And So It Begins…
I have this knife; it was my dad’s. He won it for swimming across the lake at summer camp in the mid 1940s. By today’s standards, it’s a crappy knife. It was relatively cheap when it was made, and it’s barely hanging on now. That said, it was enough of a thing for an adolescent kid to use and keep for his entire life, passing it on to his son a generation later.
I love this knife, not only because it’s handy, but also because of the significance that was imparted on it through its decades of use. Maybe you have something in your life that you’ve used and loved for long enough that your relationship with this object transcends normal utility and has achieved a level of sentimentality. In my mind, sentimentality leads to longevity and we need more of that in the products we consume and ultimately discard.
What does this have to do with our trailers? The knife was just one of many things we used camping. Whether it was the green Coleman stove or the burnt orange tent, we used the same gear over and over again, year after year. These things were made in such a way that they lasted and we used them through our childhood and beyond. When it came time for me to take the leap and start All Good Equipment, I wanted to create something that is counter to the current trend of planned obsolescence and technology churn; something that could be cherished by a person, a family, a group of friends, and that would be used reliably over and over again, year after year.
This business was a long time coming, I actually bought the domain name six years ago, when I was still happily working as an industrial design lead in a San Francisco studio. I chewed on the idea, shared it with a few close friends and family and tweaked the design until I was really happy with it. The end result is something durable, practical and made with the challenges of the 21st century in mind. After many thumbs up, impromptu tours at campsites and on road trips, and a lot of general interest. It started to become clear that I might be able to make a go of this and a year ago, I finally took the leap into entrepreneurship with my wife, Karin.
It’s been a year of stops and starts and I’m grateful for the education I’m getting from those that have been there before me, and those whose expertise I couldn’t do without. I’m also grateful for the enduring support I’m getting from my family and friends. We are making progress, and I’m starting to feel some momentum building.
I’d like to invite you along on our adventure. In this blog I hope to share more about what All Good Equipment stands for and our progress as a company. You will get some of our best ideas and tips and tricks for making getting out in nature easy, fun and relaxing. And best of all, you'll not just hear from me, but you'll hear from others, just like you would if we were sitting around the fire telling stories.
Thanks for your interest. Until next time…
