Staff

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– LOCALS MAKING STUFF –

give r

What’s behind the name Give’r?

BUBBA ALBRECHT: Growing up, I spent a lot of time in the small town of Killarney, Ontario, Canada. At a young age I was exposed to this term, “give’r,” or give it your all. I learned quickly that if you were going to give’r in some capacity, it meant you were really going to do it – 110 percent, wholehearted, no questions asked.

Our lifestyle brand was born in 2011 with a few custom hats celebrating an eightman crew, seven-day kayaking expedition in Killarney, where a majority of folks on the roster were from Jackson. With the design expertise of Give’r co-founder, Carly Platt, we created a hat with the skyline of the Tetons and “give’r” embroidered below, in tribute to the place we were exploring and the necessity to give’r to make the trip happen (traveling 2,000 miles to middle of nowhere Canada/heaven).

When we all returned home from the trip, people wearing the hat frequently fielded the question, “Hey, what is give’r?” While the hats were functional and fit well, it was the sharp look and intriguing significance of the design that elicited the question. Once people learned the meaning, I had a lot of folks asking if they could purchase the hats. After about 50 inquiries, I knew there was something there.

Who is Give’r?

BA: Late in 2012, Carly (the original hat designer), Jed Mickle and I came together to discuss taking this Give’r idea to the next level. Could we create a lifestyle brand around this idea of choosing to give life

Photo: Wade Dunstan

your all? You feggin bet. So we sacked up, brought together a small chunk of change and put the hammer down for three months, launching the company and learning all that we could in the retail and e-commerce world. In the early days, we all did everything, learning as we went, sharing ideas, working very late and invading roommates’ living areas, basements and general way of life.

We launched the online store, www.give-r.com, with two men’s T-shirts, two women’s T-shirts, two trucker hats and our signature waterproofed and handbranded leather Give’r glove.

Today we have more than 60 products ranging from tank tops and polarized bamboo sunglasses, to thermal layers and a rad line of beanies and hats.