Sneak Peak: New Color Wheel

When we first started making surfboards in 2007, 2008, and 2009, our color pallet was the thing that set our surfboards apart. One of the most common refrains I would hear in the early years of Almond was “I can always tell its an Almond—even from way down the beach—because nobody else has colors like Almond”

It was a great point of pride, because the tones and tints were a core part of our DNA as a brand.

I love resin tints because tints—unlike paint—don’t cover up what the board is made of, it accentuates it! Resin tints simple add a lens of color that still allows you to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into bringing to life the surfboard in your hands.

However, over time our once-exclusive pallet of color started to feel less unique to our boards. Suddenly anybody could put a cool-looking olive green resin tint on a surfboard. The thing that set us apart initially wasn’t enough anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I can tell the difference between our boards and others—as hardly anybody can execute a crisp resin tint with a razor sharp cut-lap quite like the Waterman’s Guild, but if the average surfer could no longer tell the difference between an Almond and another brand’s board, we had to change. So for the last 7 or 8 years, we’ve been constantly trying to push the design envelope. Every week’s batch of stock boards needed to be better than the week before. Our boards needed to stand out from the pack.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago…

We were having a conversation in the shop, as we often do, about the state of the cosmos, the state of the surfboard industry, and the assortment of boards in the racks of the shop. Jeffrey made the point that “a clean looking, single-color tint is still the most popular thing we do.”

Is it possible that we were making things harder on ourselves?

What if under all of the striving to stay ahead of the pack creatively, we were missing out on a simple truth. What if our commitment to a unique color pallet, and the quality of the boards was enough?

After all, we pride ourselves on being a “timeless” brand. We want our boards to look and perform great for many, many years. Leaning into beautiful, and simple, resin tints allows the surfboards themselves to be the focus. The dash of color is just the way we let the surfer way down the beach know “this is an Almond.”

So, we revisited our color wheel, refined the colors and leaned into the tones and hues that draw upon the natural world for inspiration. After many tiny tweaks and nearly indecipherable edits, we are proud to present to you the new Almond Resin Tint color pallet:

These colors draw heavy inspiration from the natural world—and exemplify the brand we want to be. So we are leaning hard into these resin tint colors.