A great artist does not necessarily a great businessman make. I regularly gripe at Ron at Novorca about his lack of attention to marketing. The carbon fiber Greenland paddle market place has become more competitive in recent years with at least seven commercial ventures offering their take on using modern materials to make replica Greenland paddles (which I believe are called paatit in Greenlandic).
Most of Ron’s paddles are sold through word of mouth and referrals, or through his web site. He doesn’t travel to symposia, nor does he sponsor athletes, nor does he advertise. So his web site is really the door through which many of his customers meet him and his work. Ron only makes custom paddles. Unlike many of the paddle manufacturers everything is done by Ron and Ron alone. There are no factory workers with no notion of what they are making, there is simply Ron in his workshop and studio doing his craft.
I needed a distraction from my day job, so I recently spent three days hanging out in Ron’s workshop as he built paddles. I captured the essence of his process, and distilled it into this 7 minute video of how Novorca custom carbon fiber paddles are made. I hope he includes it on his web site to demonstrate the level of craftsmanship, artistry and skill that goes into his work.
