Mikel Tube - Wooden Diving Boards
The more difficult a high-end product is to attain, the more originality and uniqueness it possesses. The wooden diving boards by Mikel Tube certainly enters this category. What once started as a single project has now become a full time activity with customers all over the world. Years of experience are the foundation of their quality and constant innovation. This makes them unique - and the last of their kind remaining. Each board is handcrafted and can be personalized to your wishes. The specific design could be created by the very pure and light surface with a solid backbone which is invisible due the particular assembling. This allows Mikel Tube to change the length of the board to your wishes. Winner of the Los Angeles International Design Awards in 2014 for the Revelation 1 model and now competing with the new Derover 1 model, a certain success. In 2020, the Derover 1 was launched and immediately got the attention of the industry. Some describe it as a piece of art. Indeed the new techniques used have allowed to create a stunning wooden diving board without losing the initial basic design that distinguishes the products of Mikel Tube.
The best wood for a diving board is Brazilian hardwood TAMBUIA, better known as IPE. It offers strength and flexibility while also being very sustainable. But this kind of wood also needs a particular approach. Unlike classic types of wood, IPE has its own way. Years of experience have ensured that those special assembly techniques are mastered by Mikel. Starting with the exclusive “floating” technique® at first and now releasing the innovative “tension” technique®, makes the wooden diving boards of Mikel Tube unique.
Design, innovation, respect for nature and a constant effort to improve are the main pillars of the brand that pioneered the use of specific techniques. Located in Belgium, they are proud to export the bulk of their production all over the world, adding the Belgian sense of precision and correctness in the package.
Is a handcrafted wooden diving board the icing on the cake? You might think of Mikel’s designs like a jewel that finalizes the whole project, be it a swimming pool or a motor yacht. The owner has made a real effort to find the top location, a pool designer who perfectly embeds the project into this environment, a pool builder then carefully deploys what has been conceived. All this effort will stand out with a beautiful diving board. Compare it with dressing up for a special evening, the jewel will be put on last, the finishing touch to make it all perfect.
Once a week, Mikel takes the time to discuss projects remotely via video conferencing, after which he would reach out to Robert in Melbourne or Caroline in Los Angeles for example. “How would you want our customers to trust us unless they can reach us” would be his most repeated guideline.
After a customer has initiated a request, a dedicated point-of-contact will be designated to help this particular customer through the whole process. Starting with advice on the type of board or the size of the bracket, then entering the phase of safety communication and maintenance and finally ending with the helping hand on shipping and delivery, there is always one dedicated personal contact for every customer.
Renowned all over the world and adopted by the most beautiful residential pools and motor yachts on the planet. Mikel Tube stands for personal relationships with customers. A small dedicated team handles the one to one contact creating a trustful relationship over any geographical distance. Mikel personally gives advice and creates the design of the global project if requested.
Blending beauty, fun, and functionality is what design is all about. Combining quality, style, and affordability is the real challenge. Every design lover knows it comes with a price. Finding the delicate balance between quality, affordability, and style. These is the key elements to creating a unique product that sells.
Mikel advises every pool owner to add a diving board as a safety measure. Water is not the natural habitat for people, so safety should be one of the major concerns of a pool owner. A diving board will orient the diver to the deep end of your pool, making him dive from the spot where he/she can not touch the bottom of the pool. Diving from the deck on the shallow end will always be dangerous.
Some of Mikel’s customers use the diving board cover to give a clear message to their children that the pool is not open. Mikel will even have a specific message embroidered on the cover if requested.
One of the major impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the company is the surging cost of shipping. The boards, with an average weight of 220 pounds, are packed in special designed, reusable crates. The pandemic led to a worldwide crisis in aviation and with less space available, ocean freight is also now offered as a possibility for the patient customer.
But the COVID-19 pandemic also brought some challenges that were less expected. The ban on travel makes it difficult to have photoshoots at the exotic places where Mikel’s customers reside. Instead, the team at Mikel Tube will reach out to their existing customers in 2021 and request that they enter the world wide competition for the most beautiful project. The winners, based on the number of likes on the dedicated Instagram portal, will be rewarded with the optional Diving Bench model.