It all started when I built out a van to travel along with my girlfriend while she went through PA (Physician Assistant) school in 2016. We lived in it full-time while she went from clinic to clinic to gain real-world experience and I worked remotely from where ever it took us.
My primary career is a Data Analyst, but I’ve always had a knack for product design. Living and working full time from the van really exposed me to all the critical concepts that makes a product great. Convenience, practicality, durability, and sleek looks were my goals. With the #vanlife movement on the rise, there were still only a couple companies out there making high quality van-specific products, but none that satisfied everything I was looking for. So I thought I’d try my hand at it; it looked easy. I took concepts I liked from different brands and combined their features. I bought a Consew 206RB industrial sewing machine and began sewing.
It turned out to be a lot harder than I expected but over time, and after many, many iterations, I realized I had a product that was worth selling. Listing items on the Sprinter Source forum was a great success, which lead to hiring two professional seam-stresses to keep up with demand. We’re now on a mission to continue growing and producing the highest quality products that meet or exceed all of my original goals under the brand Vanmade Gear.