Garage Grown Gear gives the little guys a voice
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In an industry dominated by big box brands and stores, Garage Grown Gear puts a spotlight on the hundreds of cool new outdoor gear brands spurring innovation. The online magazine and store discovers these startups, gets to know the people behind them and tests their gear.
“We geek out on Kickstarter and ‘wouldn’t it be cool if,’ moments,” founder Amy Hatch said. “We’re passionate about giving the little guys a voice.”
Garage Grown Gear shares startup stories, gear reviews and trends in its online magazine. It also features a blog written by Hatch called Grit.
Its online store sells gear from 35 emerging brands, including Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Good To-Go, Skida, PoleClinometer and Give’r. Garage Grown Gear curates its online store, featuring only its favorite gear, clothes and food.
“Working with Amy and the Garage Grown Gear team has been far more than a business relationship,” Give’r founder Bubba Albrecht said. “In each and every stage of development at Give’r, they have played a major role in making us better, discovering more of our core community and guiding us in sharing our story and why we are doing what we love, and loving what we do.”
Garage Grown Gear recently launched a new site that brings its online magazine content much more front and center.
“I’m calling it Garage Grown Gear 2.0,” founder Amy Hatch said. “It’s the site I’ve been dreaming of since I first launched the company. After two years of testing minimum viable products, we’re unveiling the site we want to share with the world.”
Hatch got the idea for Garage Grown Gear through her deep involvement in packrafting. She started a packraft rental business called Jackson Hole Packraft and she served on the board of the American Packrafting Association.
“Here were these crazy cool, innovative boats basically created out of a garage,” Hatch said. “What else like that is out there, I wondered. I obsessively pored over blogs, combed through forums, and stopped random passersby to ask about their gear. Before long I found myself on a mission to become the expert on outdoor gear startups.”
Since its launch in October 2014, Garage Grown Gear has grown from a business run on Hatch’s kitchen counter to a team of four people based in Teton Valley, Idaho.
“Inspiring people to get outside is at the foundation of the business,” Hatch said. “When you have a sweet new piece of gear, you go outside to use it. We call it ‘the gear bump.’”
The Garage Grown Gear team walks the walk, or runs the run as is more often the case.
“We’re a group of ultrarunners, adventure racers, mountain bikers and backcountry skiers and riders,” Hatch said. “We regularly ski laps on Teton Pass before work and recover from 50-mile runs at our desks.”
To learn more about Garage Grown Gear visit: www.garagegrowngear.com.
Contact Info:
Amy Hatch, CEO & Founder
907-830-1016
Images:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-nx-399dt5xWkxGdkhkbW1xQkU?usp=sharing
