Yes, you read it right. The quirky actor was spotted on the golf links sporting a charcoal Original Stormy Kromer Cap. His presence at the Irish Open Pro-Am garnered a lot of media attention, including an interview by BBC News in which he is wearing his cap the entire time. Several celebrity sites have also posted photos – this photo gallery is a particularly good one.
Welcome to the Stormy Kromer family Bill!
Earlier this week, we asked our employees to share with us some bit of advice they got from their dads. In turn, we thought we’d share these words of wisdom with you. From the practical to the silly, they are a great reminder for us to say thanks to our dads this weekend for all they do for us.
Enjoy!
“The day before I got married my Dad pulled me aside and said, ‘Before you go I need to teach you a couple of things: 1) how to change a flat tire because every girl needs to know how to change a tire and 2) how to make a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce because the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! ‘”
-Kirsten, Customer Service
“My dad, the founder of Jacquart Fabric Products once told me, ‘Once you start working 12 hours a day, your luck will change.’”
-Bob, CEO
“My dad always told me while in the car and a deer crosses, ‘When there’s one, there’s two.’ I frequently find myself repeating him now when I see a deer, and of course once the second deer crosses, I feel that it’s “okay” to continue. (Until that third one runs across one day!)”
-Katie, Customer Service
“Always have a firm handshake.”
-KJ, Key Accounts
“My dad was a man of very few words and I learned from him over the years by simply watching what he would do rather than what he would say. He treated everyone with respect, therefore, he was respected. He was indeed a legendary dad.”
-Joel, Sales Manager
We’d love to know what you’ve learned from your father in the comments below. In the meantime, Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!
It’s soon to be Father’s Day…and if you’re scratching your head as to what to get the deserving man in your life, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.
We’ve just added some all new colors to our popular Deck Shirts – in a lighter weight than our flannels or twills, these shirts are as versatile as they are fashionable. Choose from the blue hue of Lagoon, or the warm and woodsy look of Sequoia. Either way, the man in your life will be a statement of outdoors style!
For the guy on the go, try one of our all-new wool and waxed cotton bags. The Sidekick is Stormy’s take on the popular messenger bag style, while the Night-Timer, our new rugged overnight bag, works just as well in a hotel as it does in a tent. Both come in four colorways, including our classic red and black plaid.
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Of course, you can never go wrong with one of our classic caps, even if it is the middle of June. With your help, Dad will be prepared well in advance of this fall and winter. After all, aren’t we expecting a heck of a winter after last year’s mild days? Try one of our all new offerings – like the Original in Adirondack Plaid, or the Waxed Cotton in Black.
Would your Dad enjoy one of these new products? Is he already a Kromer fan? We’d love to hear your best “Dad” stories here in the comments.
If you’ve never heard of Duluth Pack, it’s okay.
You’ve probably just never been outside.
If you’re not the type to venture beyond the wilds of your own backyard, it’s all right. The Duluth Pack Store can outfit you with every bit of gear you need to take on places like the Boundary Waters.
Or, shoot, you can just sit in the store and feel outdoorsy enough.
Named after its Duluth Pack, a cavernous canvas and leather camping satchel patented in 1882 and stitched in the same Duluth (MN) factory for 101 years, the store caters to hikers and campers who want the gear that will keep them alive out in the wilderness plus allow them to look good when the forest rangers finally find their bodies.
We’re kidding, of course, but Duluth Pack gear has been a symbol of north woods ruggedness as long as the north woods have been a symbol of outdoor adventure.
But let’s say you’ve never stepped further outside than Central Park. That’s okay, too. The Duluth Pack Store is now selling to places like Barney’s of New York.
“It’s weird, but we’re hip,” said Laura Duenow, Apparel and Footwear Buyer for the Duluth Pack Store. “We’ve been selling a very traditional product for a very long time, but because we’ve been able to blend modern style with traditional function, we’ve got this cool, Americana following.”
Just like, she says, Stormy Kromer.
“We’ve always carried Kromer caps,” added Duenow, “but the outdoor customer is more savvy than ever, and Stormy Kromer adapted and expanded its apparel line to fit them. When we saw that, we knew we had to sell it.”
And last year, they were the world’s second-largest seller of Kromer goods.
“We offer our customers an experience they can’t get in the big-box franchises,” added Duenow. “It’s a destination, not just an outdoor store.”
She couldn’t be more right. Duluth Pack sits in Duluth’s famous Canal Park district, which welcomes 3.5 million out-of-town visitors each year—many of whom stop at the store as a starting point for their wilderness vacation.
“We give them fashion-forward function, and Stormy Kromer understands what that’s all about. Those are the kind of brands our customers want.”
You just have to go out and get them. Or at least visit www.duluthpack.com.
If you can’t find it at Yoder’s, there’s a pretty good chance you don’t need it.
The U.S. Census Bureau lists the population of Shipshewana, Indiana, at 658, which is roughly the same number of people who’ll be in line in front of you, waiting to get into the Yoder Department Store parking lot. Yep. People who need stuff, get stuff here.
“It’s not uncommon in the summer for folks to wait ten, maybe fifteen minutes to park their car,” said Andre Yoder, the third-generation general manager of this little town’s massive mercantile. “The flee market and auction across the street can draw up to 10,000 people in a two-day stretch, and a lot of them stop by because they know what we have to offer.”
What Yoder’s has to offer isn’t so much a step back in time—you’ll find all the latest clothing styles mixed in with tons of traditional favorites—it’s just that the style of service customers enjoyed decades ago is still thriving here.
Take, for example, the fact that second-generation owner Janet Yoder started working at the store when she was 13 and just recently retired at the age of 77. Many of the current employees, too, have been working here for more than 10, 20 or even 30 years. These are people who know how to treat a customer.
And if, for some reason, you want eight pairs of jeans with a 66-inch waist and they only have five (they really do have this size, by the way, and they have that many in stock), they’ll get them for you. Pronto.
That’s service you don’t see all that often.
“People come here to be taken care of and because they’ll find quality products at fair prices,” added Yoder. “Those are the same reasons we carry Stormy Kromer: great apparel, good prices, made in America. Those things matter here.”
As if to prove the point, Yoder’s menswear/work apparel manager, Tim Hethcote, recalled the story of a fellow who stopped in to get his son-in-law a gift. “He bought a couple Stormy Kromer flannel shirts, took them home, gave into temptation, tried them on, and kept them,” said Hethcote. “He eventually bought his son-in-law something else.”
No doubt he found it at Yoder’s.
Last fall, we were contacted by the Detroit Skating Club. We were somewhat ashamed that we didn’t realize such an illustrious group was here in the fine state of Michigan, and we sure are glad they reached out to us.
You see, the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills is the training home to some of the most elite figure skaters in the world. We’re talking Olympians, National and World Champions – names like Todd Eldredge, Tara Lipinski and Alissa Czisny.
Jerod Swallow, Managing Director of the club let us know that each January they send the skaters off into the world to compete in a series of events, culminating in the World Championships. As a part of their send-off, they like to give them a little something to remind them of Detroit Skating Club. Of Michigan.
Naturally, he thought of Stormy Kromer.
We thought these fine folks deserved something a little special, so we put together some special edition caps in the Club’s colors.
The skaters just returned from their travels and finally had a few moments for a photo shoot in their caps. Turns out the club members fared quite well at the World Championships: French couple Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat received a bronze medal in ice dance, Canadians Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje placed fourth in ice dance, Italian Valentina Marchei placed eighth in the women’s event, and American Jeremy Abbott placed eighth in the men’s event.
Congratulations and hats off to a job well done everybody!
Even though the wedding date’s not set yet, you can tell that Linnea Rivard and Michael Balda’s upcoming nuptials aren’t necessarily all that traditional.
For starters, the happy couple met at an online matchmaking site. They didn’t even get to go out alone on their first date (she brought a friend along, just to be sure). And after a few short months of courtship, she proposed marriage to him.
On Stormy Kromer’s Facebook page, no less.
“We met in September, and a month later he was bugging me with ‘When are you going to ask me to marry you?’” said Linnea, a bartender in Wisconsin Rapids. “When I told his mom, she looked me in the eye and said “He loves you and wants to marry you. He’s just scared to ask.”
Not too timid to take matters into her own hands, Linnea put a plan in motion.
Michael, who’s working toward his Master’s degree in Project Management, was heading to Florida for an extended stay, but before he left, Linnea made sure his favorite Kromer cap stayed home.
“It was weird, but before my trip, she wanted to know what caps I was bringing with me,” said Michael. “I’ve got 15 or so, and I did bring a couple of the cotton ones to Florida, but I couldn’t figure out why she cared. Then I saw her Facebook post.”
Posed in her boyfriend’s best Kromer Original, Linnea popped the question “Marry me?” in a picture presented for the whole world to see. And let’s just say Michael wasn’t the first to see it.
“Some other guy beat me to it,” said Michael. “One of the posts said ‘If he says no, I’m saying yes.’ Really, though, there was only one answer for me. She was wearing my favorite cap; it was awesome. I had to say yes.”
We couldn’t be happier for the Kromer-loving couple, and we’ll keep you up to date on their wedding plans. We thought you should also know, however, that they’re not the first to be wedded with our caps.
In 1946, Bernard Kolesar (you may remember him as one of our Living Legend finalists) proposed to Zella in his Stormy Kromer. She said yes, and the rest is history.
This has to be one of the best lookin’ wedding parties we’ve ever seen.
Are there other Kromer wedding stories we need to know about?
If you’ve been following our posts about 2012 Living Legend Jim Dehlin, you may remember that in the story titled “A Visit From a Legend“, Jim mentioned the possibility of getting a Living Legend tattoo.
Well, in legendary fashion, he was true to his word.
This fabulous bit of art was done by Jim’s niece, a tattoo artist in the New Orleans area. The ink is on his right bicep and we particularly like the bit he added: “It’s good to be first.”
We have a feeling this won’t be the last we hear from Jim. Stay tuned for updates on this legendary character throughout the year.
Unless you’re reading this from someplace like Singapore,
you’re gonna want to get to Getz’s.
We like Getz’s. A lot. A little too much, maybe. But when you’ve got three stacked floors of department store goodness packed with people who remember how things used to be done, well, it feels to us like the kind of place Mr. Kromer himself would have owned. Except he was just a kid when it opened.
Getz’s Department Store in downtown Marquette, Michigan, hung out its shingle in 1879, and aside from selling a few brands of clothing and outdoor gear that didn’t exist back then, not much has changed. And that’s the way folks like it, according to Dennis Mingay, the man in charge of menswear.
“Remember when you were a kid,
and you’d walk into an old clothing store and
smell the richness of the wool and leather?
That’s what Getz’s is, and there aren’t many places like us left.”
The big box stores have taken over, but when you sort through the thousands and thousands—and thousands—of products on the shelves, from men’s suits and Silver Jeans for women, to outdoor wear, kids’ clothes, shoes, and—get this—7,000 square feet of Carhartt, you start to wonder how the national chains could ever compete with Getz’s.
“Here’s how we beat them,” said Mingay, who happily works six days a week and is as much a figure at Getz’s as Getz’s itself. “When people come in, we greet them, we take care of them. And when they ask for a pair of pants, we walk them over to the pants, we don’t just point.”
It’s this type of traditional service and commitment to customers that drew the attention of Stormy Kromer Mercantile owner, Bob Jacquart. Shortly after buying the SK patent, he walked into the UP’s favorite department store and straight up to Dennis Mingay.
“He said ‘I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but I just bought Stormy Kromer, and I’d like Getz’s to be a distributor.’ It took a little work, but just look at us now.”
Last year, Getz’s faithful fans (if that’s you, thank you!) purchased over 2,300 Kromer caps and articles of clothing. But it’s not the numbers that matter, it’s the nostalgia. Getz’s and Stormy Kromer are cut from the same cloth, if you will. They’re down-home brands built in rural America, and because they remember it’s the shopper who makes them successful, they’ve cultivated a global following.
So even if you are from Singapore, you might want to make a point of stopping by. Or at least visiting www.getzs.com.
This past Friday, the employees at Stormy Kromer were proud to welcome a legend into their factory. A Living Legend, actually.
Our inaugural Living Legend winner, Jim Dehlin (along with six family members, including his wife, son and daughter) spent a good part of Friday afternoon with us. What a treat.
The group started with a factory tour, given by our CEO, Bob Jacquart, of course. Bob gave them the royal treatment, sharing story after story about the factory and Stormy Kromer, and introducing the crew to many of our employees. The littlest member of the Dehlin clan even got to put eyelets into some caps!
After the tour, the group hit the retail store, putting a good dent into Jim’s $500 gift certificate. Unsurprisingly, in legendary fashion, Jim spent most of his prize money buying caps and gear for his friends and family instead of for himself.
The visit capped off our inagural Living Legend program. We received dozens of nominations and honored ten worthy nominees as finalists. During the voting period, over 8500 votes were cast, with Jim emerging as our winner. Earlier this month, we sent off our donation to Homes for Our Troops, in Jim’s honor.
Jim’s son Jesse, who nominated him, let us in on a little secret. “I know we were supposed to have the nominee’s permission before nominating, but I didn’t know what he would say. So I just did it.” We sure are glad he did.
On his way out, later on Friday afternoon, Jim pulled a staff member aside. “We’ve got to talk about some trademark issues,” he said. “Any objections to my next tattoo using the Stormy Kromer logo, with the words ‘It’s good to be first.’?”
No problem at all, Jim. And we couldn’t be prouder that you were first.
