Our Story

There’s the story on our official website at Builtbyswift.com

For the long version, have a seat:

FOR SIMPLICITY’S SAKE:   There really is nothing like your body and your bicycle finding harmony in cadence.

martina brimmer

jason ‘goods’ goodman

Well, Swift.Industries is a two person deal, a labor of love, if you will. Goods and Martina are the two folks here to stitch your bags and fill your orders. But the way we see it, Swift is a lot more than a bag company–we see it as a celebration of culture and an ode to the bicycle itself. That’s how we sum up the cycling craft scene in general: most folks deliberately welding their own steel tubing, hand fabricating headset badges, stitching panniers etc, are doing it for the sheer awe of the bicycle.

We met in Prescott Arizona while working at Helping Understand Bicycles, in 2005. At that point our primary focus was the bicycle as a vital resource for marginalized folks: undocumented laborers who needed transportation to and from work, homeless people with their belongings on their backs, and for sure women.

Martina: I had built my first bicycle in Philly a few years before and was not only empowered by the mechanical experience, but it also let me stay out late and leave a party without a buddy to walk me home. I can’t tell you how much that weighs on most womyn’s minds when they leave a space at night! Congruently, walking into a bike shop and being treated like shit isn’t so empowering, so a large part of my final months at HUB was a series of mechanics classes for the ladies.

So, apart from being car-free for financial reasons, we were bound by an attraction to the bicycle as a political tool. I feel like lots of people speak to the bicycle for its environmental strengths, and while I agree, the social potential is not to be undermined.

2007 found us living in Seattle Washington working at RELoad Baggage and Revolution Cycles respectively. M: I think I made lousy and impatient mechanic anyways. Stitching fit me a lot better. The time at ReLoad exposed me to some of lasting gifts: refined stitchery, boundlessly creative individuals, and a working community.

In 2008 Swift.Industries was born. Goods: Here are two people who both love creating and building things, we both wanted to participate in an economy founded in local hand craft trade. With dreams of being self employed (yet to be achieved in full) we embarked. We wanted to be fully invested in our day-to-day creativity and not have bosses’ needs to match. Martina: And mostly, I do it for the love of it. Seriously. Some people detach from their jobs and live their lives after-hours. I’m not that sort: I enjoy work and think there’s great power in being proud of one’s trade.

We’re heading into the winter of 2009/2010, and Swift Industries is beginning to create a bit of a history for itself. In two years we’ve moved twice, refined our stitching, made some mistakes, and we are always looking for new creative expression in our company. We began in a side-room of our space at the Hazzard House on Beacon Hill, and started slow and basic.

No business plan, no credit cards and loans (to this day), and a lot of luck. This sounds a little silly, but looking back on that first summer, I’m not certain how we managed to sell fifteen sets of panniers. The folx who invested in us were truly our community support. Without their first purchases we wouldn’t have moved forward, so thanks to the first for making it happen!

We don’t advertise our company in any traditional sense. There’s a rhizome-like quality to bicycle culture, a filamentous network that is worthy of celebration. While blogs and websites, facebook and twitter have society plugged in to information at all times of the day, we don’t forget that there are people behind each of those avenues who spread the word. That first summer we handed out flyers at critical mass and somehow Cole at 1 Less Car caught wind of us and wrote our very first review. Everywhere we travelled we found places to put our leaflets in visible nooks.

All of a sudden inquiries were coming from the East Coast, California, and Vancouver. One day there was a message from Eric P. Schneider from the Boneshaker Almanac hoping to have coffee and do an interview. All of this name dropping is actually a shout out because being approached by these folx and their creative pursuits have lent to turning points in our own story!

Similarly, working in conjunction with Cetma in Eugene has been an incredible entry-way to an array of bicycle scenes: messengers, cargo cyclists, overnighters, and more. Having support and ties through other bicycle related crafters is invaluable. We’ve been brought to the public by writers, cyclists, shop owners, welders, and more. This season we’ve even gotten to watch two sets of our bags embark on an indeterminately lasting cycle tour around the north american continent. Russ and Laura from a Path Less Pedaled are collecting stories from all over the country much like our own. Their query rests in finding people living along the fringes of mainstream culture and looks at how the bicycle facilitates their alternative lifestyle choices.

And now, since you’re reading this write-up, you are part of our early history as well! We’re delighted you’ve taken some time to get to know the story.

Best, Jason and Martina

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