Turns out our little leap of faith worked. Our first product was the welding cap. They came in multiple colors, and every one was reversible. We produced them as quickly as we could using old Singer sewing machines. The machines were leftovers from a bygone era when ready-made garments weren’t in as high demand as they are today, but it didn’t matter. They had good bones and withstood every test we put them through.

It was hard to keep up with the demand, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that most of the time, customers didn’t order them one or two at a time, they bought packs. We were selling welding caps by the half or full dozen. With this high demand came the need for more space and help. So, we moved out of the garage and into a real office with a proper warehouse. We hired more staff to answer the phones—they seemingly never stopped ringing—and to fulfill orders as they poured in. When we weren’t talking to customers, packing up orders, or sewing caps, we were thinking about what came next. That led to our first catalogs.