User:Jfitzg16/sandbox

Poler Stuff

History
Poler Stuff was founded in 2010 (http://www.coolhunting.com/design/interview-kharma-vella-poler) by Benji Wagner, an advertising photographer for other outdoor apparel companies (http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/news-and-profiles/business/articles/how-poler-stuff-scaled-the-heights-of-outdoor-gear-may-2013) and Kharma Vella a longtime friend of Wagners. Poler was created with a focus on producing simplified and aesthetically pleasing outdoor apparel and equipment (http://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/blog/mr_poler_an_interview_with_benji_wagner).

General History
Benji Wagner, and Kharma Vella founded Poler Stuff in 2010 in Portland Oregon. Poler Stuff is intended to bring camping, and a love for the outdoors to a more casual audience. Poler Stuff has received a lot of attention from various social media platforms(http://www.coolhunting.com/design/interview-kharma-vella-poler) for their unique and youthful designs. Benji Wagner was a photographer for other outdoor retailers prior to Poler Stuff. Perplexed by the need for over complicated technology in camping gear, and outdoor apparel, Benji set out to produce a line of clothing that would look visually pleasing, maintain functionality, and remain simple. Drawing from the idea that, “ It’s stuff that is made for people that have adventures all over the world while wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. It’s for people that wonder why everyone is trying to pretend they are going to do first ascents on alpine peaks instead of celebrating the fact that they are having adventures that are awesome in their own way.” (http://business.transworld.net/73790/features/poler-camping-stuff/)

Influences
Poler Stuff cites influences from skate, surf, and snowboard culture for clothing design (http://business.transworld.net/73790/features/poler-camping-stuff/). Further inspiration for Poler Stuff’s line of clothing and gear comes from everyday adventuring such as, traveling, couch surfing, bicycling, parenting, being a kid, camping in your car, and road tripping. (http://www.polerstuff.com/pages/about-us)

Flagship Store
The Poler Stuff flagship store is located in Portland Oregon at 413 SW 10th, 97205 (http://www.polerstuff.com/products/the-poler-flagship-store). The permanent store features most of the Poler Stuff line of apparel and goods, along with space for a pop-up shop, aligned with Poler Stuff’s ideology, each month. Pop up Poler Stuff opened a pop-up shop of their own in Brooklyn in 2013. The pop-up shop was located at 33 Grand Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY, 11249 (http://www.yelp.com/biz/poler-stuff-brooklyn). The Poler pop-up shop featured the full line of Poler Stuff apparel and outdoor gear.

Key Products
Poler Stuff provides a large number of products, ranging from sweaters to tents. However Poler also produces a number of unique items that have their own cult following. The Napsack is a wearable sleeping bag, with a cinch at the bottom, and arm holes toward the top, it is intended to be a comfortable way to lounge around a campsite or sleep comfortably on a couch (http://www.polerstuff.com/products/the-napsack). The Letent Rooftop Tent, is a fold out, queen-size tent designed to be mounted to the top of a vehicle for easy assembly and a unique camping experience (http://www.polerstuff.com/products/the-letent). The Magic Tarpit is a wearable tarp, intended to keep you dry and warm, the Tarpit features a hood and has many functions while camping (http://www.surfstitch.com/product/poler-the-magic-tarpit-green).

Marketing
Poler Stuff has had splendid success with social media platforms. Poler Stuff developed the hashtag #campvibes (http://www.coolhunting.com/design/interview-kharma-vella-poler) in order to give customers an opportunity to share their Poler experiences online. Poler founder Benji Wagner also has an extensive background in photography. Lending a keen eye toward visuals Poler has curated a powerful gallery of camping and nature photos to accommodate beautifully designed ads (http://blog.leica-camera.com/photographers/interviews/benji-wagner-using-photography-to-engage-with-the-great-outdoors/).

Collaborations
Poler Stuff has collaborated with a large number of industry leaders in many different markets to produce Poler Stuff products. Collaborations include, Nike, Mizu, Girl Skateboards, Castelli, Airblaster, Raen, Chocolate, Stance Socks, Granted (http://www.polerstuff.com/collections/collaborations), and Stumptown Coffee (http://www.timeout.com/newyork/food-drink/stumptown-partners-with-poler-for-new-camp-coffee-kit).

Sponsorships
Poler Stuff sponsors a large number of professional athletes and artists with equipment and clothing as it pertains to their discipline. Currently this list includes:

Skateboarders:
Alex Olson, James Hardy, Cairo Foster, Rick McCrank, Silas Baxter-Neal, Keegan Sauder, Kenny Anderson, Cory Kennedy, Arto Saari, Chet Childress, John Rattray, Chris Haslam, Omar Salazar, Donovon Piscipo, Daryl Angel

Snowboarders:
Jeremy Jones, Austin Smith, Bryan Fox, Curtis Ciszek, Scotty Wittlake, Eero Ettala, Jussi Oksanen, Laura Hadar, Jed Anderson, Louif Paradis, Jake Kuzyk, Zac Marben, Nick Dirks, Tucker Andrews, Ben Lynch, Brandon Cocard

Photographers:
Scott Pommier, James Bowden, Jon Humphries, Benji Wagner, Amanda Marsalis, Emiliano Granado, Jake Stangel, Daniel Wakefield Pasley, Brian Vernor, Greg Hunt, Tim Roth, Foster Hunnington, Dylan Doubt, Mark Welsh, Corey Arnold, DAY19, Cameron Gardner, Ian Durkin, Greg Schmitt, Alex Craig, Corey Adams, Alana Paterson, Christie Macclean, Currie Wagner, Joe Brook, Kynan Tait, Colin McCarthy, Ryan Greaves, Arto Saari, Evan Humphreys, Clayton Cotterell, Ben Christensen, Spencer Harding, Anne Parker, Ellington Hammond, Chris Burkard, Chris Searl, Alex Marks, Campbell Milligan, Andrew Peters, Rohan Anderson, Charlie Wagers, John Daniel Reiss, Tim Skirven, Eric Warner, Cyrus Sutton, Dustin Beatty, Mark McInnis (http://www.polerstuff.com/pages/tent-team)