Sierra Designs

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Background

Around 1963 George was working at George Rudolph's Trailwise/Ski Hut in Berkeley, California. Soon a fellow named Bob moved into town with job references from Holubar Mountaineering in Colorado... Bob got hired on at Trailwise, and they became co-workers. 

In 1965 Bob and George left Trailwise and set themselves up at 137 Tewksbury in Point Richmond as "Sierra Designs." Soon they were sewing day and night to create enough "product" to keep a roof over their heads. Times were tough for the next several years after their October 1965 official opening. Their very first catalog was produced the following spring and entitled the "66-67" catalog; George recalls that it was printed as a "very modest run of 2,000 copies." Their first and largest account was with The North Face retail store, for which they manufactured down items that were labelled "Made Expressly for North Face by Sierra Designs."

from Bruce Johnson's History of Gear

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All Stories

Story Organization
Trailblazers: Bob Swanson Big Agnes, Holubar, Kelty Pack, Shelter Systems, Sierra Designs, The Ski Hut - Berkeley, CA (dba Trailwise, Donner Mountain Corp), Walrus Tents
Paige Springer Boucher Halloween 1993 Mountain Hardwear, Odyssey, Sierra Designs
Paige Springer Boucher Intro Altra, Inc, Frostline, Mountain Hardwear, Odyssey, Sierra Designs, The North Face
Sierra Designs Employees Through the Years Sierra Designs
Mark Perrilliat at The North Face, Sierra Designs, and Mountain Hardwear, in brief Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, The North Face
Mike Wallenfels Very Condensed Career History Adventure 16, Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, Timbuktu Designs
How I Started at Sierra Designs: Arela Beary Sierra Designs
Lawanda Ultan at Sierra Designs: Chemical Origins CML, Sierra Designs
A Brief History of the Down Machine Sierra Designs
Gary Jensen at Sierra Designs Sierra Designs, Trailwise
Dear Sierra Designs Sierra Designs
Sierra Designs Staff Photo 1985 Sierra Designs
Sierra Designs: Lawanda Ultan At the Start Sierra Designs
Kimiyo's Sushi - Potlucks at Sierra Designs and Mountain Hardwear Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, Tokyo Fish Market
The Totem: George's introduction to 1970 Sierra Designs catalog Sierra Designs
Sierra Designs Catalog 1969-70: Transcendance Sierra Designs
Sierra Designs Employees by 1971 Sierra Designs
Martin Zemtis, Devon Brown, and SlingFin - Mountaineering Tent Testing and Design Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, SlingFin
Sierra Designs Mt Washington Tent Test Trips Easton Aluminum, Sierra Designs
Martin Zemitis on Tent Testing at Mt Washington Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, SlingFin
Sierra Designs Mt Washington Tent Test PR Video Sierra Designs
Martin Zemitis on Tent Design Essentials and Trade-offs Mountain Hardwear, Sierra Designs, SlingFin, The North Face
Sierra Designs Staff Learn Party Etiquette Sierra Designs
Bob Woodward Recalls Bob "Speedy" Coleman and David Mitchell Sierra Designs
Peter Langmaid on Bob 'Speedy' Coleman Sierra Designs

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