First Post

For my first blog post I'd like to introduce myself and explain why I am making and selling the items I have. 

I am a full time firefighter who works 24hr shifts at the firehouse and then comes home to my cute little 8month old baby boy. I am not only trying to juggle being a new dad and a full time firefighter who sometimes works 72hrs in a single week but I have decided to make some of the highest quality repurposed Dopp kits around. I love thinking up and designing new things to be made. I would call myself a "maker" and consider it a badge of honor that I am 100% self taught. I've taught myself woodworking, leatherworking, painting, sewing, upholstery, metal fabrication, finish carpentry, and my most recent endeavor of repurposing fire fighter materials. 

I've taught myself to sew on an old Pfaff industrial walking foot machine that I purchased on craigslist. It's an old workhorse for sure, and sounds like a jet taking off when it starts up. It even dims the lights in the house as it warms up! The thing is built like a tank and has allowed me to sew super thick materials that a normal household sewing machine couldn't dream about sewing. Things like the fire hose Dopp kits that I currently sell, which brings me to my next point. 

A few months ago I set out to make a super durable, high quality, repurposed Dopp kit out of this amazing canvas fire hose that we were throwing away at the firehouse. I started this journey because I found most cheap Chinese made bags I would buy just don't hold up to the abuse that I put them through. I work with some amazingly rugged materials in the fire service and saw the potential in using some of these materials for things other then putting out fires. This journey to make the fire hose Dopp kit has taken me several months and many attempts at creating the perfect size and features for a bag, but I have finally settled on what I believe is the coolest and most unique Dopp kit around. I will save a later blog post for describing the features of this amazing Dopp kit but let's just say that you won't find another bag like I make anywhere else.

Thank you for starting this journey with me and checking out my site. I hope you enjoy my products as much as I enjoy creating them. 

Jake

the recycled firefighter