About

Giving a sh*t :)

Caring about the environment, caring about people ❤️

Made with care

More caring, but this time specifically to creating the product 🤓

A team with a goal

It's just ya boi, but that doesn't mean I don't have goals 😤

It would never be my intention to price someone out out of accessibility to a product, or to price a product in a bracket for some type of hype marketing illusion. Labeling something as "premium" in my opinion isn't enough to justify the price. I think it's important to give context to pricing so that it's clear as to why things cost the amount they do.

Using the 19L Roy Pack as an example, the cost of materials alone is about $95 in its current offering. This can change as I'm able to source directly vs. buying some of the components 3rd party, but for now, it is what it is. Tariffs have and will also continue to affect the fluctuation of material cost.

From there, each bag from start to finish is about 12 hours of labor to build. That includes cutting material, preparing sub assemblies, and then final/closing construction. If we say that the labor is priced at $25/hr (personally, less than what I would even consider a viable living wage in Los Angeles) then the labor cost for the pack alone is $300. This is where the cost difference of goods made in the states vs. goods made by an overseas vendor comes into play. Again, not a cry for sympathy, but just providing context so that folks have more information to choose what they wish to support.

Out the gate, the Roy Pack in total costs $395 to make. In my past endeavors, those two factors (material and labor) have dictated the pricing. However, as a business, that would already be a setup for burnout. For those of us who have watched Shark Tank, the Sharks would be Sharking right now.

So that leads to the big question, "How much do you then factor in for operating costs and profit?" I've landed on the final cost at $475, which yields a profit for the brand of $80 (16.8%). This also factors in free shipping across the U.S. It's a percentage that feels justified for both parties (if you haven't noticed, I'm someone who really likes to talk about their feelings). The profit goes right back into the brand, with the goal of investing towards a larger workspace, automation for production, and absorbing high MOQ costs for ordering materials direct from the manufacturer. All of which, will eventually help bring the overall cost per unit down, which I will always be transparent about and adjust accordingly.

If you choose to support the brand and what I value, then I think it's important to have all of the information out in the open so that customers can make an informed decision that feels right to them.

Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings, and if you have any further questions about the above, please feel free to shoot me a message on the contact page.

Personally, I do not eat meat and avoid using animal products, but this is a personal choice. I understand that this might not be the preference of everyone.

I also understand that the term "vegan leather" can come with a varying degree of preconceived notions, especially since vegan leather's origin wasn't the strongest contender in terms of durability. I can say confidently that the Desserto® Cactus leather is the best I've seen. It does not patina the same as traditional cow hide does, in fact, you won't really see any patina at all. When it comes to durability, I've done small-scale abrasion testing to see how it compares to cow hide, and I'm excited to offer something that truly feels like an equal alternative to an animal product.

I think the compromise is to have both options available and allow people the opportunity to choose. No guilt trip subtext and the markup is only because working with the cow hide involves skiving, which is more labor intensive. But aside from that, both options are on the same playing field because in my humble opinion in how they're used in the product I offer, they perform the same.

If you ever encounter any issue with either option you have purchased, please feel free to reach out on the contact page so that I can help resolve the issue :)

Bags are made to order and are made 1 at a time. This isn't for any type of pretentious reasoning. It's just due to the limited space of the 100 sq ft room I work in.

Please allow 5-6 weeks lead time for your order.

Currently, everything is designed, cut, and sewn by myself in Los Angeles, California.

Having worked alongside designers for other brands, the most disheartening thing has been seeing the implementation of A.I. tools. This could range from writing to product ideation. The reality is that big brands work at such a fast pace that if there's a tool that saves time, of course they're going to use it. Even if it's at the expense of the creative process.

Personally, I think it's a tool that if we have the means to avoid, then we avoid it. I'm not cranking out seasonal designs or trying to keep up with the ever-shortening trend cycles. I can afford to move slower and enjoy the design process (a process that I know if I don't use it, I'll definitely lose it).

This of course is only talking about the impact on creativity, and does not include the environmental impact of the energy consumption needed to keep up with the growing use of A.I. tools.

With that being said, what you see here is done without the use of A.I. I'm sure Shopify is doing some sneaky sh*t in the background, but everything that I provide is without the use of it. I design all the product from the ground up, the product photos and videos are taken by myself, I write the silly copy, and any rendered image or animation are from a 3D CAD program. This is how it will stay until A.I. becomes sentient and kills us all anyways.

Thinking about Consumption

As much as one can try, creating product will in turn create waste. I think the differentiator is whether or not that is kept in mind during the design process.

By building patterns in a digital workflow, I can be conscious of how the patterns of one product nest with the other. Top image shows just the self (outer or main fabric) pattern pieces for the 19L Roy Pack, while the following image hows the addition of adding in the self pattern pieces for one Field Sling.

This simple addition results in a 10% decrease in waste per .5 yard of material cut. 🎉

The Workflow

Personally, I love when brands show their process. We all may end at the same result, in this case a bag, but there are different paths in how we arrive there. Some might start with a page of sketches, some might jump right into building a model if the concept and direction are clear. There's no right or wrong way, which I think is what makes this process so fun.

Currently, I start in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) program and concept my initial shape there. I almost never get it right the first time, which is what makes the next step so important, the paper model.

The paper model helps me solidify the design. It's the most basic version of the design with no extra seams or pocketing. It's a quick way (aside from having to tape up the damn thing) to confirm that the size, proportions, and patterning are all checking out. It helps me identify areas that may need adjustment, and I can then go back to the program and make those changes.

I tend to bounce between those two stages. Doing so makes sure that I've flushed out a lot of potential issues before even getting to the first sample. Once I've landed on a direction that I'm happy with, I'll start working in all of the more intricate details and features.

However, before reaching the final product, there's another step that allows me to take things further before ever reaching a physically sewn sample.

3D Visualization

Okay, this spinning bag is cool and all, but what does it actually DO?

Designing in 3D has allowed the ability to concept further without wasting physical material. It's also given me the chance to see realtime interaction between the 3D form and the 2D flat pattern pieces that create that form.

Any adjustments made can be reviewed digitally, which has significantly decreased the amount of physical samples needed to solidify the design intent. This hasn't replaced the need for sampling all together, but it has greatly streamlined the design and development process.

Once all of the details have been flushed out, then the pattern pieces can be prepped and created, and a sewn product is made <3