The story of the Canadian accessories brand, YNOT, is like many other boy meets boy stories. No, not that kind of boy meets boy story; this story is about a successful work partnership that turned into a Canadian success story.
YNOT started out six years ago in a local residential garage turned workshop in Toronto making cycling accessories. But as demand grew and the product lined turned to include bags and packs, the company sought out a larger industrial space to handle their needs. This is how Tony Mammoliti met Jason Wood. Jason had the space and experience in mass distribution of bags and packs; Tony had the creative direction and the design skills. Fast forward six years to today, YNOT is now sold in over 40 countries around the world and a flagship store in one of the hippest neighbourhood – West Queen West, Toronto.
We sat down with the boys of YNOT at the headquarters in Toronto to find out how they launched their brand and what’s next.
What made you decided to start making bags? Why YNot?
Tony: I had a fulltime marketing job; I was making pedal straps on the side. People started asking me if they could buy them. So I started selling them at a local bike shop. Then I realized the bike shop had a few bags in it but I thought there were things missing when I looked at those bags. I thought maybe we could do something different with bags.
I started designing a backpack initially instead of the traditional messenger bag, which is what most bike companies were selling at the time. We set up a make shift studio in my garage; I had a team that was manufacturing there while I was working my 9-5.
We had the machinery; we had the know-how. We thought, well we made the pedal straps because we thought we could make better pedals straps. So we thought, why can’t we make a better version of the backpacks that are out there already? We just applied the same principals and applied them to a different product –backpacks.
So why the shift from more technical cycling related bags and gear to more fashion leaning bags?
Tony: We saw a demand from people who don’t necessarily cycle but that want something that is a little more technical and yet still looks good. We went to Capsule in New York City; we started seeing there were a lot of dealers that really liked the technical aspect of our bags but enjoyed the fact that we were still making them look good.
Some bag companies go very vintage; old school styling. We want to have a mesh of some design aesthetics from the past, some from the future and design with the best materials we can find. The most technical fabrics. And customers responded to that.
How do you think your cycling background influences the design of the bags?
Tony: From the design perspective – we always want our bags to be functional. The inside of the bag, the shoulder straps – the inside of the bag; the stuff that is hidden. We will always design them as very functional. It is important that the shoulder straps are very comfortable; it is important that bag is waterproof. However on the outside of the bag I am really concerned about how it looks – I know people aren’t just using the bag for cycling or mountain biking. They are using the same bag on the streets of Queen Street everyday. We will always have the useful components that are technically designed; then we are going to dress it up. Put a suit on it. If it can’t be technical and look really cool, then what is the point?
So why make and manufacture all your bags in Toronto?
Jason: We love Toronto. We manufacture it all in Toronto. We did look overseas for some of our manufacturing but it came back to concerns about quality; where were the materials being sourced; how could we ensure consistency.
Tony: And the cool thing about Toronto is that we are on Queen West and that fashion edge informs our designs.
So we know that you a lot of your design is informed by the cycling background of the company but where else do you get your design inspiration?
Tony: A lot of my inspiration comes from some of the oldest packbacks - bushcraft packs, canoe packs. I love Duluth packs, which was founded by a French Canadian…I love the look of old school canoe packs. I wanted to pull some of the beautiful aspects of these older bags. I wanted to keep the aesthetic of the old school bags but I wanted to add in the features that you lose when you go old school: being waterproof or having a laptop sleeve for example.
So tell me about your new line, Magnetica?
Tony: It was actually Rama Wieland (our sales director, pictured above) who first came up with the concept of the Magnetica backpack. So I made a prototype for Rama on a weekend. He started riding with it. Then, we took a road trip down to South Carolina. We used the Magnetica backpack throughout the whole trip. Testing it out. Tweaking it.
So do each of you have a favourite bag from your line:
Jason: The Gulper. Biggest bag we make; it carries all my groceries. Although, I do think the new Magnetica bags are cool.
Tony: My favourite bag is probably the latest prototype I just finished making and isn’t even in production yet.
