Nock Co.

Nock Co.
Logo for 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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

As part of the initial launch of the company, Nock Co. released six cases on its Kickstarter campaign: The Brasstown, Chimneytop, Hightower, Lookout, Maryapple, and Sassafras cases. Backers-only incentives included exclusive colorways.

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 (A4 and notecard).

Following are the product lines that Nock Co. has released over their history, alphabetically. The list groups size variants under the one product line (such as Fodderstack versus Fodderstack XL), and also includes items that have since been discontinued or put on a temporary hiatus since their initial release. Special edition products of already-established product lines are listed in 'Limited Releases' below.

Cases

The Brasstown

A zippered roll case.

The Chimneytop

A pop-up zip case for carrying pens and pencils. Like the Brasstown, minus the roll. The original version was discontinued in May 2016 in favor of its XL variant

The Cumberland / Sapelo

Affectionately nicknamed the 'penvelope', this product is modeled and cut to look like a stationery envelope. The body of the penvelope has enough depth to hold 3 pocket-sized notebooks, while the flap has a pocket for 3 clip pens to sit. The flap is secured by a press-snap, a first for Nock Co. It was originally introduced to the public in a run of 40, exclusively for the Atlanta Pen Show 2016 . The design was resurrected later in the year in an exclusive colorway for the Lanier Kickstarter and renamed the Sapelo. It has not been released publicly, yet. Both names come from islands in Georgia: Cumberland on the Southeast coast, and Sapelo about 40 miles North.

The Hightower

A three + one bi-fold case: 3 pens and one pocket-sized notebook.

The Lookout

A 3-pen holster.

The MaryApple

A two-memobook bi-fold case.

The Oconee

A bi-fold, slim profile wallet, the Oconee was released as part of a short run 'Blue Label' product in July 2016 . The design has one full-height pocket, and a partial-height pocket / flap, allowing for loose bills and cards to be carried with ease. The wallet is named for a river in Georgia, USA.

The Sassafras

A 5-pen bi-fold case. The interior had designated sheaths stitched into the fabric, with a flap to protect the pen clips from rubbing on other pens. It was one of the six designs launched during the initial Kickstarter. In March 2016, the product was temporarily discontinued with a note that it was "not being retired forever" . The case is named after a mountain in Northern Georgia, USA.

Limited Releases

Nock Co. has released special, small batch, limited edition, and exclusive products in various colorways. These have included Kickstarter incentives and in-person, conference releases, as well as low-count released labelled 'Small Batch' and 'Blue Label.' This list is by chronological order.

• Peacock Blue Hightower - As part of the original Kickstarter in 2013, there was a backers-only edition of the Hightower, their 3-pen, 1-notebook case. The limited edition colorway sported a Peacock Blue exterior and Midnight interior.
• 'Union Jack' Hightower - A backers-only incentive for The Pen Addict Live Atlanta 2015 event was a pre-release of a summertime colorway for their Hightower case, with a run of 300. The exterior bore a Forest green fabric, and the interior a Sunshine yellow, along with a special edition, 'Union Jack' logo tag, to celebrate flying Myke Hurley out to the pen show that year. The case also included a Nock Co. DotDash notebook.
• Superstition pen case - A collaboration with Karas Kustoms in late 2015 released a 120-run, limited edition colorway of the Sinclair. The zipped, 3-pen, 1-notebook case had a gray exterior, blue interior, and special Arizona flag-Karas Kustoms logo. As part of the collaboration, Karas Kustoms released a branded notebook line and a matte red and copper combination of their EDK pen. In keeping with Nock Co.'s tradition of naming their cases after geography, the namesake for the case comes from the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, home to Karas Kustoms.
• Small Batch - In 2014, Nock Co. announced a line that mixed and matched current colorways in small batches. The batch ran two variants of the Hightower cases: Black-exterior / Hot Pink-interior, and Sky Blue-exterior / Black-interior. The idea was expanded into the Nock Co. 'Blue Label' series in 2016.
• #200 Pen Addict notebook - As a Kickstarter incentive for the 2016 Atlanta live recording of The Pen Addict, a Pen Addict-branded pocket-sized notebook was available to backers for the 200th episode. The branding was a highly detailed embossed image of The Pen Addict logo on orange paper, with the paper inside printed with an orange dot-dash grid.
• Cumberland 'Penvelope' - Available only at the Atlanta 2016 Pen Show, Nock Co. offered a new, product style named Cumberland. This was the launch of their 'Blue Label' line, which in the spirit of 'Small Batch' offered new products and colorways in small quantities. 'Blue Label' products bear a special blue logo tag with Japanese kanji for 'blue'. The product was nicknamed a 'penvelope', as the case was cut to look like an envelope. It could carry up to 3 pocket-sized notebooks and 3 pens. The flap closed with a press-snap, a first. The exterior fabric was a navy blue, with red interior, and only 40 were made for the show. The name comes from Cumberland Island, Georgia. This style of product was revived in a new colorway in 2017, and renamed the Sapelo.
• Oconee Wallet - Another entry for the 'Blue Label' line, Nock Co. offered a slim, low-profile wallet, named Oconee, in July 2016. A total of 30 were made: 15 in a black-exterior / Mango-interior, and 15 in a Forest-exterior / Pink-interior, each with black trimmings. Each order also came with a 3-pack of the runoff, #200 Pen Addict notebooks . Oconee is a namesake from a river in Georgia.
• Lanier A5 Notebook - When Nock Co. launched their Lanier case product on Kickstarter in 2016, a stretch goal included a 3-pack of A5-sized, Nock Co.-branded notebook. The branding is another embossed logo, on gray cover, and dot-dash grid interior. The limited edition was set at one thousand 3-packs.
• Sapelo 'penvelope' - In funding the Pen Addict 2017 'tour', backers were able to stake their claim on a limited edition colorway of the Sapello, the previously-named Cumberland case. The 2017 variant was designated Sapelo, after Sapelo Island, Georgia. This backers-only colorway had an orange interior, gray exterior and 2017 Pen Addict logo tag.
• Tacticool Sinclair - As a celebration for Fountain Pen Day 2016, Nock Co. designed and gave away a special build of their Sinclair case. This "gnarly" case included Woodland Camo-exterior / Black-interor, and additional features of an Orange bottom panel, a velcro patch side, bands of MOLLE webbing, and yellow Monkey Fist paracord pulls on the zippers. The giveaway included a 3-pack of the #200 Pen Addict notebooks, a Fishing Vest enamel pin, and sticker set .
• Lime Green Lookout - The in-person offerings at the Atlanta Pen Show 2017 included a conference-only colorway: Forest Green-exterior / Lime Green-interior.
• Microwax Sinclair - Another Atlanta 2017 exclusive was a Sinclair case with microwax canvas, which is very durable but very smooth to the touch. This is the first product to have been in this material.
• Leather Fodderstack XL - A third Atlanta 2017 exclusive was an XL-sized Fodderstack, but stitched as a leather case, rather than the usual canvas. This is the first product to have been in leather.
• Fodderstack Mini - For the Chicago Pen Show 2017, Nock Co. teased and released a mini variant to the Fodderstack in various colorways, including: Orange-exterior / Yellow-interior, Sky Blue-exterior / dark Yellow-interior, and Forest Green-exterior / Blue-interior. This new size is said to fit business card-sized paper, and mini- or pocket-pens such as the Kaweco Sport or Fisher Space Pen.