Q: How does The James Brand encourage customers to hit the pause button, step away from the hustle, and appreciate the analog side of life?
A: The majority of the products that we make require you to actually use them ‘IRL,’ as the kids say. We try to invite people to “Be James”, which means to be out in the world, exploring, making new connections, and figuring things out as you go along. Operating like this requires analog tools. The invitation to “Be James” is an invitation to find balance between the digital world and the real world; it’s a call to use your hands and your senses to experience what is happening around you, right here and right now. That’s who James is and that’s what The James Brand is all about.
Q: When someone uses your product, what do you hope they feel? Happiness, nostalgia, confidence, fulfillment?
A: Many of our products exist for situations that have yet to happen; things that can’t be predicted. That’s a core part of exploring in the analog world: to learn is to embrace the unknown. Our products exist so that our customers are ready for whatever the day throws at them, no matter what situations they may find themselves in. We want them to feel competent, confident, and prepared for the future that they don’t see coming.
Q: How does your brand balance tradition with innovation to stay relevant in today's fast-changing world?
A: It’s difficult to think of a category that is more traditional than the knife category. After all, it’s one of history’s first products. That said, it’s amazing that it is still relevant (maybe even more relevant?) right now than in any other time in history. We try to take that functional and historic perspective and smash it against our point of view: minimalist design, attention to details and high-end materials and finishes. That combination is the “secret sauce” to our design language. We are creating something new in the combination of the history and utility of the category with our specific take on what matters from a design and brand perspective. Nothing is ever truly new; things just get combined in new ways and via new formulas that make them meaningful. Meaning is what we are always striving for.
Q: Can you share how your brand may have made a meaningful impact on someone's life?
A: Getting your first knife is a big milestone; this moment has been culturally important for thousands of years. It’s supremely rewarding when we get images and stories sent to us of people receiving their first pocketknife and it happens to be one of ours. The moment implies a strong sense of trust. There’s a very real sense of responsibility in this process; it indicates the passage of another gateway on the road to adulthood. Knives used or cared for improperly can hurt you or others but having your parent hand you your very first knife and saying “I believe you are ready for this” is a key moment for us. We receive a lot of these kinds of photos and stories; we live to be a part of those moments and hope that these same products will, in time, get passed down to future generations.
Q: What's one change you believe other brands in your field can make to encourage a more mindful approach to life and foster deeper connections with their customers?
A: Most of our competitors are focused solely on their products. This makes sense at first blush, but it’s how your products are used and who uses them that can often be the most meaningful part of a brand. This is what separates a brand from a pure “company”.
You rarely get the deeper stories behind people that might inspire you. The products we make are used by some of the most inspirational people out there, in some of the world’s most incredible settings. At the end of the day, people rarely care about products. They care about what those products mean to them and what they enable them to do; aspirational lifestyle stories can really help connect the products with a deeper sense of meaning and belonging.
Q: You mention that “some things can never go digital” – can you elaborate a bit more about that and why it’s important?
A: Digital things are great. That said, the digitization of everything requires a trade-off: you are trading some of the valuable parts of the original, analog experience for the convenience of having that experience simulated and instantaneously available in the palm of your hand. This can be highly valuable and convenient, but something is always lost in the simulation. This provides an opportunity to really examine the original experience and determine what is meaningful within it, and how do you want to experience it now. It’s makes for some difficult and interesting choices about what things you want to keep analog and what things you are willing to trade (and when) for their digital counterparts.
Q: Once you step into your studio, how do you disconnect from the outside world and immerse yourself in the creative process?
A: I’m addicted to coffee, whiteboards and the general vibe of a creative office. There’s a “can do” attitude in a well-managed creative studio that is hard to top. When things are going right it feels like anything is possible in a space like that. I love to come in in the morning, pull on the neon sign, fire up the coffee and get the tunes cranking. It feels good to set the stage for the entire team to start tackling creative problems. My job, as a creative leader, is measured by the output of my team, so setting the stage for them to do their best work (and hopefully have a good time while doing it) is important to me. Seeing the team working in “the zone” is highly rewarding to me.
Q: Can you share any challenges or obstacles you've faced in preserving traditional craftsmanship in a rapidly changing marketplace, and how you've overcome them?
A: Our craft takes the form of our brand values and our design process. For us, there are a couple of core tensions here. The traditional way that design-led brands function is not necessarily how most knife and EDC (everyday carry) producers work. So, we have to spend a lot of time communicating about what is important to us: details, color-matching, packaging, etc. This is new thinking for some of our partners. The things that matter to us and to our customers are not necessarily the same things that matter to historic knife or EDC customers, so we have to do a lot of work in communication, design, development, and QA/QC to make sure that we deliver on the intent of our design work.
