NockCo
| Nock Co. | |
|---|---|
| Founded: | August 18, 2013 |
| Founder: | Brad Dowdy & Jeffrey Bruckwicki |
| Headquarters: | 1841 Marietta Blvd NW, Suite K, Atlanta, GA,30318 |
| Key People: | |
| Products: | Carry cases, stationery |
| Website: | http://nockco.com/ |
Story
Nock Co. is a manufacturer company based in Georgia, USA, with a focus on cases and bags for stationery. It was founded by Brad Dowdy, of Pen Addict fame, and seamster Jeffrey Bruckwicki. As relayed on their history page, the duo met for the first time on August 4, 2013, and their business was born two weeks later, on August 18[1].
On September 30 of that year, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to help fund the launching of their original product line of six types of cases. On October 30, the campaign was successfully funded at $78,662 -- well over their goal of $5,000 -- between 2,066 backers [2].
On June 25, 2014 the company opened their online shop to the public, with a new case style (Fodderstack), as well as their first paper products: an A4- and note card-sized DotDash paper[3].
Nock Co.'s case products have thus far been named after geography specific to Georgia, USA, ranging from lakes to mountains, with one exception: the Karas Kustoms collaboration was named after the Superstition Mountains in Arizona.
Products
Dowdy and Bruckwicki as founders and creators have very high standards of their own products, and are proud of their American-made aspect. When production of the cases grew to a scale that necessitated a third-party, the duo had a high bar, and kept producing their own cases until an undisclosed, American-based factory fit their standards.
When designing products, Bruckwicki will often take an idea he and Dowdy had talked about, and sit down with some chalk and fabric to rough out designs. As mentioned in their blog, Bruckwicki presented Dowdy an array of prototypes only two weeks after the pair had sat down to discuss product ideas in August 2013[4].
Bruckwicki's experience as a seamster and eye for design has allowed the company to quickly iterate through prototypes, playtest and use them, and tweak until a satisfactory design is finalized.
In June 2014, Nock Co. launched their online store, and expanded their product line to include a seventh case, and DotDash paper in two sizes (A5 and notecard).
Kickstarter Launch
With the launch of the initial Kickstarter campaign, Nock Co. had a lineup of six cases for stationery and pens.
- The Chimneytop, a pop-up zip case for carrying pens and pencils.
- The Maryapple, a two-memobook bi-fold case.
- The Lookout, a three-pen holster.
- The Hightower, a three + one bi-fold case.
- The Sassafras, a five-pen bi-fold case.
- The Brasstown, a zippered roll case.
This lineup included Kickstarter-only colorways as incentive for backers.