Specialty Fabrics Review December 2021 - 52

[ MARKETS ] INDUSTRY IN FOCUS
canvas tents is challenging. By the time
it gets to the end of the line, you may
have a 75-pound canvas that you're
trying to move through-and that is
almost too much for one person. "
For Delaloye and his team, the
spark for the process came from asking
themselves: Is that the best way to
make tents? Delaloye hired a contract
mechanical engineer to help develop
the tent, who has since come on board
 By working through Kickstarter, Diamond Brand Gear was able to connect with investors
and enthusiastic end-users to get their feedback. Photo: Diamond Brand Gear.
as a Diamond Brand Gear employee.
" Once I've done some development,
I go talk to John about it and he has
already thought about the approach
that I'm working on, and he's thought
up the next one or two steps, " says
connect with enthusiastic end users-to
Repurpose to the rescue
Diamond Brand Gear's Tent
Rescue Program runs on a
swing shift-after the regular
crew leaves at 2:30 p.m. each
day. The crew works on creative
projects that reuse scraps from
the company's production, as
well as retired tents from places
such as summer camps. The
crew makes items including
messenger bags and gives
half of the proceeds back to
the tent's owner while keeping
the other half to sell and
recoup costs. " Our goal with
the program is sustainability
as well as bringing people into
sewing who want to sew but
don't necessarily want to do
production sewing, " Delaloye
says. " We named the concept
American Boro, to celebrate
Japanese Boro-a way to value,
mend and repair with used and
scrap fabric. It's a celebration of
a great sensibility and tradition
of what's come before. "
52 SPECIALTY FABRICS REVIEW / December 2021
garner their investment dollars as well
as feedback. A limited number of early
backers received free updates to the
tent system, for both frame and fabric
components. And supporters received
certain rewards with exclusive benefits,
based on the amount of their investment.
Reward levels allowed supporters to
contribute an amount that secured
various perks from a swag bag up to a
set of five tents. All project backers were
also invited to the LMNL launch party in
Asheville, N.C.
" The immediate benefit was that
[Kickstarter] puts you in direct contact
with customers, " Delaloye says. " We have
79 backers from a lot of different locations,
including some in Canada, which was
great because one of our goals was to
connect with the Canadian market. "
Internal effort
As a part of the campaign, Diamond Brand
Gear's staff worked together to produce a
video, showcasing the internal dedication
and collaboration behind the effort. " The
LMNL tent has been a labor of love three
years in the making, " Rash says. " We are
tent makers through and through. Making
Andrew Hooker, mechanical engineer.
" That relationship, I think, has been
key to making this happen. "
The effort has been-and still
is-a group effort that began with
a dedicated and cohesive Diamond
Brand Gear staff. " Seeing the tent
hanging on the frame has been an
incredible accomplishment, " says Lisa
Brill, R&D director, who was tasked
with taking the traditional tent apart
(among many other things) as a first
step in envisioning the new product.
Diamond Brand Gear's LMNL
Kickstarter campaign went live on
July 27, 2021, and was fully funded on
August 24, 2021; the company expects
to have its first tents out the door
before the end of the year, depending
on supply chain challenges. " One
thing we were excited about during
this process was sharing our story and
the story of this tent, " Delaloye says.
" I think Kickstarter is a good place
to tell your story. It was a lot of work
for the whole team and involved all
aspects of tent design, production
and fulfillment, but it was worth it.
Without a doubt. "
Sigrid Tornquist is a writer and editor
in Minneapolis, Minn.
Specialty Fabrics Review December 2021

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