Cottage manufacturers – interviewed

[Hendrik Morkel]

Shameless self advertising here, though I think you'll appreciate it. I interviewed Henry Shires from Tarptent, and some more interviews of cottage manufacturers will follow in the next weeks.

You can read it here.

If you got questions for them, let me know here or in the comments on the blog; I'll then include them in the next interviews.

[Bob Bankhead]

Excellent. Looking forward to the rest of the interviews.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Nice interview. It was an interesting read. I'm looking forward to the rest.

[Hendrik Morkel]

The interview with Glen Van Peski from Gossamer Gear is online.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Nice Job. That was a good read.

[Jim Colten]

Very nice! Things like this go a long way towards helping make BPL worth the time. Thank you for doing it.

[Thomas Burns]

Thanks! These happen to be the two companies I do the most ordering from, and now I understand better why I do. Let's keep these cottage company's alive. They serve us well at great risk to themselves during these tough times.

Stargazer

[Christopher Wilke]

Awesome interviews Hendrik! I'm just starting down the lightweight path and have been particularly drawn to GG and TT's products. Very cool to get a glimpse of the men behind the gear!

Chris

[David Ure]

Nice Job Hendrik – Ironically, this is what I expect to read on BPL.com…except from the staff @ BPL.com.

You should charge membership fees…;)

[Mary D]

Thanks, Hendrick, very interesting interviews!

[Hendrik Morkel]

Thank you all so much for the positive feedback, its very rewarding to read and see that people like it!

Chris McMaster, the new owner of ULA Equipment, also took out some time to answer my questions, plus you're now also able to put a face to the name and get a glimpse at the new workshop!

(I know he was "interviewed" already here, though this interview is in a slightly more ordered form and puts down some rumours about coming products).

[Tony Wong]

Hendrik,

Thank you for posting up here about your interviews with UL Innovators.

Really was fascinating to get a look at the people behind the awesome products that we all love and to hear about what inspired them and how their businesses have matured over time.

Maybe someone/you should consider writing a book about the history of UL Backpacking?

How can we know where we are going if we don't know the history of where we came from?

The "fathers and mothers" of UL are without a doubt unique people who help identify and create an niche market that is having an impact on the mass market backpacking industry…..would make for an interesting read.

-Tony

[David Ure]

Sounds like Chris is decidedly not UL. It will be interesting to see where the company goes from here.

Quite frankly I would be more interested in hearing what Brian plans to do.

[Jace Mullen]

I do find it interesting that he is NOT UL.
Maybe cassey will take over a lot of the R/D stuff, as he knows what hes talkinga bout as far as what we ULers want

-Jace

[Hendrik Morkel]

David, while Chris doesn't seem to be a UL backpacker, also Henry Shires stated that he has usually a baseweight of around 11 – 13 lb, and still he continues to make very innovative lightweight tents. Maybe we should give them a chance to prove themselves before we judge them?

Regarding Brian, I also would be curious to know, though I am not able to get in touch with him. If you got a good connection to him, feel free to hook up and interview him.

[David Ure]

Hendrik, I consider 11 pounds for a base weight UL.

Brian was the brain trust of ULA. Lose the brain and well…..

Time will tell.

[Hendrik Morkel]

Grant Sible, President of Gossamer Gear interview is online =)

[Tony Wong]

Great interview….keep them coming!

-Tony

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Nice

[Brad Rogers]

Thanks for posting!

I have corresponded with Grant several times via email and he is always courteous, responsive, and knowledgeable. That is part of what makes Gossamer Gear my favorite gear manufacturer.

[Hendrik Morkel]

And the next interview is up! This time Fritz Handel, the maker of the famous BushBuddy sat down and answered my questions and shares with us how he developed the BushBuddy started his company.

[Steven Evans]

That was a great interview. I have always been fascinated by the bushbuddy and the level of detail that goes into it. Nice work.

[Dave .]

Excellent! Thanks for doing that Hendrik.

"…fractional reserve banking is the biggest scam of all time, so don't participate in your own enslavement."

Reading that makes me very pleased to have supported his business. ;)

[Jeff K]

+1

Hendrik and Fritz- This was a great interview.

You get a certain satisfaction of bringing MYOG with you on a trip.

Interviews like this give a different, but similar satisfaction for carrying cottage industry gear with you.

[Jim Colten]

Best interview yet, Hendrik.

When I first heard of the product and saw where it was made my first thought was to mapquest Iskut, BC.

From that moment I saw that map it was just a matter of time before I became a customer. Reading the interview made me even more pleased that I did. He gave very enlightening description of the development/refinement process.

[Author]

Posts