Not long after it was founded in 1983 in Daytona Beach, Florida, Costa Del Mar (Spanish for “Coast of the Sea”) gained fame as a manufacturer of polarized sunglasses popular with surfers, boaters, fishing enthusiasts, and others who spend a lot of time on or near the water. Costa’s 580 lenses are designed to cut haze and blur, provide 100% UV light protection, and absorb High-Energy Blue Light that can cause cataracts and other eye …
Athletes, law enforcement officers, and members of the U.S. military – as well as plenty of ordinary folks – love Oakley sunglasses. They come in a seemingly endless variety of styles, shapes, and color combinations. The now-iconic brand got its start in founder James Jannard’s garage in 1975. At first, he made motorcycle grips, but later began manufacturing goggles for the BMX and motocross communities. That led to the development of goggles for skiers and …
Kate Spade New York, founded in 1993, is famous for its chic, colorful handbags. The brand stands for “optimistic femininity,” according to its website. It all started with the dream of one woman, Kate Brosnahan Spade, an editor at the fashion magazine Mademoiselle. She wanted a stylish yet utilitarian handbag, but couldn’t find exactly what she was looking for. Therefore, she decided to design one herself. After she debuted six versions of a bag called …
Health Extension is a family-owned pet food company that was founded in 1963 in New York by Brad Gruber and his family. They are going strong, now in their third generation. They focus on ensuring that pet food recipes include essential vitamins that will help your dog stay healthy. You will not find artificial preservatives or flavors, meat by-products, rendered fats, added sugar, or other fillers. In addition to wet and dry food for the …
Cabela’s is a staple in American retail for outdoor enthusiasts. They were founded by Richard N. Cabela in 1961 and are based in Sidney, Nebraska. When they first started, Cabela’s was just a mail-order catalog, but they quickly grew from there and opened up their first retail stores in the following decades. Cabela’s now sells everything from hunting and fishing gear to boating, camping, shooting gear, and tons of clothing and accessories. What some folks …
Lilly Pulitzer is an iconic clothing brand founded in Florida in 1959. It is named for Lilly Pulitzer, a socialite whose husband owned several citrus groves. She used his produce to open a juice stand in Palm Beach, squeezing the oranges, lemons, limes, and pink grapefruit herself. The juices got on her clothes, so she asked her dressmaker to create a uniform that would camouflage the stains. The result was a sleeveless cotton dress with …
In 1998, Platypus hydration systems were acquired by Cascade Designs, an industry leader in innovative solutions for outdoor adventures. Cascade Designs is located in Seattle, Washington, and they specialize in outdoor recreational products. Platypus has made water bottles and hydration equipment for over twenty years. They’re continuously researching, developing, and testing new technologies to take their products to the next level. They even have their own certified world-class water laboratory so that they can continuously …
Polar Bottle started in 1994 with a simple vision: to offer people the delight of a cool, pure, drink of water–anywhere. The most interesting part? It began with two enthusiastic cyclists, Robert Heiberger and Judy Amabile, inside a garage located in Boulder, Colorado. Polar Bottle places their pride in the fact that they were the original insulated sports bottle, which allowed them to find early popularity in biking and outdoor communities. They were tired of …
Liberty Bottleworks is much younger than many competitors in their industry, founded in 2010 by co-founders Ryan Clark and Tim Andis. With more than 60 million plastic water bottles ending up in landfills or incinerators every day, Liberty Bottleworks wanted to create reusable high-quality aluminum bottles. Based out of Union Gap in Washington, in 2018, Liberty Bottleworks was purchased by California manufacturer, Olympia Tools. At this time, founders Andis and Clark left the company. Olympia …
Back in the 1920s, Bill and Jack Kelly grew up on a farm and developed a love for animals. Both of the brothers served in World War II, and Bill’s boot camp featured a kennel of German Shepherds. The dogs were treated poorly and were malnourished, so Bill worked to build them up so they could fulfill their duties as bomb-sniffing dogs in good health. After the war, still carrying a passion for the care …
