Textile Insight

textileinsight.com Do you have a favorite product from that time? "I'd say within the Meru expedition in Tanzania. We designed a good portion of the equipment that was a portaledge, camera bags, gloves, sleeping bags and trekking packs. Being able to develop all that product for the expedition – none of which was supposed to go to commercialization – was like creating the Formula 1 of equipment. They weren't able to summit the previous two times and now did on the third with our equipment." You've collaborated with Cordura. Tell me more. "Initially the collaboration was around their new TPX material. We had sampled it for Outdoor Re- tailer Summer Market 2016. In our bags, we use the Cordura 1000 denier lining. We also use a Cordura Ballistic Fabric on all of our bags. Everyone who knows me knows that I like to design purposeful bags. When it comes to function or confidence, I usually get hired to bring that to a brand." What makes your bags special? "We customized our weatherproof Stormproof fabric in-house. It's phthalate-free so that from a chemical side, anyone can use it. I have two children. What makes our bags special is func- tion and the reinforcement. Being a factory and completely vertical, we use the best materials. I get a lot of feedback from Instagram and use it as a crowdsourcing of information. I can't tell you how many times I hear, 'I wish I had this in a bag or that in a bag or the strap wouldn't slip off my shoulder.' Being able to have that direct line to the consumer is valuable. We can shorten a shoulder strap for someone. That's unique to us." Do you spend a lot of time in your Costa Mesa, CA factory? "I sew bags in the factory. I'm heavily involved in produc- tion. I've worked on so many projects over the years and you create a tech pack, send it to the vendor and your vendor sends a first prototype, but you miss out on so much of that development process. Being on this side of the business now, I get to be a part of so much and also see where the efficiencies aren't right. A perfect example is that we offer a little dopp kit and pencil pouch from excess materials. We try to use as much as we can, which is pretty awesome." Is there a difference between the sexes when it comes to purchasing a bag? "If I work with a photographer, female or male, they know how they want to carry their camera, regardless of gender. When it comes to a tote, I always consider it as a second bag. If you live in a metropolitan area, from my experience, you have a handbag and then a tote for the gym or after work. In Southern California, your bag is your car. For men in general, it's like, here's a backpack and this is how you use it. If you ask a group of women, one may wish it had several compartments and a divider. Another may want a bag just to throw everything in. If a customer contacts us and loves the silhouette of a bag but wishes it had more compartments, we can customize the inside." Do you have a dream textile? "I wish there was more deadstock material. Not necessar- ily something new, but look at what you've seen with denim. People come out of the woodwork saying they recreated the original Levi's loom or something. That's pretty awesome. Being able to work with Cordura, you can see some of those original weaving machines. Technology moves on but those looms are so unique." What do most people use your bags for, in terms of daily activities? "I use mine as a camera bag. I have an insert that goes inside. My camera is expensive and I don't want anyone to know that I'm carrying it. But also, I grew up in Southern California and I surf and go to the beach a lot. So, it can be a beach bag. I lived in Vermont too and a lot of my friends used the tote down at the lake or for a picnic." What are you looking to do over the next few years? "This is the first phase for us. We want to grow the fac- tory but make small batches of bags that are really unique. When I say small, I mean really small. We want to be the small- est bag company in America. I'm not chasing a materialist dream. I want to create an environment that I can teach my children how to run a business or learn a trade and teach them about problem solving. My personal objective or goal is that I want to pay my employ- ees well and have them enjoy work- ing here. We're not all trying to break our backs over some invisible goal." O July/August 2017 ~ Textile Insight • 49 Where the Buffalo Roam Brown Buffalo Cordura 1000 denier tote.

• Cover