Winter is Coming!
What has you more excited? The return of HBO's "Game of Thrones" series (Season 5) in 2015 or waiting for writer George R.R. Martin to complete the next book in the series (Winds of Winter, no scheduled release date)?
Whatever your answer, we can all agree that winter is indeed coming, especially in North America. And just to throw more fuel on the fire, even The Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting "that this winter will be another arctic blast with above-normal snowfall".
Great.
Really.
Perfect weather for binge-watching the entire Game of Thrones series on HBO from the beginning or (better?) curling up in front of the fire with the original "Game of Thrones" book and reliving the adventures of the Stark family. If you're going to go deep into the world of King's Landing, why not do it in comfortable style?
Camp Tuque's Fall/Winter Collection features Men's and Ladies' newly designed and improved comfort hooded-sweatshirts, which are sure to keep you comfortable and warm this winter!
All About the Tuque
While parts of North America are suffering from historic heat-waves, the rest of North America has started to embrace the fact that we are now officially into the autumn/fall season (check out our fall lineup for great Camp Tuque products).
And while Meghan Trainor might think it's "All About the Bass", we like to think its "All About the Tuque".
Growing up in Canada, you don't give much thought to your tuque. It's with you at all times. Tuques are everywhere. At the bottom of purses, stuffed into jacket pockets. We use them to keep us warm, wipe of skate blades, or wipe up the hot chocolate that your son spilled on the backseat of the car ("It wasn't me! Honest!"). Don't say you don't... we've done it and we know you have, too.
The poor tuque. It's probably the most abused item of clothing ever invented. Or maybe we just take it for granted. Here at Camp Tuque we embrace the versatility (and durability) of the tuque. Celebrate it, even.
That's why we're so happy to offer, beginning in November, a one-size fits all tuque for only $14.95. At that price, it would be a shame not to buy more than one. Or one for each member of the family. It really is all about the tuque. Get ready!
Manufacturing in Canada
Much has been reported about the decline of the manufacturing sector in Canada. For example, this article from last summer outlines how the manufacturing decline has been spurred by competition from developing countries with cheaper labour. The bigger problem, perhaps, is that cheaper labour and cheaper materials drive higher profit margins for mass-market companies. Lower prices, sure. But lower quality, too.
While we may not be able to dispute the decline of the large manufacturer, there are trends in the other direction. We're seeing more "farm-to-table" movements, 100 mile diets and efforts to get people to shop locally. In our opinion, there is an emerging trend of educated consumers who are aware of the broader impact their purchase decisions have. It's a spark.
At Camp Tuque, we care about these things. We've distilled them into a few guiding principles:
- Made in Canada. Yep. It costs a bit more, but we think it's worth it.
- Small batches. No, you can't have it tomorrow. But you can have it in a few days. Small batches allow us to control quality and means we're not stockpiling inventory.
- Online only. More and more people are shopping online. Our business model doesn't require us to produce 1000s of items to put on display in retail outlets. That means we can be more efficient.
- Fair price. Shop around online. Some other trendy retail sites are charging absurd prices for basic casual wear.
We believe that by sticking to these principles we can deliver high-quality, fairly-priced garments to our customers. If we do that successfully, we have every right to earn a modest profit. So why did we start Camp Tuque? Because we couldn't find other firms that shared our values that we're equally committed to domestic manufacturing.
Fall Collection
Just last week we sat down to prepare the list of merchandise that would form part of the Camp Tuque Fall Collection. If you're on this site, you've already seen the fruits of that labour.
Because we manufacture in small batches, we can't and won't offer everything to everybody. You'll notice that while we carry all of the popular sizes (check the sizing chart to make sure you order the right size for you), we can't possibly stock every colour under the sun. We've tried to select those colours that we believe you (our customers) would like to order.
But... we're pretty laid back at Camp Tuque. If there is an item or a colour that you'd absolutely LOVE to see, please let us know. We can't make any promises, but you just might see it hit the store in the future. We rely on feedback from customers like you!
Cross-border shopping
Recently I spent some time in the United States.
As any true Canadian knows, the United States is not only home to the Statue of Liberty, apple pie and the Alamo, but also to outlet malls, Mello Yello, and deals, deals, deal. In fact, if you live within 160 kilometres of the border (about 100 miles) you already know that "cross-border shopping" is a rite-of-passage for bargain hunters.
Walking through one of the outlet malls, I decided to check the labels on some casual clothing. T-shirts, to be precise. Guatemala. Belize. Vietnam. Haiti.
While I appreciate that manufacturers in these countries need employment, it reminded me of something we don't talk about often enough. People in our community need employment, too. That's why it continues to be a source of pride that all of our Camp Tuque products are made domestically. While we don't grow cotton in Canada, we sure can make some nice clothing.
It also validated the Camp Tuque approach. We manufacture our garments in small batches to ensure quality.