At home in the “Mistakes Garage.” Photo: Adam Chilton
It’s been rainy here in Perth these past few days, so it’s easy to get in a Vancouver state of mind when I reach Nate Batara and Mitch Martin over Skype. Their day is wrapping up, and mine’s just getting started. But either way, we’re all giddy to chat about shaping.
The British Columbia, Canada residents co-own and operate Learning Curves, a shaping studio with a grassroots approach and happy hour vibe. For a nominal monthly membership fee, local surfers can enjoy access to the shop, the beer fridge, and learn the steps involved with shaping a board.
“Safety comes first,” Nate jokes. “And we operate on a strict take-a-beer, leave-a-beer policy,” he adds, not joking. While the beer fridge might be the heart of the garage, their capable set-up accommodates two shaping racks and one glassing rack. A friend donated a shop vac, they installed a DIY ventilation system, and they stock all the tools and materials one would need to shape a board: sanding blocks, saws, resin, mixing cups, etc. They also make monthly runs down to Burlington, Washington to pick-up blanks. “We figured maybe some people might be intimidated by trying to shape their board with professional shapers, and we’re learning as we go, too,” says Mitch.
Nate, who grew up on Oahu, and Mitch, who first learned to catch waves in Australia, see themselves as mere guides and view Learning Curves like a clubhouse. Having only shaped seventeen boards between the two, they know they’re mere babes in the shaping world and have a ways to go before they can call themselves pros. “Our slogan in the shop right now is: make some mistakes, then make some surfboards. It’s not gonna be perfect, but you’re shaping your own board, so that’s pretty fucking awesome,” Nate says. “We nicknamed it the Mistakes Garage,” laughs Mitch.
But it’s no doubt that Nate and Mitch are passionate about the craft. They’re in it for the long haul. Their growing expertise is also apparent as they chat about sketching outlines for new boards, calculating cuts, creating resin swirls, and showing members how to install a fin box.
Learning Curves has evolved into an international crew of sorts, hosting beginner shapers from Ireland, Italy, America, Switzerland, and of course, Canada. And like a good wave, the boys are trying to keep the location of their shaping bay a secret. With that said, they aren’t opposed to expansion.
“I went down to San Diego recently and went to Shaper Studios. It’s kind of the same thing as ours – they have lessons where people come and make their own boards. I was really inspired by what I saw. But that’s like ten years down the road…” Nate says, his voice trailing off as he thinks about the possibilities.
As it stands, Nate and Mitch’s grassroots movement is well placed to catch on. The University of BC’s surf club will start to make use of the bay once fall semester starts, and Vancouver’s noble tribe of cold water warriors continues to lure skiers and climbers out from the mountains to the sea. Plus, there’s always the fact that the art of shaping a surfboard tends to be as addictive – and as lovely – as surfing itself.
