We know the the elegant & sophisticated Beardo is the premier beanie of today.
Ever wonder how the beanie (toque for you Canadians out there) got started?
From wikipedia:
The beanie was working apparel associated with blue collar laborers, including welders, mechanics, and other tradesmen who needed to keep their hair back, but for whom a brim would be an unnecessary obstruction. Beanies do sometimes have a very small brim, less than an inch deep, around the brow front. The baseball cap evolved from this kind of beanie, with the addition of a visor to block the sun.
By the mid-1940s, beanies fell out of general popularity as a hat, in favour of cotton visored caps like the baseball cap. However, in the 1950s and possibly beyond, they were worn by college freshmen and various fraternity initiates as a form of mild hazing. For example, Lehigh University required freshmen to wear beanies, or "dinks," and other colleges including Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Rutgers, Westminster College and others may have had similar practices. Benedictine College, in Kansas still carries this tradition for the first week of a freshman's classes, and is said to be the only college in the US to maintain this tradition. Wilsons College continues this tradition today as a part of its Odd/Even class year "rivalry."
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beanie_(seamed_cap)
Does your school have any quirky or beardy traditions????
We were going through some old folders recently and stumbled upon some of our photo shoot behind the scenes snaps. Some of the best Beardo memories come during our photo and video shoots and we have been lucky enough to work with a wide range of models and creatives over the last few years. We wanted to take the time to share some of our behind the scenes photos with you in this latest blog post.
Some of the photographers you'll see working are Tom Archer from the UK, Matthew Shepherd and Daniel Snare of Australia. A lot of the final product images can be seen on the beardo website or beard hats photo page.
Enjoy!
Growing up in the Canada, I always loved the snow and simply liked being outdoors in the winter. My parents had a hard time getting me and my brother inside sometimes. Dad used to blow all the snow from around the house into one big mound in the backyard, and this is where we first learned to ski. As I got older we wanted to start from a higher level, and that is where the roof came in. Eventually I took up cross country skiing and then snowboarding in my early teens.
Thinking back about all of this, its clear to see how all my experiences were slowly culminating to one pivotal moment that lead to the development of our first product.
It was 2007 and some friends and I were in Whistler for a Snowboarding trip. We were riding the '7th heaven' run, which is One of the highest ski-able sections of Blackcomb Mountain. I, unlike my friends was not prepared for the volatile conditions of that altitude, and had only brought a thin beanie, scarf and thin gloves. That was a big mistake, but one which I am glad I made.
As the wind started to gust and the visibility went to hell, we stopped at a small overhang to rest and get out of it all. My nose felt like it was falling off, and my cheeks were burning from the cold wind. I reached in my bag and brought out an old brown knit scarf and tied it around my face. I put my goggles on and made a hole in the scarf for my mouth. That silly moment was all it took. my friends were chuckling and pointed out that I looked like I grew a beard. A beanie with a beard… not a bad idea and definitely functional!
I got back to the accommodation later that day and trimmed the scarf up a bit. and the first Beardo beard was born! I used it a few more times until we got some better prototypes knit, but I did keep the original and that beard mask now sits framed in my lounge room. It has been severely changed over the years but that was the humble beginnings of the product we have today!
Once we launched online it was a pretty quick growth, and we sold out within the first month of business. Since then I am proud to say that we have now sold to over 100 countries, have hundreds of retailers, 12 product patents and have been featured in television commercials, music videos and have even been a presenter on the show 'Dragons Den'. We were also featured in the 2014 'Ripley's believe it or not' book have way too much press to mention. We also now have a warehouse in Canada, USA and Europe as well as multiple production houses for our full range of over 100 skus. What started out as a silly design has lead us to a full range of outdoor products and accessories, and international exposure that simply couldn't be paid for.
All this from a smooth faced kid from Canada!
Ever heard of a playoff Beard?
Beardo gear is a perfect substitute if you can't grow your own.
But what about the athletes that can.......
The ones that are superstitious that if they shave they might lose the next game (or even series).
Here are our top pics for Hockey players, what are yours?
Zdeno Chara, Bruins
Mike Commodore, Hurricanes
Brett Burns, Sharks
Scott Hartnell, Flyers
Scott Parker, Avalanche
Our favourite of all:
The Crosby...
Such a youngster during a long playoff run he could barely grow one!!!
Someone should have gave him a Beardo.....
;)
When we go to tradeshows every season, we are sure to bring lots of our custom branded Bottle Mustaches instead of just a heap of business cards. They are fun, offer lots of branding room and can actually fit onto baby pacifiers as well! When I say 'lots' … I mean lots! We generally bring anywhere from 5000-10,000 BeerMo's for a 3 day event. Let me tell you, people love them! To this day, we have never been past the second day with leftover Bottle mustaches! On top of that, people seek us out because they saw others with them, isn't that awesome! This kind of attention is the effect you want isn't it?
We have always been asked by companies if we can work with them to produce custom promotional products based on our patented designs. We have taken on some really fun jobs and worked with sports teams, video game designers and even some well known beverage companies to provide custom Beard hats, beanies and Bottle Mustaches. Now, It was harder for us to allow for this type of custom designs in the past, but with the recent acquiring of our new custom production facility, that has all changed!
We are happy to announce that we can now offer full custom services for our products at a corporate/ promotional level to everyone to help get you noticed, and make your promotional events the best they can be!
Minimums do apply, but our designers will ensure your custom designs will do their jobs and get you some extra attention. Get in touch with our team members today!
Do I have crumbs in my beardo?
We have been meaning to get the blog rolling for some time now and it looks like it may actually happen! We have been so busy designing, planning photo shoots and adventures that we never stopped to reflect. Its time we do!
This Blog is meant to be a collection of our stories, trips, achievements, inspirations and tribulations. As well as an insight into what happens behind the scenes so that we may become that much closer with you!
The people that will manage the blog will be friends and crew of the brand, as well as some guest contributors. We are always open to your questions so if you want to know something, feel free to ask!
Keep warm Beardos!
Jeff Phillips
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Thinking back about all of this, its clear to see how all my experiences were slowly culminating to one pivotal moment that lead to the development of our first product. 
