We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kyle And Duffey Pitzer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kyle and Duffey below.
Alright, Kyle and Duffey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
We’re lucky enough to be father and son, business partners and best friends. Growing up, we spent countless hours outdoors together. No matter what life threw at us kayaking, hiking and fishing were always the hobbies we turned to when we needed a break. Our mission at Lake&Lure is to preserve the lakes, rivers and mountains we love so other generations can spend time outdoors. It’s important to us that others get to adventure, see new sights and experience nature. For us, nothing beats a sunrise or sunset on the lake while we fish and talk about life. We’ve partnered with 1% for the planet, the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation and other organizations in Maryland to ensure the dollars we earn flow back into the outdoor community. We also believe in protecting the outdoors across the country. One of our manufacturing partners plants a tree for every 12 fleeces sold, while another partner of ours collects plastic bottles from bays and inlets up and down the East Coast to turn that waste into clothing. So long as our customers feel empowered to experience the outdoors our mission is being met.
Kyle and Duffey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
We’ve had a very unconventional route getting into the clothing industry. Duffey built brands and companies for the last 30 years while Kyle served in the Air Force for a decade. We dreamed of owning a company together but we weren’t positive what that company would be or who it would serve. Kyle finished a stint in the startup industry and Duffey’s company unexpectedly sold to private equity in 2021. We decided, with our incredible wive’s support, that it was time to start chasing our dream. We’ve always traveled the country fishing together and noticed two things. Salt Life stickers on vehicles even though we were 10+ hours from the coast and every lake we visited had trash up and down the shorelines. We visited Lake Okeechobee for a fishing trip and to our surprise the idea for Lake&Lure was born. The idea was to create a clothing brand, made from only sustainable and recycled materials, for people who prefer to spend time at the lakes, rivers and mountains. With that rough idea in mind we started our research. We knew nothing about clothing, but we knew that there had to be a way to create soft clothing that was better for your skin and the environment. We started visiting clothing trade shows in the fall of 2022 and met some incredible partners who were willing to team up with us and help us create Lake&Lure.
What sets Lake&Lure apart from our peers is two things. Every single fiber in our clothing comes from sustainable resources. Some products contain recycled or organic cotton, others contain recycled plastic bottles, and some products contain a mixture. We will not create and sell a product if it’s not better for our customers or the outdoors. We’ve had countless individuals in the clothing industry who have told us the sustainability angle isn’t viable, and we should simply make cheap tee shirts with cool designs. That’s not who we are. If the product doesn’t make the outdoors a better place we will not produce it.
We’re most proud of our partnership with other brands whose primary function is to better the outdoors. We work with Living Ink who creates our black printing ink using algae grown in ponds. The algae is grown primarily for pharmaceutical purposes and the waste is turned into a carbon negative ink. We’re always looking to push the boundaries and find a better way to create our products, whether it be through the materials themselves or the printing ink we use.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
We didn’t have a solid background in the clothing industry so partnering with manufacturers in this space was new to us. Thankfully, through trial and error and quite a few trade shows we met some incredible individuals who believed in our mission and wanted to be a part of our journey. Like any business we’ve had our ups and downs in regard to manufacturing. There wasn’t a specific recipe for finding the right partners; we held countless conversations for more than six-months before deciding on who we wanted to work with. Quite honestly we were concerned with green-washing as well. To those new to the term, green-washing is an attempt to portray your business as good for the environment when in reality it’s not. Our main manufacturer is SMETA compliant meaning their entire company meets a rigorous standard of corporate social responsibilities. Their employees are paid very well, their vertical supply chain is carbon neutral and their products benefit the environment.
The biggest lesson we’ve learned while manufacturing in this space is you must be ready to pivot. Plans and timelines aren’t always met and sometimes a color or design must be changed at the last second. We came from industries where designs were fairly set in stone so having to rearrange items at the last minute has taken some time to adjust to. We view this as a blessing though, and facing these bumps in the road has made us much more pliable as Lake&Lure continues to grow and expand our product lines.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Being our authentic selves has been very effective as we meet new customers. We often meet individuals who fall in love with our clothing because of how soft our items are but they’re not sold on switching to us when they have trusted brands at home in their closet. When we meet these folks we understand and don’t pressure them to buy something just because it’s our clothing line. We tell everyone that we meet to simply feel one of our shirts. There’s no lengthy sales pitch or high pressure sales tactics. We also carry a no-hassle return program. We know it’s difficult for some people to switch brands and understand sizing. Everyone who purchases an item from us can return it for free, or swap it out for free if they prefer a different size or color. At the end of the day we believe people need to feel good about who they’re buying from. When you meet us in person we’re more likely to ask about your favorite paddleboard set up or hiking trail rather than try to sell you Lake&Lure gear. Positive relationships and trust are number one for us and our customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lakeandlure.com
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/lakeandlureco
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/lakeandlureco
- Twitter: https://X.com/lakeandlureco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lakeandlureco
Image Credits
NM Works, Nolan Matthews, https://www.nolanmatthews.com/about