Here’s the second part of my recent interview with the gang at Tacky Fly Fishing; if you missed Part 1 yesterday read it here.
Silicone instead of foam. Now who the hell thought that one up?
That was a bit of an “ah-ha” moment. Ki and Eric had been talking about how all of the ideas we had previously experimented with were just not as simple and straightforward as we would have liked. He mentioned one day in about 2011 using rubber, and we got a hold of a piece, put a slit in it with a razor, and tried it for the first time. It was exactly what we were looking for and it was immediately apparent that we were onto something, as we couldn’t believe that no one had ever tried to use the material to replace the slit foam before.
Did the product undergo different iterations?
Many. We really just set out to do something unique with the fly box that was a better solution that was currently available, with no clear vision of what that something would be. We just saw an area that needed addressing and used our scientific training to look for solutions. This process was long and involved trying to make the “new aluminum” box, a really cool looking (but crazy expensive and heavy) device that will forever be sitting in our offices as a cool idea that just didn’t pan out. We also tried using exotic woods (beautiful, but again, not very functional). We even tried using existing shells and just adding our silicone insert to the inside (this is when we learned just how much we could improve existing shell designs as well). After many attempts and a lot of testing, we came to the current iteration, which, if the attention it has received is any indication, was worth all of the work.
At IFTD, the Tacky booth had an infectious, innovative feel that drew people in. The website continues that vibe. How important do you think “brand feel” is to the company’s growth?
Extremely. It is interesting that you mention the infectious and innovative feel of our booth, as we were the epitome of being the “little guys” (and still are) in Orlando this last summer with the least sophisticated display you could possibly imagine. It was proof that it doesn’t take a lot of flashiness to garner respect and attention, but simply having a good product with passionate people behind it. To be honest, as a brand new company, we spent all of the money we could spare just to get the team out there. We just had a table with our new product and a personal computer playing a short video, we didn’t even spring for chairs. Despite this, we really felt like there was a great degree of buzz around the booth (we quite honestly would not have been able to sit if we wanted to) and it all was a result of the product and the passionate folks behind it. We have tried to maintain that theme in everything we do, from social media, to our website, and even to our in-house QC process. Our box has a simple and elegant design that is of extremely high quality that quite simply outperforms the competition. We are proud of what we produce and we want this and future products to sit front and center in everything that we do, because the product is what has generated so much buzz.
What do you see being added to the product line in the future?
We are asked this question VERY often, and the simplest answer is that we have a lot of plans and there are multiple new products on their way. In the short term you can expect to see variations on the same theme that we have just introduced. Namely, different sized versions of this initial product, each will have an innovation of it’s own (they are not just going to be different sized versions of the exact same thing). These will be designed for applications like small streams (small profile versions) and even salt water and big bug boxes. I wont go into too much detail about design or the timeline for release, but we do have multiple products in the development/manufacturing process, so just keep you eyes out for them. We think you will be very impressed.
Pretty rad stuff. Where can people buy the box?
The boxes are in many stores nationwide and will be in Canada, and many other countries soon. You can look at our dealer page for a list of some of these dealers.
Many thanks to the Tacky Fly Fishing gang for taking the time to answer my questions and send over images; you’ve designed a great product and I know we’ll be seeing a lot more of your boxes around.
Cheers.
