Wittenberg students are notorious for their ambition and entrepreneurship. For some, the initiative starts during their years at school.
Josh Marks, ’17, and Daniel Murray, ’18, are two students currently running and promoting their own hat company, Grizzly Springs. But how these two came to work together is a true testament to Wittenberg’s work ethic and support system.
The inspiration for Grizzly Springs started with Murray’s search for a dependable and reliable five panel camp hat. He was disappointed with the quality and thought about reaching out to his friend Marks who was already working on his Updog Clothing line. Murray had been doing photography with Marks and the two were close friends before starting the collaboration.
But when Murray pitched the idea of adding hats to the collection and Marks relayed that he was considering branding a separate company for hats. After a few hours they decided that creating what now is Grizzly Springs was obtainable. Thus, they started Grizzly Springs with the initial goal of making the highest quality hats possible.
The Grizzly Springs hat company is based out of the United States with all products being manufactured in the U.S.A. Being a fairly new company, the website currently offers four different styles of hats to choose from, with limited quantities of 22 hats per style.
So far, the response on Wittenberg’s campus has been positive, with many hats being sported by the campus community. Currently, the Grizzly Springs inventory consists of four different hat styles: The Buck, The Henson, The Barker and The Ellis, with hopes to adding more styles and variations.
Grizzly Springs’ website states the following motto on their website, “Built for the tough and resilient, the relaxed and experienced. Crafted headwear for the urban dweller with outdoor aspirations. Made for you. The hiker, the worker, the bar-hopper, the skater. Delivered by those fed up with poor quality, for the nation that deserves better.”
The website details the company’s focus on the endurance and quality of the products, as well as USA pride of the manufacturing taking place right in Los Angeles, California.
Getting to where they are now, Murray explains, it was not easy. During the process, they had to overcome a lot of obstacles, from manufacturing issues to a supplier lying and stealing.
“We both learned a lot about dealing with these types of issues that appear to be far too common in this area of manufacturing,” Murray said.
Despite the obstacles, Grizzly Springs is doing well with lots products being sold in several stores, with e-commerce being its main form of sales.
To stay up-to-date with Grizzly Springs happenings and support two fellow Tigers, follow its social media accounts, @grizzlysprings, and check out its website, www.thegrizzlysprings.com.
