Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Farr.
Jason, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started Big Sky Supply back in 2015 out of my garage in five points. I started just making leather wallets, key fobs, boot laces and other everyday carry items for friends without any real expectation of creating a business out of it. It was just fun and I love making things for my friends. That last statement is kind of my story in a nutshell but for the sake of this interview, I guess I should dig a little deeper.
I came from and grew up around a long tradition of making things and being there for your neighbors in eastern central Pennsylvania. I grew up helping my grandfather make things, a lot of the time for nothing more than we couldn’t afford to buy new items. I taught me a lot about the value and importance of things. These experiences, along with growing up in the east coast DIY punk rock scene in the 90’s and learning if you wanted to see yourself represented in the world, you had to make it happen yourself. We did everything ourselves, from making band merchandise, booking shows, promoting shows, making zines and giving touring bands places to sleep. We were one large community and network before the days of the internet giving us the connectivity we now have. All of these experiences are the foundation of Big Sky Supply as a business and who I am as a person.
In 2016 I set up a very small merchandise table in the waiting area of the Usual Barbershop. I remember this being terrifying. I was so afraid that people were just going to laugh at my stuff and then it would just be done. It was really where my business took off. Soon after, I was fulfilling orders on a fairly regular basis to a handful of stores in Denver and taking on a ton of custom leather work orders by word of mouth all over the country. It was also during this time we moved from my small garage to our workshop behind Crema Coffeehouse, now the home of our retail space.
In late 2017 after a trip to Japan, I was inspired by seeing so many small minimalist retail spaces that were in back alleys and just hidden all over Tokyo. It really went against everything I had come to know about traditional American brick and mortar. It was game-changing! Shortly after returning Josh and Ashley Shively (Team Shively as I call them) came on as my business partners and we began building our retail space out of a 500 square foot metal work shed. This was the time we shifted away from leather goods into being a vintage clothing shop that offers sashiko denim repair. Sashiko repair was another thing I saw all over Japan and I was really taken by its beauty.
Two years later, we are still doing our thing at 2862 Larimer street behind Crema Coffeehouse in five points. Id really likes to take this time to say thank you to Team Shively for joining me in this adventure, Noah Price, for all the support and advice in starting and maintaining our business and everyone who stops by our shop and has supported us from the very beginning. It means the world to us.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Its totally been a smooth road. Just kidding. Being a first-time small business owner has so many struggles especially when you’re beginning. Our two biggest struggles were starting this business without any funding. It essentially took us three years of really hard work making leather goods to build the funding to then build out our current retail space. It was a lot of long days and sleepless nights. The second was making our concept of an off-street minimalist retail space work. It was a lot of trial and error. We really did things the long and hard way but to us, it made all the difference.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Big Sky Supply story. Tell us more about the business.
Big Sky Supply is a 500 square foot vintage clothing shop located in five points behind Crema Coffeehouse. We specialize in 70’s-90’s clothing with a focus on t-shirts and denim. What makes us different from other vintage clothing shops in Denver is how we curate our collection. Because we are a small shop, it forces us to only focus on certain clothing items. We defiantly aren’t for everyone and we don’t try to be. We focus on streetwear, pop culture items, souvenir t-shirts as well as some hand-sewn one of a kind items. I think I’m most proud of the fact we took a retail concept that is not super common in this country and turned it into a business that now attracts vintage collectors from NYC and LA and pro athletes that seek us out.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work and capitalizing on opportunities as they present themselves even when they scare you.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2862 Larimer St
Denver CO 80205 - Website: www.etsy.com/shop/BigSkySupply
- Email: bigskysupplyco@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Photos Scott Colby
Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
