Mill & Mountain Launch / "Slow & Makin It Work"
Launching a new apparel brand seems like kind of a nutty idea. After all, aren’t there a ton of great brands already? What more could you possibly offer? Anything you can say or do, someone else has already done, or they’re already doing, right?
.
Or… maybe not. My goal has been / is to make stuff that’s as good or better than the other guys, but do it here - in the USA. It’s been a process so far, and I don’t see that changing.
.
To say that bringing a new product to fruition is as slow as watching paint dry is really kinda feels like an insult to paint. (I mean, it feels waaaay slower than watching paint dry.) That said, to see the products take shape – working with the product designer – and then working with the factory to get things made - is also super fun and exciting.
.
It also feels good to be bringing to life some products that are made in the USA. We have laws about the environment and worker protection; that’s far less the case in Asia or other places where most of the world’s apparel and outdoor gear is manufactured today. And it always has sucked to look at factories in the southeast and mid-Atlantic that are boarded up and derelict because they couldn’t make it were competing with overseas producers. If I can get stuff made - and find people to buy it - then that’s really about supporting the US factories and the folks whose jobs are to work there. Also, stuff that’s made here doesn’t have the carbon impact of something that had to be shipping from Asia or wherever.
.
Anyway, I’m calling this blog “slow & makin it work“ because that feels like what it’s taking to get Mill & Mountain off the ground. Also… “slow & makin it work“ pretty much describes my approach to adventures in the outdoors. So… I’m going to showcase in the blog both what it’s taking to get Mill & Mountain off the ground AND some recent adventures I’ve taken. I hope you enjoy! (And maybe some of the information is useful to you if you’re thinking about doing some of this stuff too…)
.
More to come soon! (Including, first, some deets on my first 50-mile run ...)