The Future of Yellow Birch Outfitters
Yellow Birch Outfitters started in January of 2014 as a romanticized idea. I wanted to bring a bit of our past back, because I believed (and still do) that we need it.
You see, back in the days even before George Washington Sears, Horace Kephart and the early Boy Scouts there was a place called an Outfitter. Their job was to outfit an explorer or adventurer... even a family that just wanted to go camping with the right gear, the right advice, and the right price. They would put together just the right kit like a chef with a masterpiece recipe. All the bits and bobs tailor fit to your adventure. An outfitter was a trusted resource that wouldn't just try and sell you what had the best profit margin, or what he was receiving incentives for. He took PRIDE in the pieces he chose to make, or chose to stock because the trust that was put into him was one that a person's life could quite literally hang upon. Before GPS, cell phones or even coast to coast occupancy people would take long journeys into the wilderness, relying on what they had received from the Outfitter, and the hard won knowledge that came with living in "the bush".
I believe that that is most sorely needed in this day. A place you can put your stakes in, knowing that the carefully culled equipment contained within its woodsmoke scented, hallowed space was as trustworthy as your favorite old dog, to the point you could count on it even in a life or death situation. A place that didn't believe in concepts like planned obsolescence, or model life expectancy. A place that believed in the power of American Craftsmanship. This aims to be that place.
Up to now, Yellow Birch has been a purveyor of goods that we have produced ourselves. The time has finally come to be able to fulfill that dream and bring in goods that are proven, tested, and utterly reliable. Craftsmen (and craftswomen) that love what they do, and it's evident in every piece they create. Items that you know that years from now will become treasured heirlooms because of the love you have had for them in their years of dependable service.
In the near future you will begin to see products trickling in from more of these incredible craftspeople. I can't wait to show them to you.
Here's to the future!
Best,
Jay Polaski