TNT estd. 1990
Local time:
/Werner Paddles
/2025/
Client
Werner Paddles
Timeline
10 years
Date
Shipping, production, planning, design, then brand
I started boxing paddles in 2009. I left owning the brand, the marketing spend, and a DTC site I built so we could sell past wholesale.
The work
If it had the Werner name on it, it came through me.
If it had the Werner name on it, it came through me.
The problem
The problem
Werner was a small manufacturer with sharp summer spikes and a lot of moving parts. I started in shipping in 2009 and noticed the hang-tag colors did not match the paddles they were tied to. The only way to fix problems like that was to get closer to marketing and to how the company actually ran.
Werner was a small manufacturer with sharp summer spikes and a lot of moving parts. I started in shipping in 2009 and noticed the hang-tag colors did not match the paddles they were tied to. The only way to fix problems like that was to get closer to marketing and to how the company actually ran.
Werner was a small manufacturer with sharp summer spikes and a lot of moving parts. I started in shipping in 2009 and noticed the hang-tag colors did not match the paddles they were tied to. The only way to fix problems like that was to get closer to marketing and to how the company actually ran.
Why it mattered
Why it mattered
A paddle company lives or dies on whether the thing in the box matches the thing in the photo, the tag, and the show booth. Somebody had to own that whole path. Split ownership is how hang tags drift and how the website sells a paddle the floor cannot ship.
A paddle company lives or dies on whether the thing in the box matches the thing in the photo, the tag, and the show booth. Somebody had to own that whole path. Split ownership is how hang tags drift and how the website sells a paddle the floor cannot ship.
A paddle company lives or dies on whether the thing in the box matches the thing in the photo, the tag, and the show booth. Somebody had to own that whole path. Split ownership is how hang tags drift and how the website sells a paddle the floor cannot ship.
What I did
What I did
I learned the factory, then took more of the work. Carbon bent shafts. Production planning for the year's daily build, which also meant how many people the floor needed. Customer service. Then I became the only designer in the building. Team-athlete paddles and budgets followed, then the marketing spend, Canoecopia and other shows, a brand refresh, the KIALOA acquisition, and a Shopify site I built and wired to inventory so we could sell direct.
I learned the factory, then took more of the work. Carbon bent shafts. Production planning for the year's daily build, which also meant how many people the floor needed. Customer service. Then I became the only designer in the building. Team-athlete paddles and budgets followed, then the marketing spend, Canoecopia and other shows, a brand refresh, the KIALOA acquisition, and a Shopify site I built and wired to inventory so we could sell direct.
I learned the factory, then took more of the work. Carbon bent shafts. Production planning for the year's daily build, which also meant how many people the floor needed. Customer service. Then I became the only designer in the building. Team-athlete paddles and budgets followed, then the marketing spend, Canoecopia and other shows, a brand refresh, the KIALOA acquisition, and a Shopify site I built and wired to inventory so we could sell direct.
What we stopped
What we stopped
We stopped treating warehouse and marketing as separate planets. We also stopped assuming Werner could only make money selling to dealers at wholesale. Those walls were costing time and margin.
We stopped treating warehouse and marketing as separate planets. We also stopped assuming Werner could only make money selling to dealers at wholesale. Those walls were costing time and margin.
We stopped treating warehouse and marketing as separate planets. We also stopped assuming Werner could only make money selling to dealers at wholesale. Those walls were costing time and margin.
What shipped
What shipped
I shipped product graphics, including a kayak paddle design Walmart later copied, plus all the company collateral. I led a brand refresh, helped bring KIALOA into the family, and launched a DTC site that let us ship paddles straight to paddlers instead of only through wholesale.
I shipped product graphics, including a kayak paddle design Walmart later copied, plus all the company collateral. I led a brand refresh, helped bring KIALOA into the family, and launched a DTC site that let us ship paddles straight to paddlers instead of only through wholesale.
I shipped product graphics, including a kayak paddle design Walmart later copied, plus all the company collateral. I led a brand refresh, helped bring KIALOA into the family, and launched a DTC site that let us ship paddles straight to paddlers instead of only through wholesale.
What changed
One designer for the whole company, from tags to trade-show floors.
One designer for the whole company, from tags to trade-show floors.
Brand refresh and KIALOA, without losing Werner. DTC on Shopify, tied to inventory. Wholesale stopped being the only door.
Design
Branding
Strategy
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