§ 01 — The workshop
Shaping,
since 1991.
UWL Workshop is the notebook of a real workshop. Not one more shop: a place, a hand, a network of brands.
§ 02 — The history
From Angoulins to Marennes
It starts in La Rochelle: Jean-Pierre Cardinal is one of the town's first surfers in the late 1960s. His sons Renaud and Thomas shape their first boards as teenagers, and in 1991 the UWL workshop is born. A formative trip to California gives it an edge; in 2001 a modern 500 m² (then 700 m²) workshop opens in Angoulins, with an APS3000 CNC cutting machine.
As early as 2004, UWL wins EuroSIMA's first eco-innovation prize with the Greenboard project. The workshop later earns France's Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage) state label, shared by only ~1,600 companies.
Today the activity unfolds under the Shapers Club banner on an 1,800 m² site in Marennes: showroom, community bar, skatepark, coworking space and a foam-blank cellar. An umbrella brand gathering Cardinal, Addiction and guest shapers — each keeping its own identity.
§ 03 — What this site is for
A notebook, not a catalogue
UWL Workshop sells nothing. It documents the trade — the gesture, the material, the shapes, the vocabulary — and connects to the brands and workshops that bring them to life.
It's the gateway to the shapers we represent, each with its own dedicated site.
Discover the shapers we bring to life.
Meet the shapers