 boxing & packing fee to make sure the board will be safe, and different locations have different shipping costs after that.  The freight companies change their pricing often so below is a really really rough list of what shipping usually costs to a few different locations around the world in USD:
-East Coast US $150 (shortboard) $275 (longboard 8' and up)
-Australia $375 (shortboard) $500 (longboard 8' and up)
-Europe: $350 (shortboard) $475 (longboard 8' and up)
-Japan $300 (shortboard) $425 (longboard 8' and up)
I often travel to the east coast Glide Surf Co, Europe and Australia to shape batches for customers and shops, so if you're interested send me a note and I can give you an idea of when I'm heading there next. 

Why is your wait time longer than most others?
 -It depends on how many orders I have at any given time, but the crux of the matter is that I still legitimately shape my boards by hand myself.  The majority of my peers in the alternative surfboard world as well as larger brands in the industry all use a CNC shaping machine to pre-cut the designs, and then fine tune them from there - many even have a small stable of ghost shapers that finish the blank from the machine; this is standard practice in the industry though it is very seldom discussed publicly.  I take my planer to your surfboard every time, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I shape 2-3 surfboards a day 6+ days a week, so have no fear I'm working as fast as I can while still holding my promise to hand shape 100% of my work :)

What Shops can I find your boards in?
Santa Barbara is my home base on the west coast of the US, outside of my shop here you can find my boards at Daydream Surf Shop (Costa Mesa), Glide Surf Co. (New Jersey), Surf Garage (Hawaii), Down The Line (England), Surfer's (Japan), and Surf Code (Korea).  

Can I pick it up in person?
-Absolutely.  I'm at my shop 7 days a week so when I let you know that your board is all finished up we can easily set up a time to meet for the hand off.

What if I need a board for a trip or like NOW?
-Totally do-able!  I can rush an order or make sure its done on an exact date/timeline for $250 extra.  

How does pricing work?
-Each model has a base price (ranging from $875 to $1350 USD) which comes with a clear glass job, wetsanded-gloss finish (a matte finished gloss coat sanded to 600 w/d), fin boxes and  leash plugs.  Resin color cost is added per side ($50 per side, I don't generally airbrush or paint boards unless specifically asked except on the RabbitsFoot, aside from that all art is done in resin).  Fabric inlays and abstracts cost a little more, as well as resin panels, glass-on fins and pinlines.