Arts
TREE TO sea
By Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Yanni
T
hree friends, Rob Ivers, Gary Miller and Darren Minchin are united by their passion for surfing, their love of timber surfboards and the craftsmanship that goes into making them. They teach wooden surfboard making workshops in their purpose-built indoor/outdoor workspace in Mount Eliza. Innovation and idea sharing have been key ingredients in designing what they now consider to be ideal surfboards. In addition to being naturally beautiful, the boards they craft are light, durable and eco friendly. Many years of trial, error and critical thinking have gone into the process.
E ssence
18 | PENINSULA
August 2020
It all began ten years ago when Rob met American, Rich Blundell, pioneer of the wooden surfboard making workshop and founder of Tree to Sea in the USA. Shortly after that, Rob met Gary through a mutual friend. The two of them talked about bringing the workshop idea to Australia. So they invited Blundell and it was with him that they taught their first workshop. It was hugely successful. Their subsequent workshops filled fast. When Blundell returned to America, Rob and Gary made an agreement with him to use the name Tree to Sea.