2022 was a year of big moves for all of us at Grain. We expanded our shop footprint by building our dream barn, a meticulously curated space that houses our boards, apparel, and more (stop by!) We also expanded our crew roster, welcoming logistic manager - Jack, Marketing Manager - Allie, and absorbing Skateboard Manager -Theo- into the Maine shop. Yes, we like to think we’re all managers of our own areas of expertise! With all this change came momentum.
Before we get into the result of our collective momentum, let’s talk about Allie, the fast-typing-engine translating the crew’s ideas into #marketing. Back in the summer of ‘22 we were looking for a surf-proficient marketer to help bring Grain to the current digital standards. Through a long-time friend of Grain we found Allie. Within two days of having her at the shop we knew it was meant to be. Being a once-upon-a-time competitive surfer with a laid back island-girl vibe (Puerto Rico native, ask her about how she got to Maine sometime) that knows her way across all marketing platforms seemed like the perfect fit.
The thing about 2022 is that the housing market was still hot, and capitalizing on that and the personal need to re-connect with her family, Allie sold her house and bought an RV. At first we thought, GREAT - she’ll park it here at Grain and be even closer, but she quickly informed us that the road was calling. Now, the beautiful thing is that she had worked remotely before so we knew the workload wouldn’t be too much of a hurtle, but we sure do miss her energy and open-minded enthusiasm in the shop.
Going back to the momentum, while Allie was still in Maine we had several team meetings about how we could bring Grain into its digital era. One thing that came up several times was our website. The site was built circ 2017 and at the time it was perfect for us, but since then we have added new shapes, new construction methods, integrated our sales channels into our social media and have plans to keep the innovative spirit alive for future projects. With new initiatives in mind and a clean slate, Allie took on building Grain Surfboards a new site.
In true Grain fashion, she dissected, condensed, re-designed, and coded beachside. Board pages being built in NJ, workshop details being finalized in TN, some code written in FL, tons of products updated in OBX, site vibe benign defined in NOLA. What started as an idea in Maine was finalized and launched in TX. We have deep roots on the road, heck, we’ve traveled the country over the years in rental RV’s, our beloved Pug, our short school bus, and our trusty Ford F150 towing a horse trailer turned mobile workshop. So building a new website while meandering cross country with two young kids and a dog… it’s in our DNA!
With that being said, welcome to our new site! We’re stoked you’re here. Allie and our team have worked towards making your experience and time on our site effective, educational, and pleasant. We have updated how you shop, optimized our content, and re-designed our navigation. We hope the time, thoughtfulness, and love put into this platform makes ordering your dream board a breeze.