Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Thomas.
Hi Bill, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It all started with a pair of original WWII khakis Bill Thomas found at an army surplus store down the road from his college. Those khakis captured his imagination for what they were and what they represented. In 1990, that discovery grew into Bills Khakis, a ‘trunk of the car’ start-up that celebrated the virtues of American manufacturing and design.
Today, PennBilt is a continuation of a life’s work. Our design philosophy blends the best of old and new. The product has evolved for the sake of improvement, not simply for the sake of change. Every aspect of our brand has been rethought with respect to the past and present.
PennBilt Brand favors fabrics that perform naturally over artificial content. We remain committed to American manufacturing as a first alternative and choose supply partners who respect their employees and their environment. We know where we’re going because we know where we’ve been. We’re excited to get started and hope you’ll join us.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
If you don’t want a challenge, don’t go into business. Good ideas are hard to come by. Making that idea a reality is hard to do. Financial sacrifice is a hard choice to make. But when you’re living life on your own terms, the struggle to survive becomes an adrenalin rush. You wish for the day when resources aren’t thin, you can build a team to take things off your plate, do the things you love most, and the money is coming in. But then, you have a whole other set of challenges.
So yes, after 35 years making khakis, I’ve had struggles. Some of which came in the midst of great success.
When things go wrong, you can’t be too hard on yourself. You have to keep faith in the long haul. Most of what I’ve done in my career I wouldn’t change knowing what I knew at the time. Knowing what I know now, I would do some things differently. Experience is the single best benefit of getting older.
Bouncing back can be as satisfying as your first taste of success.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
PennBilt is a Pennsylvania based brand of premium men’s chinos and shorts made in the USA and Peru. PennBilt features fabrics that perform naturally as a alternative to than poly tech fibers and are sold through select speciality stores, golf shops and on-line at pennbilt.com
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Pond Hockey
Contact Info:
- Website: https://PennBilt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pennbilt/?hl=en
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billlthomas/
Image Credits
Photograph Credit: Jim Graham