JC likes NASA. His dog's name is Space Wolf, which is also the name of his coffee roasting venture. Sometimes, he works in NASA coveralls. There are space exploration references everywhere. It's pretty rad.

We sat down with the founder and CEO of High Above, a bag company based in Bellingham, WA, to chat about the trajectory of the brand, hip packs, and entrepreneurship. In the mountain bike landscape, small independently owned companies are by far the exception and there are both benefits and drawbacks to being a small fish in an ever-growing pond. JC gives us the low down on his inspiration and creative process. While we chatted, we watched JC make one of his sturdy packs start-to-finish.

When did you start High Above? Why?

Just a few of the colors available to choose from.

Mesh gear pouches are another offering from High Above.

Oh man. I started High Above in 2011 to make backpacks and accessories for urban bike commuters. Back then, there were a lot of companies making pretty simple bags out of 1000 denier Cordura, and we were all fighting to get our piece of the pie. My designs did okay locally, but for whatever reason sold like crazy in Japan, so for most of High Above’s existence - the majority of bags were shipped overseas. It was much later when, in searching for a straight-forward product to sell domestically, I wound up making hip packs.

Not Fanny Packs?

Parts in bulk, the bits, and bobbles that keep jackets and such securely fastened to your pack.

Pre-cut panels of the most popular colors are ready for assembly, but you could theoretically get really weird with your color choices. Like, unicorn-rainbow-barf-style weird.

Ha! No, I worked really hard to change the perception of that style of bag, and it seemed obvious that the word “fanny” wasn’t helping things out. Many an Internet comment section is filled with hate for a style of bag for that reason, I’d wager. I started calling them hip packs, and after a number of other companies followed suit, I figured I had done a good job.

What makes a High Above bag unique?

Main body panels, ready to go.

Have a favorite patch kicking around, but don't know what to do with it? Send it to JC with your bag order and he will affix it to your pack.

I have some pretty basic requirements for most of the things that I choose to own. A bag needs to be made of good materials and last a long time. They need to be simple and focus on versatility. I’ve never been one of those people who needs a chap-stick pocket and fifty other near-useless features. Keep it simple, ya’ know? Our bags use the best materials that are available to us. For example, we use the very best water-resistant and US-made YKK zippers, locally made materials, long-lasting foam, repairable design, and classic colorways that you won’t want to throw away in a couple of years.

I’m sure that contributes bigly to the overall cost.

An extra sturdy YKK weather resistant zipper begins the build process.

With years of pack-making experience, it's easy to see why High Above packs are so durable. Watching JC make a bag, it becomes clear that every stitch is made with exacting accuracy. The machines never wind-up for high speeds. It's always a slow paced, methodical process.

Case in point, that stitch spacing will never waver and it will maintain a consistent distance from the edge of the material. Perhaps JC is actually a Droid.

Yep. The cost is one of those things that frustrates a lot of people, and I get it. Most folks aren’t aware of, or interested in, something like selvedge denim. From the outside, it seems ludicrous to spend MORE money on a pair of jeans that are less comfortable. But, more often than not, they are sturdier and customers are seeking that. The saying, “I’m too poor to buy cheap things,” comes to mind. As a small business whose interest is in making the very best possible product, the cost is kind of secondary. Why would we try to simply copy the competition? The responsibility is on us to create the value proposition, and I’m afraid many of us who make high-quality goods are not doing a good enough job of this. Otherwise, the comment sections wouldn’t be so full of, “I can make this with a Ziplock bag and duct tape for .27 cents!”

What factors make a product the best it can be?

Simple pattern making, high-quality materials and attention to quality control. A great bag is long lasting to the point where the owner sort of gets frustrated. The most frequent complaint we get is that people are tired of their colors and want to get a new bag. This is high praise for us, but aside from that, we’re constantly working hard to make our designs better. You’ll see more and more of these changes in 2019.

What can we expect from High Above going forward?

Foam padding for the rear is cut without presses or punches. Just a hand-held cutting wheel.

The simple answer to that is, “a lot.” We need to keep pushing forward to stay relevant. There are some serious contenders (and copiers) on the market today, and we don’t want people to buy our bags simply because of the “Made in the USA” tag. We get a lot of feedback on the bags we sell and hope that every satisfied customer feels empowered to send us their wishlist of future improvements. We expect to re-launch a couple of bags and bring some new stuff to market in 2019, but the big move for us is opening more retailers and improving access to our products through retail channels. We believe in the LBS (local bike shop). In many towns, they are the heartbeat of a riding community and vital as a meeting place for the community.

You did most of the growth of High Above alone, but recently you picked up a partner?

Front and back panels assembled with internal pockets for keeping tools and snacks sorted.

The belt wings are cut from templates using the cutting wheel, which is much easier to control than a pair of scissors.

Sure did! Her name is Mindy McCutcheon, and she’s our CFO/Adult in the Room. Bringing in a strong strategic and financial mind has enabled me to focus on growth, future design cycles, and streamlining production. Through her, much of High Above’s future success wouldn’t be possible. We also brought in some manufacturing help in-house with Max Parsons and out-of-house with a cut and sew facility in Seattle. I’m just so damn picky about my manufacturing standards, I put off using contract sewing because I thought it’d never meet muster. They’ve been super impressive thus far. I’m lucky to have them and their work keeps getting better.

How did you learn to make bags? How do you know what “good" is?

Now the bag starts to take shape. The front and back panels are joined with the main mid section.

Belt webbing and waist panels are assembled individually before main body panels are joined.

Great question. I cut my teeth at Mystery Ranch in Bozeman Montana, under the helm of Dana Gleason (of Dana Design). The thing that most people don’t know about Mystery Ranch is that their quality control measures are legendary and learning how to sew in that environment created a strong ethic for making a damn good product, even if that meant it took longer. I still strive to meet the QC employed at the ‘Ranch.

How long does it take to make a bag?

Everything is sewn inside out once the main body is assembled.

Once the pack starts to take shape, the heavyweight fabric becomes more difficult to handle.

It depends, really. Cutting and stitching is something that gets more efficient the more units you make. Except, of course, when you make too many at one time and you end up going crazy doing the same damn stitch again and again for hours - then fart around on the internet because you don’t actually want to be working because it’s tedious. I’ve got a magic number that works with my apparent ADD, but working with the contract facility has allowed me to shift my attention toward building relationships, not just making bags.

...But you’ll keep doing custom bags?

Main body assembled, the key clip is installed as well as the "Made in U.S.A." logo.

This big gun is for punching through the thick webbing material. The webbing is sewn over on top itself to keep the buckles in place.

Yeah. Custom is near and dear to our hearts, but not everyone needs or wants custom colors. Through our network of dealers, you’ll be able to get a great bag without the wait, even if that means the color options are sort of limited. As a small company, we’re lucky to be nimble and offer lots of options!

You’re known as a bit of an evangelist for entrepreneurship. Why?

I chose orange for my zip pulls. You can choose any number of options including black, green, or pink.

Now, to attach the bottle holder to the main bag.

Bottom panel of the bottle holder.

Because too many people who are smart and young don’t feel empowered to put their idea on the table. We’ve all become professional critics, and it makes me sad when so many are professionals at talking shit but don’t offer anything up themselves. Like Laura from High Fidelity says, “You’re making something. You – the critic, the professional appreciator – put something new into the world. And the second one of those things gets sold, you’re officially a part of it.” I want more people to offer up their intellect, ambition, and ideas and grab a hold of their own future. If 5 years ago someone said to me that I’d do this by making f*cking fanny packs, I’d have laughed in their face.

Why is domestic manufacturing important to you?

The water bottle holder is attached via loops and a click-lock strap. Thread the strap through the loop staggered loops of the bag and bottle holder and fold the strap over and lock the ends together. Simple design for easy removal.

Water bottle holder in place and the bag is complete and ready for years of abuse.

For so many reasons: Chiefly, because it’s one of the things you can still do stateside at the same level as overseas. Technological advances and automation in textiles manufacturing never really landed on our shores, because we were so eager to ship it overseas in the 1990s - so we’re on our heels in the States. It means a lot to me to support local suppliers, so many of our materials, including zippers, sliders, foam, plastic bits, fabric, and post-treatment, are all done stateside. That means more jobs in textiles and more access to great materials from which to design and make bags.