Nice Article in the Daily Pilot - Newport Beach newspaper

Dawn Patrol: Foam E-Z eases shaping experience

By John Burton

Updated: Friday, January 8, 2010 12:10 AM PST
My friend Kathy Escher has a teenage son, Kole, who surfs and she tells me about interesting things like a place where you can shape your own surfboard.

Foam E-Z near the Westminster Mall is a one-stop shop for any and all materials needed to make or repair surfboards. For professionals or do-it-yourselfers they have everything, including a shaping bay with all the tools, accessories, and help required to make your own board.

I had to check that out so I dropped by and was greeted by Grant Ramey. I introduced myself and explained why I was there.

“So, do you want to shape a board and write about it? he asked.

“Err, uh, me? Shape a surfboard?” I stuttered.

I hadn’t considered that. There are some things you inherently know just aren’t your strong suit and for me that includes making things with tools.

“Yeah, that would be cool,” I heard myself say.

So the game was on. It’s a busy place and Grant had customers so I cruised around the shop. A few minutes later, Foam E-Z’s proprietor, Brad Nadell, arrived and we talked for a while.

He started the business in 1993 as an alternative source of foam blanks for shops that had a hard time meeting the minimum orders required by Clark Foam, which for many years held a virtual monopoly.

Clark’s stunning decision to abruptly close up shop, and the repercussions still felt throughout the surfing industry is a story in itself, but Nadell had to adapt and change the business dynamic. Today their focus is more toward the hobbyist and outstanding customer service is their edge.

Brad helped me pick out a blank for my first effort. He steered me toward a “second” which works just fine but has a cosmetic flaw. They cost a lot less and are a good idea for novices.

He and Grant told me that coming up with a template for drawing the outline on the blank is an important first step. I went home and flailed unsuccessfully, so when I returned for my shaping session I used one of my boards and their templates to make the outline.

Then I had to cut out the shape with a hand saw. I did an OK job although there were a couple of wrinkles.

The next step was truing things up using a Surform plane. Luckily I had Grant as a consultant or it would have been a disaster.

I started removing material from the top and bottom using a planer. None of this is easy if you’re not used to it and the planer can do some damage so I went back to the Surform and some heavy sand paper.

That’s as far as I got during my first session. I came away with something that looks more like a surfboard than a coffee table so I’m calling it a success. There’s a lot more shaping to be done so we’ll see how it turns out.

I have a new appreciation for the skill that went into my custom made boards. My Foam E-Z experience was great — drop by or look up www.foamez.com.

Daily Pilot article

HOLIDAY SHIPPING CALENDAR and Some X-mas Gift Giving Ideas

Every year we all have to think about what to get others for Christmas. I don’t know about you guys but I hate it! It takes up time and energy and usually I fail and the person is bummed anyways. So this year, we are going to help you out by offering Foam E-Z Gift Certificates. They can be purchased over the phone and can be used online or in the retail store. You can even use them to reserve some time in the world famous “E-Z Shaping Box” that has been getting rave reviews around the world…..of Westminster and Huntington Beach that is. Call us up, get a Foam E-Z Gift Certificate and show someone that you care enough to get them a unique gift of board building instead of something lame like socks or a coffee mug.

If you are thinking about purchasing gifts online check out the Foam E-Z Holiday Shipping Calendar to be sure everything arrives on time. If you have any questions about delivery time please be sure to call. We don't want that special one to end up with coal in their stocking because Fed Ex dropped the ball!

Grizz

Feel Good Saturday!

What a day at Foam E-Z this past Saturday was! It was great having Mark Bouvier in the shop again. Even with the short notice (via blog post), Foam E-Z customers came down to say hi to Mark and catch up with him. A big thanks to Nancy (Mark's mom) for chauffeuring him down and sticking by his side to be sure all was as it should be. The buzz in the shop was unreal not to mention the shaping going on in the Shaping Box and next door at Aloha Glassing. Only shaping his fifth board, Dan tried his hand at an "Old School Pig" 9'6" Nose Rider. He got really crazy and flipped the blank nose to tail to try get more tail rocker and less nose! Mark got dusty too as he walked Dan through the beginning stages of the shape process. The day wasn't without it's legends, as Robert August showed up to shape a 7'6" Seventies Gun for his nephew and Mike Minchinton shaped a five fin bonzer out of a neat two stringer wedge blank. It was cool seeing Robert August and Minch talking shop with Mark.

We're hoping to get Mark in the shop on upcoming Saturdays. We could surely use his help and good spirits. A big benefit party for Mark Bouvier, "Give some dough to a bro", is in the works. We'll be posting the details as they come up, please keep checking back.

Thanks for your support-

Brad/Grant/Mark

A Special Appearance this Saturday November 7th!!!

Foam E-Z super employee Mark Bouvier will be hanging out at the shop tomorrow, Saturday November 7th. Just in case you don’t know the history Mark has worked for us at Foam E-Z for about three years. He became our "Saturday" Guy and nurtured his own and new clientele making them laugh with his dry sense of humor. He is a shaper and an artist, the Evolution Tee Shirt that debuted at the Foam E-Z Fifteen Year Party is his creation. If you haven't seen him lately it's because he got into a terrible car accident on Thursday July 9th, 2009 http://www.ocregister.com/articles/police-beach-huntington-2488973-head-taken. Basically he got rear ended and the car came down on top of him, crushing one side of his head! After removing a portion of his skull to drain some fluid Mark had it replaced on September 25th and has since been sent home from the hospital to rehab. He's had to relearn to speak and is rehabbing the rest of his body at this time. It's absolutely amazing how far he has come in such a short time (although to him I'm sure it seems like it's been forever). In the car with him at the time of the accident was his girlfriend Sarah who was pregnant with their first child. Thank god she walked away with barely a scratch. They have since had healthy-happy baby Jack on October 7th.

We hope many of you can come down and say hello to Mark. He would be stoked to see his Foam E-Z friends both old and new to talk shop. If he's not in the front of the shop when you arrive he will be in the "Shaping Box" coaching his Friend Dan as he shapes a new board.

We're working on plans for a benefit party for Mark in the upcoming weeks so stay tuned. In the meantime you can check out Mark's MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/cheaterfives or email him board building questions or good wishes at surfddout@yahoo.com.

Hope to see you all-

Brad