Bag Wizard: Exclusive Interview with Taylor Welden of Carryology
Carryology has been collaborating with respected brands for a few years now, producing works that speak to a level of artistry and passion for how we carry. Each project has elicited excitement from the community, with a palpable buzz. Soon the Carryology X Mystery Ranch collaboration will drop; over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been shown teaser images and a rad patch showcasing a knight riding a unicorn – words I never thought I’d write.
Given the excitement for these projects and wanting to peek behind the curtain to understand the process, I had a virtual sit-down with Taylor Welden – Senior Editor at Carryology, and wizard extraordinaire behind these works. Taylor is well known in the carry community for his expertise, gregarious nature, long beard, and love of BBQ and bourbon.
Pull up a chair as we get a glimpse behind the scenes:
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JB: You’re a bit of a BBQ aficionado, what’s your favorite BBQ joint, and what’s the best thing on the menu?
TW: TRUTH BBQ! In Brenham and Houston, Texas. Ouch...best thing on the menu? Probably order one of everything. Not kidding. But if it was ONE thing, then I would select two things; their fatty brisket and their dinosaur-sized beef rib.
JB: Tell me a little bit about your background, how did you get into the carry world?
TW: So I’m the black sheep of the Industrial Design world. I earned my BFA of Industrial Design at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. All my peers were focused on designing cell phones, cars, and sneakers. The big three. I had no interest in any of those. I wanted to design bags. Legit, I was the only one in my entire department who was taking the industrial design practice and applying it to softgoods. I think they thought (and probably still do think) that I was weird for that, haha!
JB: How’d you get involved with Carryology?
TW: Honestly, ten years ago, I was looking for clients. I had just discovered Carryology, and I hit them up and asked if they would like a softgoods bag designer to write an article, which would give kind of a unique behind the scenes perspective on things. Surprisingly, they said yes, and then Andy and Linc (Carryology Founding Fathers) asked me to write something else if I was interested. And I just never stopped writing!
JB: In that time, Carryology has done a few collaborations with well-respected brands, how many so far, and with whom?
TW: Now, we’re up to our SIXTH collaboration, and each one of them holds a special place in my heart. Truly, not just saying that. I get to work with design inspirations and heroes of mine. So far, we’ve done: Topo Designs, Pacsafe, Alchemy Equipment, Trakke, Bedouin, and now Mystery Ranch will be releasing this month!
JB: What was the catalyst for Carryology X collaborations?
TW: I’d say it was kind of all of us since the very beginning. Back then, it was more of a pipedream. We’d daydream with each other, “Man, someday if we keep growing this thing, how awesome would it be to do a collab with XYZ brand? Ah, maybe someday, yeah...right?”
JB: What’s the purpose of these projects, you know, aside from selling gear?
TW: The true purpose is to explore better ways to carry. To improve or take a new spin on existing products, to push boundaries, to have fun. To establish stronger brand partnerships and relationships. And to get our community excited. If we’re not excited by it, we assume our readers won’t be either.
JB: With so many amazing shops out there, how do you choose which ones to approach, how do you connect with them?
TW: Believe it or not, they kind of happen organically. We’ve been communicating with some of these brands for ten years now - time sure does fly. So we’re real-life friends with these folks, completely aside from carry. Carry was just the catalyst for our relationships. So we’ll be hanging out, having a drink, sharing jokes, and it will kind of just make sense...“Hey! Why haven’t we talked collabs yet?”
JB: Once you’ve agreed to work on a project, what’s the design process for you?
TW: Super easy and complex answer here; they’re all wildly different. From working with a global corporation to a small luxury brand owned by one person. Each process differs greatly from the next. And frankly, that keeps things super interesting for me.
JB: Let's drill down a little on this one; with just one of your previous collaboration projects, what was the design process for you?
TW: It really all started as a pipedream...probably something like ten years ago. “Wouldn't it be cool if someday we could do a collab with a brand as awesome as Mystery Ranch? Yeah, right.” Well, after ten years of growing [Carryology] and establishing mutually beneficial relationships, we were finally in a place.
First, we had to decided what we would make. This was done via dozens of emails between the Mystery Ranch team and our team. We looked into the archives, looked at what wasn't done yet, considered current products, and considered old collabs. Once we finally had the "AHA!" moment and decided on a pack, then a few more design emails were exchanged to lay out some loose groundwork.
Following that, an in-person meeting at Outdoor Retailer with D3 and I which led to a one-on-one design meeting at Mystery Ranch to handle prototypes, make changes, play with materials, and more. We received a final prototype months ago, to which we made a few last changes on. Then once the production sample was made, we all signed off on it, and gave it the green light!
JB: Going into a project, what are some examples of design considerations you’ve made?
TW: First and foremost, we consider two things; the brand and the Carryolgoy reader/user. We want to push boundaries with the brand, but not break them. The brand’s DNA still needs to be in each and every collab we launch. And then the reader/user. Luckily, folks who follow these collabs are very educated when it comes to new things in the softgoods world, such as materials, hardware, technology, manufacturing, etc. We are super fortunate that these folks are just as big carry geeks as we are, so they know what to appreciate and what is simply a parlor trick. Lastly, do WE love it? If we’re not loving the direction and don’t think we would personally use the product, then we start over from scratch. And yes, that has happened!
JB: What's an example of a decision you had to make within those parameters?
TW: I can't reveal which brand this was with...but we were going to do something completely different than what their expertise lies in. For example, let's say we were working with a hard-sided luggage brand, it wouldn't make sense to ask them to make a seam-welded outdoor jacket. Once we stepped back a bit, we realized, none of us (including the brand) actually wanted to use XYZ product, so we started over from scratch. We looked at the brand's market positioning, what we're good at, and then made decisions from there to bring the best possible product to market that we could imagine together.
JB: It seems that the projects involve taking an already existing piece and adding your own expertise to it, how much say do you have in altering the already existing work?
TW: Another one of these “it depends” situations. Some brands want to make something entirely different, and some brands simply cannot make massive changes (as this would deeply affect their production and supply chains). What most don’t actually think about; this is the real design work here - Seeing what can be achieved with what is available, or even creating new ways to make impossible things possible.
Let’s say we want to use a 1” Cobra buckle on a bag. But that brand has never ordered Cobras before. So now, we will establish a new connection with a brand located in Japan with a hardware manufacturer in the mountains of Austria. Or a custom color of Dyneema fabric that hasn’t been made before, but they require 5,000 yards, so we find that a massive outerwear brand has some deadstock of a fabric that is 95% correct and it’s sitting in a warehouse in Vietnam…now we’ve got to get those rolls from Vietnam to Canada and align the timing of their arrival perfect with their production availability timeline. Etc, etc, etc.
JB: What’s been your proudest moment in doing Carryology X collaborations?
TW: For me? It’s seeing the excitement and appreciation of the end-users. These products bring people joy, and that is absolutely incredible. People using the products that we worked on in their daily lives. That gets me. Every. Single. Time.
JB: So far, what’s been your favorite project? My personal favorite has been the Trakke project.
TW: My answer will always be “the next one.” Looking back, they’re all my favorites, but I’m always excited about starting the next one as the current one launches. Because, development-wise, the current one has been “finished” months ago. Production samples were approved, and then the factory has been cranking them out since then. So I love getting back into the design studio to start it up all over again.
JB: What would be your dream project?
TW: So...I can’t name any names. But this is an idea I brought up a while ago, and the team looked at me like I was crazy. Which I am. Brand A x Brand B x Carryology collab. A three-way collab. Originally, I pitched it as a four-way collab, but that was too insane. I haven’t given up yet, give me a little more time - maybe even a SEVEN-way collab? Hmmm.
JB: You have a Carryology X Mystery Ranch collaboration launching soon, can you tell me a little bit about that project?
TW: My lips are sealed. But I will say to carefully watch Carryology.com, sign up for our newsletter on the site, and to also watch the Carryology Classified Facebook group (we usually leak intel there in the group first).
JB: What are you most excited about with this project, aside from those bonkers patches?
TW: There are several unique features that I can’t reveal quite yet. But I think overall, getting to work with a design legend like D3 and getting to remake my favorite backpack of all time (the Beams Day Assault collab) while executing it in the exact style I could dream of.
JB: I know you tend to keep future projects close to the chest, but can you offer us any hints about future projects in the works?
TW: Let’s see...OK...these are actually real hints. And Michael (Carryology Managing Editor) would kill me if he knew I was leaking these. Anyway, here they are...high altitude, grunting six six three one, everything but nothing, frozen element, and absolute maximum.
JB: Are there any plans to make a pure Carryology line of products?
TW: This one is for sure, we will never make our own carry products, as we would be competing against all of these brands that we love to cover and support. However, that’s not to say that there won’t be some fun trinkets available sometime soon. Maybe even this year.
JB: Lastly, how do you keep your beard so lush and vibrant?
TW: BBQ and bourbon whiskey.
There you have it, folks, direct from the man himself. After the interview, I couldn’t help become increasingly more excited for the Carrology X Mystery Ranch collaboration. Additionally, I went back and perused the other projects with a new-found appreciation for not only Taylor’s work but the trust these brands have in him and Carryology. I also felt a sense of pride in the camaraderie of the carry community.
A big thanks to Taylor Welden for taking time out of his busy schedule of exploring Death Valley and Yosemite, and judging beard competitions, to sit with me and indulge my curiosity.
As the saying goes, “my favorite bag is the next one.” And no doubt, this Carryology X Mystery Ranch collaboration will be a favorite for many. The collaboration is set to launch March 20th, at 7PM EST, for more info and a bit more background on this particular bag, visit the story at Mystery Ranch X Carryology: The Birth of a Unicorn.
