SHARE THE LOVE
January 31 2008
People, it’s time. It’s time for a spring sale. It’s time to get ready for warmer weather. It’s time for us to clean out some boxes around the shop, and it’s time for you to save some coin on righteous cycling fashion. It’s time to pick up a little something for the love in your life, and pay a little something forward for a great cause.
Starting January 31, and running though February 3, pretty much everything will be marked down. Some items more than others. And we’ve recently added a few new things, so please dig around and make sure you see it all.
MEN’S & WOMEN’S JERSEYS from $40
MEN’S & WOMEN’S T-SHIRTS from $12
SHORT 3” & TALL 6” SOCKS from $8
ALL BOTTLE DESIGNS from $5
FITTED HATS from $14
Also check out the T6 Sack, Track Jackets, Beer Glasses, and Posters.
We are donating 10 percent of all sales from this sale to Jenny’s Light, a newly formed nonprofit foundation dedicated to building awareness, detection and treatment for postpartum disorders. Twin Six recently lost a dear friend, Jennifer Gibbs Bankston, and her son Graham, to postpartum depression. Jennifer was a joyful spirit who was loved by family and friends with the same intensity that she showed in her love for others. We have been friends with her and her family for over 20 years, and we will always remember her for the bright light that she was.
If you would rather send donations direct, they can also be mailed to:
Jenny’s Light, 5021 Vernon Avenue, Edina, MN 55436 USA
BLOGGIE AWARD
January 06 2008
Our good buddy Elden and his blog were recently nominated for a 2008 Bloggie Award. So take two minutes, burn approximately 45 calories and exercise your right. Voting ends at 10pm EST on Thursday, January 31.
LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD
January 01 2008
As far as years go, 2007 was tops. Of course, it was only competing with 2006, but still. Looking back, it’s a blur. With an ambitious to-do list, we began the year by slowly transitioning into our new home. Cold days filled with swinging hammers and trips to the city dump were a nice reprieve from holiday order packing. Still, progress on HQ was slow, as the random sheetstorms continued to pound us on a regular basis. We were stuck in the purgatory of more legitimacy for longer than we would have liked. A large part of the daily grind could have been averted had we picked up the phone and called in reinforcements, but that’s just not our way. Pain before pleasure makes the pleasure more pleasurable.
Before the dark days of winter offered any sign of remorse, we were inundated with our spring shipment of jerseys. This day always comes with anticipation, fear, excitement, and dread. Grab the box cutter, find a calculator, and start counting. Inventory management is old skool. “145,146, 147, what did you say?... Crap, I lost count. 1, 2, 3.” This is how we roll. For now.
The initial shipment of 2007 dealer stock was sold out before we even received it. October deadlines meant little as shops continued to place orders throughout the winter, despite us not guaranteeing the availability of said orders. Upon realizing the state of things, we dug deep and funded another round of jerseys to be delivered late spring, or so we were told.
Once the goods did come in, they didn’t stay for long. Marathon packing sessions left us red-eyed with papercuts and reeking of cardboard. Our shipping friends marveled night after night at how much we crammed into each carload.
Eventually, the last of it was out the door and on the way to our dealers, just in time for the spring thaw in our neck of the woods. Inspired by the team and other genetically gifted hard working hard playing friends, we started to put together a plan for the summer. 2006 was all about working race support. 2007 would be the year of getting in the game. Fitness was elusive at first. Desk jobs never seem to provide the right kind of stamina. We mustered up the courage to leave the shop during normal business hours to do some work in the field, some R&D, some product testing. Crisp spring mornings at Leb turned into five plus hour efforts by June. So this is what months and months of 18 hour days gets you…
Reality came back quick as the pink jerseys arrived. Immediately, we returned to envelope stuffing mode, squinting out the front window, wondering who was fortunate enough to be outside enjoying the sunny afternoons and life on two wheels.
Early June began with guys from the team doing quite well at the Mohican. Mid June we moved from dirt to asphalt as the Nature Valley Grand Prix came to town. It’s worth noting that every winner of every stage was wearing Twin Six. (Sorry about all those logos.) And late June was about the time when the date of the show began to affect life at the shop. Game faces were donned, music was cranked, and families were notified of our soon-to-be extended extended hours. A couple rounds of adult beverages allowed enough time to hatch a meticulously detailed plan of attack for the remainder of the summer, and some random bullet points for the months of October through December.
But the fun was far from over. A four hour drive without air-conditioning can only mean one thing. And we were stoked to be haulling the steel steeds with us for a good reason this year. Plus, it’s always worth going to support the crew and rub shoulders with the pros.
August was all about interbike prep. Outgrowing the entry-level booth size, we upgraded to something that could meet our needs. With MacGyver-like ingenuity we (ok, Brent) used the interweb to order a smattering of fence supplies which he combined with some slabs of maple to engineer a not-even-close-to-homespun merchandising masterpiece. The new booth, coupled with the tasty lineup for 2008, made our third trip to Sin City as good as could have been expected. This years three-day talk-a-thon included much more of “hey, nice to see you again”, as opposed to “so who the hell are you?” A change of conversation we were glad to indulge. Order forms were handed out, hands were shaken, fives were slapped, hugs were given, shots were had, annual meals were eaten.
The trip home was full of speculative discussion on how we thought things went, and some loose planning for what the next few months were going to hold. We fantasized about taking time to decompress and enjoy some serious autumn riding. In our heart of hearts this was something that we’d surely have time to do. But the reality of running a two-man operation soon reared it teeth, and a T6.com four-day sale was all it took for us to cement our place indoors for the remainder of the decent riding season.
In November the dark days were back again, but the guilt of sitting inside and working was gone. Productivity was ramping with holiday on the horizon, and a handful of side-projects began to take shape.
With an ultra-marathon packing session through mid-December, and some days spent working on the shop between the holidays, we’re not sure how 2007 could have been any better. The list of thank you’s is as long as this post is so far. But we quickly want to acknowledge our family and friends who have put up with us for another year. We would also like to sincerely thank our dealers for investing in the brand, our team for pimping the 6, our customers for supporting the movement, and the rags for spreading the good word of Twin Six. Global domination is not far away.
Best to all of you in 2008. Ride with pride.
T6