MANIFESTO
WHY I DO THIS.
Unlike when I started building bikepacking gear back in 2010, there are now countless options for bike bags on the market. It's become a very crowded field, with competition ranging from excellent to head-scratchingly bad. The Amazon-based race-to-the-price-bottom is in full effect, the outdoor industry is in post-COVID shambles, and this was never a good industry for making a great living anyway. So why the heck am I still here?
Well... having spent my entire career in the bike industry is part of it. I started in 1997, and it would be tough to just drop out now. More importantly, I still have something to bring to the table. I still have creative ideas that solve problems. I still enjoy bringing those ideas to physical reality. I'm still skilled at my craft. And I still believe in American craftsmanship, as quaint and twee as that may sound. I've been told many times that I should "go overseas" for manufacturing. I've never listened to those people.
THE WAY I DO IT.
When I begin work on a new product design, my process looks pretty different from the modern norm. It begins with an idea, is followed by a sketch with literal pencil and paper, and is eventually hand-templated into reality. Pencil and paper, ruler and template, fabric, thread, and industrial sewing machines - don't forget years of knowledge and experience - and voila, a new product is born. I don't harbor some mystical belief that great products can't be designed on computers, and of course, I use computers every day. But I much prefer keeping my build process analog. Using my hands and physical tools is much better than manipulating pixels, and no one needs to look at screens any longer than necessary. Computers are really only involved in the selling of my products on this website, not in the making of what I ship to you. In this age of an AI-enabled social destruction machine in everyone's pocket, I consider that a win.
GOALS.
The design process is about more than just piece shapes and build steps. This is also where I decide on features and build quality. Many product-based businesses will prototype an idea, then figure out how to make it with the least expense possible, cutting features, quality, and cost along the way. I take a different approach. I prototype an idea, then decide what features it should have, largely regardless of cost. I build something I want to actually use. Then I figure how much the finished product needs to cost. The internet is already brimming with inexpensive, interchangeable bike bags... why even try to play that game? Instead, I build for people like me. People who care about real-world function, impeccable quality, and aesthetic form - and understand the cost will reflect the time required to build this type of product. My primary design goal is the best product possible, not the lowest cost or the most units sold.
I KNOW my MOTIVATIONS AND METHODS won't make sense to many people, AND That's fine. I build for THOSE WHO GET IT. THANKS FOR BEING HERE!
