With the rise of “Made in America,” it seems that now more than ever, people are curious about the craft—and the story—behind their goods. DEFY MFG. Co. is a rare company that not only offers, but encourages customers to step inside their warehouse, meet the makers, and get a glimpse into their “slow manufacturing” process.
“When someone walks in the door, they’ll say ‘Whoa, it really smells like leather in here. This is it!’ People are actually excited to see the space,” said Chris Tag, founder of DEFY. “I think for me, as a craftsman, that’s the interesting part of ‘Made In America.’ People have become so removed from manufacturing that they don’t even logically understand how it happens anymore. Being able to point out the sewing machine we used or to show someone what their bag looked like before it was made is a really nice thing.”
“Getting your hands dirty is such a wonderful thing,” continued Lexy Sandin, Craftsman and Production Manager at DEFY. “But you don’t learn small-scale manufacturing at schools in America, you just don’t.”
Tag and Sandin both believe that manufacturing education will change, but they learned the craft in different ways; while Sandin learned from her mother and by studying costuming in school (she went on to work for Souldier, sewing guitar straps worn by The Black Keys, Aerosmith, and other bands), Tag is self-taught. In fact, he started what would become DEFY by watching instructional videos on YouTube. But before he started branding his own company, he spent years branding others.
“I used to do advertising for Fortune 500 companies; Ford and Boeing and a bunch of other brands,” said Tag. “The long and short of it is, I started to realize that a lot of people were making a lot of money off of our ideas. We made a decent living, but I got burned out pretty fast. One day I was doing a press check for a giant vinyl billboard that I was art directing, and I saw them tear off a giant piece of it because the color was wrong. It had cool graphics, and it didn’t make sense environmentally to throw it away, so I said, ‘can you take that piece and shove it in my Mini Cooper? I want to take it and do something with it.’”
Tag had seen another vinyl bag carried by a woman in his office, so he decided to buy a sewing machine and teach himself how to use it. Before he knew it, he found himself carrying up to ten custom bags that people ordered—and paid for—into the office.
“It was just one of those things where I kept thinking, 'I can brand a company, so why can’t I brand my own company?'" For the next three years, Tag sketched, sewed, created, and grew—but not without obstacles.
“China caught on to the trend and they started shipping bags from $18 a piece. I started realizing that I can’t go to the bottom, so I went up higher. Now we have $1,000 bags. That’s kind of our niche,” said Tag.
Since 2008, DEFY has grown into a global company, shipping products off to Finland, Singapore, Australia, and everywhere in-between.
“There are two to five bags on the Isle of Man. There are only about 100 people that live there,” said Sandin.
When asked about what’s next for DEFY, Tag, accurately reflecting the brand he built, kept his answer straightforward and honest.
“We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing—making quality products and being authentic.”
KOVAL is excited to support DEFY in an upcoming collaboration with Great Lakes Tattoo. Artists are switching up their mediums and tattooing work on leather goods that will be on display at the Great State Gallery on Friday, October 2. Complimentary KOVAL Dry Gin cocktails, along with eats from Bang Bang Pie Shop, beer from Revolution Brewing, and cold brew from Dark Matter Coffee, will also be available at the event.
