Forty boards for a World Cup

Some of our favourite projects start with a board we've already made. In August 2023, an organiser on the committee for the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon in Canmore emailed us. They'd just received a Lake O'Hara board we'd made for them, and liked it enough to ask a bigger question: could we make a batch of boards for the World Cup?

The brief

The event was set for March 2024. The committee wanted somewhere between 24 and 50 cutting boards to give to committee members, key VIPs and international delegates. The idea was a topographic map of Canmore, and, if possible, the trails used for the race courses.

We said yes, and pointed them to our online map tool so they could frame up the area themselves.

Sketching in the map tool

The next day they sent back a rough sketch made in our tool, showing the area they wanted and how it sat on the board. They also had a sharp question about the board shape. On the paddle-style board they'd picked, the handle was cutting off the area around the Canmore Nordic Centre. Could we flip it, so the handle took the north end of the valley instead? We could. The tool has a rotate button for exactly that.

Then the event's own work took over for a while. In December they came back with a final layout and an order for 40 boards.

Proof rounds

Their mockup came with a short list of changes:

• The software had labelled three sub-peaks of Mount Rundle. They wanted just one label, East End of Rundle, and the smaller peaks left unnamed.

• Instead of a plain circle marking the venue, a few extra lines to make it look like a rifle scope.

• The Canmore Biathlon logo in the lower left corner.

All three were doable. We rebuilt the design with updated labels and cleaner typography and sent a comp. They sent back a couple of small tweaks marked up on the image. We made those and sent a new version the same afternoon. Two days later: "Looks great Gregg! Please proceed with this :)"

One board first

With 40 boards to make, we didn't want any surprises. So we engraved a single board first and sent a photo before starting the rest. The reply came the next morning: "Looks awesome!! Thanks Gregg :)"

While the proofs were going back and forth they'd written, "I think they will be a hit!" Only then did we start on the other 39.

Two boxes of twenty

By late January the order was ready. We worked out that 20 boards fit in a box, so the whole batch was packed for Canmore in two medium boxes, with the event still weeks away.

What we'd tell another organiser

Bulk orders go smoothly when one person owns the design and makes quick, clear decisions, and this one had that. A few things helped:

• Start in the map tool. A rough sketch, even a screenshot, saves a lot of back and forth.

• Mark up the proof. Small notes on the image are easier to act on than long emails.

• Approve one board before the rest. A photo of a real engraved board tells you more than any screen.

If you're planning gifts for an event, a team or a conference, get in touch. Or start a design and send us your sketch.