Movie Screening and Handplane Art Exhibit

Thank you to everyone who turned out for  

our screening of Keith Malloy's

Come Hell or High Water.  

The display of Enjoy Handplanes, customized by Matt Beard, Aaron Bravo "Chivo", John Culqui, Kipp Denslow, Damian Fulton, Barry Haun, Robb Havassy, Joe Hodnicki, Wade Koniakowsky, Ed Lewis, Rodney "Rodrigo" McCoubrey, Cher Pendarvis, J.P. St. Pierre, Peter St. Pierre, Rick Rietveld, Heather Ritts, Phil Roberts, Tak Aoyama, Skye Walker, Tyler Warren, Alex Weinstein, and Susan Wickstrand will be on view in our showroom through mid-November.

Thank you to Mike Murciano and Wellen for being our event sponsor (and for providing a ton of raffle products), and to Ed Lewis & Kipp Denslow from Enjoy Handplanes, Jason McCaffrey and Patagonia, Mike Murciano and Nixon, and to Jorge Verdin and Hobie Polarized Sunglasses for providing the great raffle items. Thank you to Erik Phillips and Meridian Graphics for printing the event posters, and to Primo Beer, Longboard Vineyard Wines, and Hawaiian Springs Water for the beverages! Thanks also go out to Keith Malloy (and Devin Wilson from Woodshed Films) for helping to make it happen, to Kevin Roche for "capturing the moment", and to our amazing volunteers and staff for helping to make this a really fun night!


You can see photos from the night on our Facebook page

An early Pacific System Homes Board

This is another of the "Gems" from the Stephen Gonsalves' collection. It's a Pacific System Homes multi-lam, redwood and pine plank model, circa late 1930s. It's 9'4" and 50 lbs, the redwood is chambered.

Myers Butte and Pacific System Homes

 Meyers is pictured 2nd from the left.  Photo: Tim Connelly family archive

Meyers Butte.  Photo: Tim Connelly family archive

Los Angeles based, Pacific System Ready Cut Homes began in 1908, and by 1939 it was the largest builder of homes in the world. During the depression, the company founder’s son, Meyers Butte came on board. He convinced the family that manufacturing surfboards would be a good way to diversify the company's business. The Swastika name and symbol were chosen for their “connotations of health and good fortune.” PSH was the first company to mass-produce surfboards. Earliest archaeological evidence of the swastika symbol dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient India as well as Classical Antiquity. The symbol remains widely used in Eastern religions, specifically in Hinduism and Buddhism, and was also used by various Native American tribes. After the Nazi party usurped the Swastika symbol, PSH changed the name of their line of surfboards to the "Waikiki Model."

These two photos came from Tim Connelly, Meyers Butte's grandson. We met Tim and his wife, LaVonna at Sacred Craft. They had come down for the day for the Food Expo taking place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and had wandered over to see the surfboard exhibit. They were hoping to find a Pacific System Homes board, and luckily we happened to have brought along a small, "Steam Nose" model and some reproductions of PSH promo material. They were stoked and sent us these two photos from their family archive.

Trestles: a photo essay