Dillon firm, Sagebrush Dry Goods finds waterproof niche

Robbie and Elaine Garrett spent years working and playing on the water all across the west and Alaska. As guides and outfitters and sea kayak enthusiasts, they had a chance to see first hand what kind of waterproof gear outdoor suppliers had to offer.

By Perry Backus
for inBusiness

http://www.mtstandard.com/inbusiness/inbusiness10/

They’ve decided they can do better, and that it could be done right in their own sewing shop in Dillon.

Using expertise developed over 13 years of designing outdoor gear and sewing for companies like Patagonia and Dan Bailey’s, the Dillon couple is focusing their efforts on creating a new unique line of waterproof bags.

“We’ve found that the only way we can stay in the manufacturing business in the United States is to develop a niche with unique and high quality products,” said Robbie.

While most other outdoor gear makers have abandoned their plants in this country for cheaper labor overseas, the Garretts decided early on they would keep Sagebrush Dry Goods http://www.sagebrushdrygoods.com in Dillon.

“Labor is cheap in places like Asia and Mexico,” Robbie said. “Workers earn $50 a month in Mexico … it would cost us less to pay someone to work for us a month there than what it costs to pay workman’s comp in Montana.”

“You can’t compete with that,” he said. “So you have to find a niche and create products that you can market directly to the final consumer. It does take a long time to establish a business that way.”

For the last two years, the couple has traveled to sports shows around the country, worked the Internet and been thankful for the word-of-mouth advertising that’s helped them launch sales for their products.

Made from the finest urethane coated fabrics, their bags are put together with a combination of state-of-the art hot-air welding and radio frequencies that operate similarly to a microwave. The result are bags that are both airtight and water repellent.

The couple helped design and tool the machines used to put the bags together, which allowed the company the flexibility of designing bags unlike most other manufacturers. They’ve also been very selective in finding material that won’t crack or fade in prolonged exposure to sunlight or cold.

“There are a lot of fabrics that after being left in the sun too long fade or crack,” said Robbie. “Many products have a problem with degradation under ultra-violet exposure. We utilize a special fabric that has a high UV rating.”

“We just decided to use a very expensive fabric and our customers have found that it does a good job for them,” he said.

The couple uses their own experience to help guide those types of decisions.

“We’ve both been guides and outfitters who have had a lot of experience on the water,” said Elaine. “We know what people need and we’re working to develop bags that will meet some tough standards.”

“Elaine is a very good designer,” Robbie said. “Some of the stuff we’re doing here is really out there. It’s extremely innovative. We’re trying to push the envelope as far as we can.”

“We wanted to come up with something else from the dry bags that many companies offer,” said Elaine.

“There are a lot of dry bags out there with a roll top that are sort of waterproof. If you want to know just how well they work, fill them with water and hold them upside down.”

Sagebrush Dry Goods bags are airtight and each is hand tested. Every bag is filled with air and submerged in a large tank of water.

To meet the couple’s strict quality control guidelines, there won’t be any air escaping through the zipper or any of the seams.

“We’ve been playing around with this idea for a lot of years,” said Robbie. “We’ve helped develop and design the machines we’re using to make our bag. It’s allowed us to create different configurations that aren’t readily available anywhere else.”

“In this day and age of more and more electronic devices, people are looking for bags that will protect their gear in the worst conditions,” he said. “These bags do just that.”

Their products are getting rave reviews from outdoorsman around the country.

Recently, a fisherman from Canada sent an e-mail showing him standing out in a river with the water lapping over the top of his camera bag attached to his hip.

Fly fishermen from the Sage Rod Company have taken the bags all over the world. Another adventurer currently circumnavigating Iceland in a sea kayak has one of the couple’s bags attached to the front of his kayak.

“You get on his Web site and you can see our bag,” said Elaine.

When it comes to marketing, the couple has decided against the American way of seeing just how fast their company can grow.

Instead of searching out a wholesale market, Sagebrush Dry Goods is looking for ways to market to the final consumer, including via the Internet http://www.sagebrushdrygoods.com .

“We want to establish a sustainable business at a given size, but we don’t want it to be huge,” said Robbie. “We realize that the great American dream is big is always better … we don’t want to do that.”

“It takes a long time to establish a business that way, but it is pretty rewarding when you start to get orders online from all over the United States,” he said.

“If we wanted to go wholesale, we could sell two years’ of product in a month. I’ve been there and done that and it’s not what we want.”

At the high end, the Garretts say they’d like to have 10 to 15 employees working in their Dillon business.
Garretts agree the decision to keep their business in Dillon has a lot to do with the quality of life the area offers.

“If I wanted to make a lot of money, I’d go live in a city,” said Robbie. “Your quality of life is important.”

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Robbie and Elaine Garrett display some of their waterproof bags, which they make in Dillon.