Design #286 – Portfolio Entry #4
What does skiing have to do with fishing? Stay with me and I’ll explain. All Mayer stories come full circle and have a pay off, although some are better than others…
My grandfather, Ronald Macfarlane Clarkson, took up the sport of skiing at the late age of 44 in 1960. He took to it so quickly and naturally that he mastered all our Midwestern mountains–really, just glacial hills–before leaving for Canada and Europe to perfect his craft. His favorite place to ski in America was always Colorado and the buzz within the skiing community in the early ‘60’s
was centered around a new pass deep in the Rocky Mountains that was about to break ground: Vail Valley. He skied in Vail the first few years as the town and its popularity grew, and he knew he had stumbled upon something special. In those years, he developed a kinship with the mountain, the village, and the tight knit ski community who worked tirelessly to build a small mountain town into one of America’s largest and most popular ski resorts.
One day my grandfather got word that a swiss gondola was going to be built just down the street from downtown Vail Village and my savvy grandmother, swooped in and purchased a modest one bedroom townhouse in a building, that was still an architectural spec, a stones throw away.
Now, because of the townhouses desirable location and due to the growing popularity of Vail, it rented practically every single ski day for the past forty three years. This meant if the Mayer family were to use it during the winter, we’d essentially be taking money from the rest of the family. So, my folks, sister and I had never visited Vail during a ski season until just recently. Though that wasn’t the case in the summers…
Vail Valley had a light marketing push for tourism in the summer season from the 1960s until about fifteen years ago. It seemed as if the town made so much money in the winter that they didn’t bother to promote how unique the summer experience was. They seemed content to get a few warm bodies in their establishments and stay afloat until the next fresh powder fell. Or maybe they just wanted to keep this unique summer secret to themselves. Unfortunately, for a try-anything-once family like the Mayers the summer experience turned out to be a perfect fit. Every summer after the school season broke, we’d pack up the current family truckster and head West for Vail, staying until we had exhausted all the activities it had to offer. Not many kids from the suburbs of Chicago can say they grew up horseback riding, backwoods hiking, whitewater rafting, real mountain biking, and, of course, fly fishing for trout and steelhead in Gore Creek. My love for nature and the outdoors really took shape in Vail and are reflected in the illustrations for the Bird Dog Bay collections.
I know this long winded story just expressed that I’m inspired by the outdoors, but really the point of the story is that without my particular experiences in Vail, there most likely wouldn’t be a Bird Dog Bay. The possibility to build a very unique life for myself with the opportunity to some day live part time in Vail, Colorado in the off-season, in what is now my folk’s townhouse, is what inspired Bird Dog Bay. To this day, several years on, I wake up at the break of down on the third week of August with my trusty Tahoe packed with my design studio and equally old dog, Gus, riding shotgun and we roll away like a classic Bob Seger song.
While I’m gone, my team holds down the fort back in our Chicago loft while I primarily focus on illustrating, designing, and coloring the following Fall’s collection from the same maple kitchen table my grandparents purchased before I was born. When I’ve finished and have submitted the collection to the silk mill a month or so later, I pack up the Tahoe and Gus and head back home for the holiday season. Mission accomplished.
Anyway, to return to design, the tie you see here, Afternoon Angler, is something I designed after my sister, Jen, and I returned to the townhouse after a guided wade trip in Red Cliff last year. While she hooked seven impressive trout, I slipped into the drink, filled half my waders with the Colorado River, and spent the bulk of my time untangling bird nests from the bank … all in all, a solid fly fishing experience with her!
If you are ever lucky enough to visit Vail, swing by the Landmark Resort and take a look at the framed photo of my svelte grandfather on the peak of the mountain in the late 1960’s. It is mounted in the “Ronald and Florence Clarkson” locker room which is dedicated to my grandparents. A beautiful tribute to the two people that inspired me to take this life gamble, launch my fun yet challenging company and continue to inspire me year after year.