Boutique VS Production. Where do you draw the line?

Prebuilt Board Discussion
#61

Boutique.

Bespoke is @ShutterShock @Skyart etc. custom board builders

2 Likes
#62

I didn’t realize they made custom boards for each customer. I thought it was all standardized.

1 Like
#63

It all feels like semantics at this point lol (obviously consumers are still going to use some weird argument though so…)

At the end of the day I have no idea if there is even common ground here between half of the people haha

I thought this too

2 Likes
#64

But there are people who refuse to compare two boards if one is “production” and the other is “boutique” lol

#65

Yeah I can totally see how some people feel that’s apples to oranges.

#66

Even if the prices are the same?

#67

Yeah the problem is the definition is different for everyone.

If the price is the same, they will be compared based on other metrics I think

e.g. 2k meepo versus … Well… the barrel for example.

1 Like
#68

The difference here is if you buy the meepo you’ll likely get it this year.

1 Like
#69

And what if the barrel was being delivered quicker than the meepo?

1 Like
#70

Looks? dunno haha

Sounds like a win to me - idk if meepo has us warehouses but when exway is in stock the delivery is like 3 to 5 days

1 Like
#71

Why do people buy the meepo when the barrel exists at the same price point?

It’s not because they thought “I can’t compare the boutique board to the production board”.

It’s because the production board has qualities they value. 2-in-1 swappable wheels. Bamboo or carbon deck. RKP/TKP wheels.

I think the barrel kicks the shit out of any chinese made production board, but I’m not going to tell people they’re wrong for spending their money on a board that can run urethane wheels easily.

4 Likes
#72

That’s their opinion.

#73

Well yeah - and not everyone likes channel trucks either. When you have two options like that it’s preference and component selection that makes the difference. Raw performance the barrel definitely takes the cake

2 Likes
#74

To me, Lacroix has always looked like they’re trying to be a luxury premade esk8 option.

And by luxury I also mean over charging for “features” that aren’t really features. I could be wrong but that is just the vibe I’ve always gotten from them and their boards. :person_shrugging:

Hand made stencils take a lot of work and so does hand printing. Just because you can more easily make the design with it does not mean it is not still art. Also stencils do degrade over time as well as other print making device like etched metal plates. The only material I’d say is permanent/ can be used to make an unlimited amount of prints is hand carved rubber or linoleum print blocks. You will take my print making knowledge and like it.

Basically, I wouldn’t say him switching to a stencil degrades the work or value

You don’t need to pay $2k for custom made leather shoes :rofl: I’ve seen well made good year welted shoes start at ~$130 custom made from smaller shoe makers, but for bigger brands you can get them starting at ~$200. Those same shoe makers also offered custom made loafers

also damn this thread got so long.

2 Likes
#75

I want to say most things drawn by free hand aren’t gonna be 100% the same. So in that regard each piece would be unique. So each hand drawn penis by @glyphiks would be more unique then one that’s spray on via stencil. I’m sure after a few hundred uses would wear that stencil in turn make those later penis more unique. :rofl:

2 Likes
#76

I have been stencilling for a long time and can definitely confirm that the initial work to make the stencil is far more intensive than just scrawling a cock with a sharpie.

But the stencil is so damn handy. I can dickify stuff without having to even think about the dicks. Its a much easier process now.

1 Like
#77

Glad you proved me right because it would have been annoying if you followed up by saying you just had it laser cut out :rofl:

#78
Is “boutique” a useful/meaningful term for discussing or comparing esk8 companies?
  • Yes
  • No

0 voters

6 Likes
#79

This is a very interesting discussion, so I thought I’d chime in.

Defiant definitely shares commonality with both boutique and production. It is boutique in the sense that one guy is building all the boards in the back of his house (that’s me) in a very similar way as I did when doing LHB or Bioboards builds. However, Defiant has one model (the ONE) and so all the boards are the same and are produced using multiple stages of assembly. That’s a quality of a production board. But they are hand assembled in small batches, which is a boutique quality. But they are also targeting 100 boards built for this round so those are almost production numbers. But we’re using parts that are well known and easily available to the DIY community which would suggest boutique, but then we also had Boardnamics alter the design and produce 110 custom gear drives like a production board would, but then I assembled those gear drives by hand like a boutique. Yet Defiant is about to launch a relatively expensive marketing campaign and begin taking preorders while the boards are finished which is more of a production move.

So if you didn’t know where the line was before now, I can’t help you because I’m smudging the shit out of it.

14 Likes
#80

TFW you weren’t even kidding about “halfway between boutique and high end production”

2 Likes