Black Rainbow Project needs your help!

My 2p. Whilst completely understanding and appreciately both your craft and passion for your work, it seems that the issue has always been keeping up with supply and your time it takes to craft your items.
As a shop owner I deal with many equally passionate and talented people that whilst appreciating what they do, their business acumen and ability to run and fulfil orders ultimately leads to them to get swamped with orders and promises they can’t keep up with. Like you say in you go fund me blurb.
Many we have wanted to work with and been patient with simply haven’t worked out the capacity they can work to and have not been able to say no on taking orders- thinking more orders = more money.
All off this sounds like you already know.

I would say that a part of your hopefully successful business going forward should think of either outsourcing smaller items that can be easily reproduced like T shirts, hats, small items like pouches etc, designed by but not made by you. Going forward when you have perfected a bag design look to get it made up by someone other than you personally so you can concentrate on improvements/new products you can make and the likewise pass on to a trusted team/other makers to fulfil your orders.

Not to say that means moving production to China or somewhere you can’t visit or keep an eye on for quality control. A good example might be hiut denim utilising people in cardigan bay who have made jeans for years and have now had a second wind. Likewise somewhere like Blackhorse lane atilers.

I know you might feel you need to touch/make everything with your own hands but Imo to make a run of it you’ll need to pass part of it over to scale up but with your own blessing and eye over it.

I wish you good luck and I’ll be donating.

if you ever need someone to visit a factory in Asia, give @Orko42 a shout!

For a company like BRP where products are small runs where quality is of paramount..production in Asia is not necessarily beneficial for various reasons.
Micro manufacturing is also a possibility trakke, and dare I say it restrap produce products from small workshops in house..and Bedouin foundry subcontract to small scale manufacture up north.

https://youtu.be/kpG8AVVUehM

Thought this was an interesting video..
SF is lucky to have a ready skilled labour pool and market to sell to.
Perhaps thats why there are still companies like chrome and mission based and manufacturing there.. I believe it was the birth place of the messenger bag as we know it by ZO Bags.

I know you might feel you need to touch/make everything with your own hands but Imo to make a run of it you’ll need to pass part of it over to scale up but with your own blessing and eye over it.

The gofundme blurb does say:

With enough funding I will be able to enlist the help of other people to allow a higher volume of bags to be made, while still maintaining the level of quality I demand.

So I'm guessing there's a plan for the upscaling aspect.

Depending what you need machining, I might be able to help. No fancy CNC kit but I've made parts for Feather cycles and a few others over the years.

Nothing to add, other than have a bump.

Just paid for a t-shirt and will be straight in on a key clip once they're ready!

Que? How?

See relevant threads

Hoodies available HERE

Tees available HERE

Good idea Scott.

What do you do when you have to fit a whole sewing workshop in your lounge without filling the entire room?
You get clever with the table design!

Having specific areas to do specific jobs is important to maintain any kind of efficiency, but when you have limited space that can be difficult to achieve. With that in mind I designed this table with a few tricks up it's sleeve.
At its most compact it's the same width all the way down its length, but lift the front section up and you have a 5' 6" wide x 6' 8" long cutting table with built in fabric dispensing rack.
Pull out the hidden sliding table from the end and you have a 5' long x 2' wide webbing cutting/belt and keyclip finishing station.
Under the cutting table is further fabric storage spread over two levels.
Under the rest of the table is storage for all my webbing, buckles, velcro, thread etc, also spread over two levels. (more pics to follow)
I'm quite proud of how it all came together, because I nearly turned my head inside out when planning it and ordering the exact tubing lengths and joints required. There was no room for error.
It's thanks to the generosity of those who have already donated to my gofundme campaign that I've been able to get this far. Combined with the sale of tees and hoodies I've been able to order the tops to finish the table too.
They will be here in 2 weeks and I'll be good to start working on prototypes with my old leftover fabrics.
However, I am still a LONG way off my target, and being able to order the specific custom fabrics and hardware I need to bring my new ideas to life.
Any help from those of you who believe Black Rainbow Project is worth backing would be greatly appreciated.
Even just a few pounds makes a difference, so if you want to help, gofundme :)
Thanks in advance!
Scott

1 Attachment

Looks like the workshop will be as well built as any brp bag... bravo.
Ready to buy a hip bag asap.

Take this comment as an opinion and absolutely nothing else. I think your bags are awesome and the quality is second to none.

Quite a few years ago, whilst still living at home and working I had a decent amount of money to purchase a bag. I eventually settled on another brand instead of yours, because I felt the whole attention to BRP has always been slightly elitist, almost as if I'd be snubbed at trying to order one, or someone would approach me saying "why are you wearing that?" because I wasn't a hardcore courier or something. I just felt the brand unfriendly, but the people backing the brand even unfriendlier.

I have no doubt you have a fantastic business plan with all aspects covered, but here are just a few bullet points of thought:

. 999 year warranty

. On location shots of people who have used your bags for years, their story and then studio shots of the battered, well-used bags (that are still holding strong after all these years). You should also be stockpiling user-generated content for your social media, social proof is so damn important for high-quality goods.

. Some things just look 'cool' when they are well used; Leather biker jacket, leather wallet, jeans, converse trainers, to name a few. I think showing your old designs that are now well worn in is so important. Durability and sustainability are super hot topics at the moment (and rightly so) and I feel your brand already contains everything you need. People feel part of a tribe/community when they purchase something with passion as much as functionality.

. Don't be afraid to make things that aren't for cyclists. There are hundreds of different sports/lifestyles that need quality products. Be razor sharp what your brand stands for, it's a lot easier to scale and apply that ethos to different products.

Hope any of this can help you. I'd like to reiterate that this is all coming from a kind place, I think your bags are awesome and I wish you the best of luck.

The philosophies of scott and BRP was to build the best possible bag out of the very best components.
If that makes it elitist then so be it..there will always be people that want /need some thing as well built as possible and willing to pay for it.
Other will pay for fashion labels and brands...BRP was always much more about the product then the brand.
Scott products were always in demand supply was always slow. Perhaps this gave it the illusion of elitism but the branding was important but always very subtle and almost secondary.
Let's hope this time it's a sustainable business.

Fwiw I'm barely a cyclist, nor do I look like one, but I think the only reaction would be "hey, great bag".
:)

A few more pics of the table some of you friendly backers helped me to build for my unfriendly brand. :p

1 Attachment

.

2 Attachments

Where does one buy such table making materials? Look ideal for workshop purposes.

I don't think your brand is unfriendly btw, have beem/am conscious about not buying any 'messlife' type gear because I'm not a messenger so maybe that's more what James means

Mine is more 'messylife'.

Always too.late to the party to get any of your stuff previously but always thought it looked cool. Donated and bumped good luck Scott

Thanks so much for your help!

It's been a busy few weeks, so I haven't had a chance to take any photos of the new tables. All they're missing now is the shelves for underneath.
I'm already making 2 prototype backpacks with what little fabric I have left.
However, I am still a LONG way off my funding target, and being able to order the specific custom fabrics and hardware I need to bring my new ideas to life.
Any help from those of you who believe Black Rainbow Project is worth backing would be greatly appreciated.
If you want to help, the gofundme link is in the first post.
Thanks in advance!
Scott

2 Attachments