After watching an old school surfing movie with some mates, the idea was born to try and make an Alaia and learn to surf it.

A good friend of mine, Conrad Nalson, is a master craftsman and specialises in building beautiful pieces of furniture using various timbers. He owns a very successful business in the small village of Umhlali here on the North Coast. He took it upon himself to glue up our first Alaia blanks using timber from his stocks - and so our first Alaias were made and shaped.

Since then, things developed quite fast and we were able to import Paulownia timber from Australia. This is the same timber used by in the construction of his beautiful boards. It is used for the following reasons: It has very few knots’, it's relatively light and has good flex properties.

Conrad and I decided to glue up blanks and include strips of other timbers to create boards that all look different, are mind blowingly beautiful as well as fully functional.

We have spent many fun filled hours in the factory shaping these Alaia boards and surfing them. There is a definite art to being able to ride and even paddle them. Quite a few of our mates have joined in and shaped their own boards. There is no right or wrong method but the amount of pleasure one gets from making and surfing your own Alaia is immeasurable.

We are offering customers the opportunity to purchase blanks from us and have them glued up to their own specs. Alternatively we can shape it for you. The boards are sealed using linseed oil and bees wax and smell awesome. Many of our customers have mounted the boards on their walls or found places in their homes to display them bringing warmth to their living areas and telling all that they are surfers!

So far our boards have been used all along the South African coast and all who see them are blown away by just how beautiful they are. Using one at The Point in JBay, good friend John McCarthy, said it made him feel so at one with the wave and the feeling of speed as one cruises the wall, with water chattering under the board, is unbelievable.

Riding one of these boards, that are made in the same manner as the first Hawaiian surfers used to, is truly an amazing experience.