This is kind of advertisey, given that I am a team rider for BlkBox, but it is relevant to Midwest paddlers. Pardon me if this is not the place...
The surf shop Wet Mitten, with locations in Grand Haven and Traverse City, MI, announced yesterday they are getting on board with Matt Campbell and BlkBox Surf by choosing to stock a variety of his models, from performance stand up surfing to all arounders to race models in 12'6 and 14. They will also stock a couple different traditional surf models for their core surf crew.
This is awesome, as it promotes the local economy and recognizes the artisan-quality surfcraft Matt produces. If you haven't been in a Wet Mitten shop you should check it out. Owned by brothers John and Ben, the shop has a great gear selection and also has all the soft goods as well. The brothers have a great vibe, easy to talk to and not the hard sell type. Wet Mitten has a solid reputation among experienced surfers, both traditional and stand-up.
The timing of their support is perfect, as Matt is taking the leap to increase production by computer scanning his 12'6 and 14' race designs. I paddled his 14' carbon race (pictured below being prepped for the scanner) to win the WPA Great Lakes point series this year and I won the 12'6 point series last year on the first-generation design. The scanning process will allow Matt to use CNC technology to produce blanks much faster than he can hand-shape, though each blank will be dialed in with hand shaping.
So awesome to have this shop supporting a paddleboard company where all materials and labor are based here in the Midwest. All scanning is done in a Detroit facility. Stoked!
Huge Wet Mitten fan - they were in part inspiration for my screen name ;)
I was super stoked to see this news on FB a few days ago as I've been drooling over Matt's boards for awhile. I'll definitely be paying them a visit when I'm home over Thanksgiving weekend!
very cool to see new people and places stoked and hopefully prospering in the name of SUP.
Good stuff! Got to meet Matt at the Holland, MI race this past summer and admire some of his work.
I can't wait for the 2013 races. What could be better than bringing like-minded, fun folks together while also getting our Midwestern surf shops, shapers, etc. some exposure.