Ashley and Denton aren’t your common married couple.
Whereas most companions spend their days individually, every at his or her personal office, Ashley and Denton meet of their studio – and so they get to work.
That’s as a result of life companions apart, they’re additionally enterprise companions who run Hunker Items, a Nashville-based way of life model that sells handcrafted items deeply rooted in American heritage.
That is their wild story.
Americana and the Wild West
Creating merchandise influenced by Americana and the wild west wasn’t an arbitrary determination the couple chanced upon.
Each Denton and Ashley share a fierce ardour for the model and, particularly, its timelessness, minimalism, and ease.
“For us, Americana is de facto this connection to the previous. It’s discovering your great-grandfather’s toolbox – the concept of getting one thing that has lasted you endlessly,” says Ashley.
This theme of previous connections is one they carry over into their creations.
Their backpack, The 1920 Pack, was impressed by one of many earliest designs of the backpack from a century in the past. Regardless of its period-piece attribute, it stays stylish to at the present time and continues to promote.
Its versatility makes it nice for something from an off-the-cuff time out within the metropolis to an tour in nature.
The identical goes for his or her Mail Pouch.
It’s a top quality reproduction of the mail baggage used in the course of the Pony Specific within the early 1860s when messages and newspapers have been being delivered by horse-mounted riders.
American-made Supplies
The “Americana-ness” in Hunker Items’s merchandise extends to their manufacturing course of. All of their items are crafted utilizing solely regionally made supplies sourced from different US-owned and operated companies.
As an illustration, the waxed canvas Ashley and Denton use for his or her baggage, like this Rope Deal with Duffel Bag, is procured from a family-owned enterprise in Missouri.
Staying true to the timelessness of the Americana model, Hunker Items additionally has a heavy give attention to high quality, utilizing solely sturdy supplies that should stand the check of time.
Their bag straps and strap holders are made with bridle leather-based. It’s a fabric recognized for its sturdiness and skill to maintain heavy hundreds, which makes it good for straps.
Advocates of the sluggish trend motion, Ashley and Denton satisfaction themselves on creating merchandise that get “higher with age.”
“While you get a bag from us, it’s handmade, actually right here, in our studio and it’s going to inform your story,” says Ashley.
“And if you happen to deal with these, you’ll have them endlessly.”
From Luggage to Items
When you’re a fan of American rock music, the title Denton Hunker might ring a bell or two. That’s as a result of entrepreneur apart, Denton’s additionally knowledgeable musician and performs the drums for Inexperienced River Ordinance, a Southern rock band from Texas.
It was truly all his touring to and from performances that led Denton to understand that he wanted a top quality journey bag.
Pissed off on the lack of useful and trendy baggage for males, Denten determined to – fairly actually – take issues into his personal arms by designing and making his personal.
His first design, which he named “Duffle No. 1,” was a head-turner.
Individuals have been always approaching him to investigate concerning the bag and asking how they may get one for themselves. Some encouragement from his band members and buddies later, Denton determined to launch Hunker Bag Co.
This was again in 2015, and the model’s early product line included duffles, totes, and wallets catering to each women and men.
Evidently, the enterprise was profitable.
This yr, Hunker Bag Co. rebranded as Hunker Items because it expanded into the house items class, promoting gadgets like leather-based plant hangers and e book hangers.
A Two-man Crew
With a lot effort going into working a enterprise, not to mention main it to success and increasing it, you’d assume there was a complete group behind Hunker Items.
However that’s not fairly the case for Ashley and Denton.
From materials sourcing, stitching, and crafting to design and advertising and marketing, it’s simply the 2 of them engaged on all the things collectively.
“We’re very DIY,” says Denton. “It’s simply the 2 of us.”
The couple is even breaking gender stereotypes. Denton, having picked up the ability from his grandmother whereas rising up, is the one which’s behind the stitching machine.
“I’m the one one on this family who is aware of learn how to sew. So I get the job of stitching all the things,” says Denton.
It may also be second nature to him, with the rhythmic beats of the stitching machine calling out to the drummer in him.
Ashley, then again, has a background in advertising and marketing and inventive path and has labored with big-name shoppers like Eva Franco and Disney.
With over a decade’s price of expertise in styling, she handles the extra artistic features of their enterprise.
“For me, I’m pondering of what’s our story that we’re telling by our visuals after which additionally designing merchandise,” says Ashley.
Not solely are Ashley and Denton the brains behind Hunker Items, however they’re additionally the face of it.
They benefit from the DIY facet of working the model a lot, they even mannequin for their very own product photos, which characteristic closely on their Instagram account.
Although they spend plenty of their time of their Nashville studio, the adventure-loving duo additionally take pleasure in their time away.
They’re typically hitting the highway of their classic 1966 camper and actually have a journey weblog and vlog on YouTube devoted to their travels.
However as true entrepreneurs, they know that the work by no means actually stops even after they’re out on their adventures.
“We go throughout the nation and we’re always discovering inspiration wherever we go,” says Ashley.
Their Dedication to Retailers
Ashley and Denton know simply how a lot work goes into working and sustaining a enterprise.
So when a retailer proprietor approaches them and needs to inventory their merchandise, they do their utmost finest to meet the request.
“They’re pouring their coronary heart and soul into their retailer, so that they deserve a product equally as nice as their retailer,” says Denton.
As a result of all of their baggage are made to order, every involving laborious chopping, stitching, and boxing processes, manufacturing can take as much as three weeks.
Although it might be laborious work, Ashley and Denton take pleasure in each single step of the craft.
“On the finish of the day, we’re giving ourselves the chance to do what we wanna do,” says Denton.
“As a result of it’s simply our lives prolonged by our enterprise.”
Hunker Items’s merchandise can be found wholesale from $45. Discover their whole vary of merchandise on their Handshake profile.
