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- Jan 6, 2012
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- 445
Quite an interesting trip...hope you don't mind a story...
I photographed a wedding this past weekend in Johnstown, Colorado. Naturally, the day before the wedding, I made the trek an hour and a half to Golden, Colorado, bringing my fiance along for the ride.
We arrived and I got super giddy and excited.
We walked through the front doors, and just to the right of the front desk was the outlet store.
I walked around the place, my fiance trailing behind me, looking at all the different odds and ends of the store/museum. All the current production knives in the center, tons of displays around the walls.
My fiance and I walked around the store and ended up at this display, which is where our visit went through the roof!
While we were looking and reading everything, a woman came up behind us and started explaining the different facets of the displays to us. The pieces of metal in the middle were from Tower 1 of the Twin Towers. She was a firefighter/medic for a long time and has special ties to the firemen and woman who died in 9/11. She told us stories of people she knew, things she was involved in, and this very special knife on display.
The inlay of this knife was made from a steel piece from Tower 1. A chunk of that same steel sits in this woman's bathroom window to remind her everyday of those lost.
This woman, crazy, talkative, and outgoing, began sharing stories as if she owned the place.
I asked, "What is your name?"
"I'm Gail. Eric is my son, and Sal is my husband."
Turns out she pretty much did own the place.
"The first thing you need to know about me is that I'm a woman with a chainsaw and a Bobcat."
She continued talking about the 9/11 display. They made a sprint run of those knives to raise support and funds for 9/11 relief. 4 of them got sent to 4 special people, including Hilary Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barrack Obama (there was one other, but I forgot who). They got 4 letters back in the mail.
She kept talking, telling us stories about her son, Eric, as a child and how he's all grown up and VP of Spyderco, being trained to take the company someday.
"Ya know, some parents tuck their kids in bed at night, read them a story, and tell them they can be anything they want. Not me. I put my son to bed and reminded him every night: 'Son, you're a designer, and you're a knifemaker.' He made his first knife when he was 4. And look at this, (showing my the Manix 2 Lightweight), he designed this lock."
"So, where ya'll from?" She inquired.
"Orange County, California," I replied.
"Well, since you all have come so far, why don't I show you what you came to see," she said with a big grin on her face.
"I never do this for any customers, but I like you two."
We followed her upstairs. She went to open the door, and stopped,
"No pictures please."
We continued on, walking through the offices of Spyderco. Walking past Eric's office, Gail's office, Accounting, Customer Service desks, etc. We saw the board room where prototype, design, and company meetings occurred. The hallway walls were lined with plaques of all Spyderco's patents, employees of the month, and awards. I got to see all the current prototypes for the upcoming production runs.
We exited the offices, Gail turned around and said, "Wanna see the rest?"
As expected, we continued through another door into the packaging/recieveing/and internation distribution center. I saw where customer service problems were addressed and fixed. Where international and domestic orders are processed and shipped. We got to see where some of the USA branded knives are produced. I even saw what looked like D'flys being waterjet cut. She showed us where men and women were grinding knives and resharpening. We saw the ins and outs of the entire Spyderco Factory.
She brought us back to the Outlet store and continued to talk for another hour.
She showed us a new display, where LaRoche, (the set, prop, and costume designer for the Alien movie) had made custom scales on his own Spyderco knives. Including one with a Monkey's skull on the back, made to look like an Alien. These were INCREDIBLE pieces of art. Bummed I didn't get pictures.
There's one display that went up a week before we got there. I don't think I should say anything about it, because she seemed not to want people to know about it. I'll keep quiet. But if you're in to high end kitchen knives...I'd make a trip to Golden, Colorado before the holidays are over.
She gave us some waters for the road and a free Spyderco Beanie.
We talked with Gail for about 2 hours total. I had so much fun. My fiance even had fun! (I think)
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better trip to the Spyderco Factory. Too many more stories.
I hope you enjoyed this. I know I did.
jw
I photographed a wedding this past weekend in Johnstown, Colorado. Naturally, the day before the wedding, I made the trek an hour and a half to Golden, Colorado, bringing my fiance along for the ride.
We arrived and I got super giddy and excited.
We walked through the front doors, and just to the right of the front desk was the outlet store.
I walked around the place, my fiance trailing behind me, looking at all the different odds and ends of the store/museum. All the current production knives in the center, tons of displays around the walls.
My fiance and I walked around the store and ended up at this display, which is where our visit went through the roof!
While we were looking and reading everything, a woman came up behind us and started explaining the different facets of the displays to us. The pieces of metal in the middle were from Tower 1 of the Twin Towers. She was a firefighter/medic for a long time and has special ties to the firemen and woman who died in 9/11. She told us stories of people she knew, things she was involved in, and this very special knife on display.
The inlay of this knife was made from a steel piece from Tower 1. A chunk of that same steel sits in this woman's bathroom window to remind her everyday of those lost.
This woman, crazy, talkative, and outgoing, began sharing stories as if she owned the place.
I asked, "What is your name?"
"I'm Gail. Eric is my son, and Sal is my husband."
Turns out she pretty much did own the place.
"The first thing you need to know about me is that I'm a woman with a chainsaw and a Bobcat."
She continued talking about the 9/11 display. They made a sprint run of those knives to raise support and funds for 9/11 relief. 4 of them got sent to 4 special people, including Hilary Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barrack Obama (there was one other, but I forgot who). They got 4 letters back in the mail.
She kept talking, telling us stories about her son, Eric, as a child and how he's all grown up and VP of Spyderco, being trained to take the company someday.
"Ya know, some parents tuck their kids in bed at night, read them a story, and tell them they can be anything they want. Not me. I put my son to bed and reminded him every night: 'Son, you're a designer, and you're a knifemaker.' He made his first knife when he was 4. And look at this, (showing my the Manix 2 Lightweight), he designed this lock."
"So, where ya'll from?" She inquired.
"Orange County, California," I replied.
"Well, since you all have come so far, why don't I show you what you came to see," she said with a big grin on her face.
"I never do this for any customers, but I like you two."
We followed her upstairs. She went to open the door, and stopped,
"No pictures please."
We continued on, walking through the offices of Spyderco. Walking past Eric's office, Gail's office, Accounting, Customer Service desks, etc. We saw the board room where prototype, design, and company meetings occurred. The hallway walls were lined with plaques of all Spyderco's patents, employees of the month, and awards. I got to see all the current prototypes for the upcoming production runs.
We exited the offices, Gail turned around and said, "Wanna see the rest?"
As expected, we continued through another door into the packaging/recieveing/and internation distribution center. I saw where customer service problems were addressed and fixed. Where international and domestic orders are processed and shipped. We got to see where some of the USA branded knives are produced. I even saw what looked like D'flys being waterjet cut. She showed us where men and women were grinding knives and resharpening. We saw the ins and outs of the entire Spyderco Factory.
She brought us back to the Outlet store and continued to talk for another hour.
She showed us a new display, where LaRoche, (the set, prop, and costume designer for the Alien movie) had made custom scales on his own Spyderco knives. Including one with a Monkey's skull on the back, made to look like an Alien. These were INCREDIBLE pieces of art. Bummed I didn't get pictures.
There's one display that went up a week before we got there. I don't think I should say anything about it, because she seemed not to want people to know about it. I'll keep quiet. But if you're in to high end kitchen knives...I'd make a trip to Golden, Colorado before the holidays are over.
She gave us some waters for the road and a free Spyderco Beanie.
We talked with Gail for about 2 hours total. I had so much fun. My fiance even had fun! (I think)
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better trip to the Spyderco Factory. Too many more stories.
I hope you enjoyed this. I know I did.
jw
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