NO, HIPSTERS DID NOT INVENT THE WATCH CAPAlthough the fact that it has been so heavily embraced by a new era of artisans and makers only adds to the timeless authenticity of this knit hat. The watch cap is just that, it’s a knit hat with a cuff that can be rolled up or down. It was traditionally made from wool yarns but now also out of acrylic and cotton. They can have a pom pom on top but the styles that are generally coined with the name “watch cap” generally do not.The term “watch cap” literally comes from members of the United States military who would “stand watch,” and the hat was such a symbol of that silhouette that we call the hat a “watch cap.”I think we can skip all the speculation from the 1500’s to 1800’s about how these hats came to be popular because most of...

UNCOVERING POTOMAC, MONTANAWe showed up at our Airbnb at 3PM. There is a Dragon and an Iguana in the living room, and I can throw a rock from the deck and hit the Blackfoot River. A weathering 1970’s Ford Maverick with a drum set filling all the seats is in the yard. A chicken coop is attached to the guest house, and old bamboo fly rods are hung above the Dragon tank. A large red deck overlooks “Dead Man’s Bend” of the Blackfoot. This is not the postcard you get from Glacier Park. This is today’s Montana, and this is where we made basecamp to test some upcoming products for Smith and Rogue. Product development isn’t just about how strong, waterproof, or lightweight the product is.We joined forces with our friend Alison Potts. Alison has grown up in the valley and lives in Bonner, Montana but kee...

Actually, we had no idea. It is an obvious metaphor, but we were recently thinking about if it is literally even possible and after some research this is the most legit response we could find on the World Wide Web from a Mr. Bill Cravens, BSMME, University of Michigan and Illinois Institute of Technology, he says…