My name is Jonathan Stark and with my wife, Jen Stark, we have a company called Expose
Seam that we started here in Boston and we're on our way to creating, designing and manufacturing
accessories and clothing for people like ourselves who are active cyclists or just need to get
from point A to point B with some level of practicality and don't want to give up style.
I have this love for things that are really practical and I think sometimes in today's
marketplace, especially with sewn items or clothing, that's not always what's prized.
It's often something that's particularly like fattish or stylish but not necessarily you're
going to keep it for a long time. So it's very heartening to me to see that what we're selling
is not only stylish and fun but really useful and people are responding to that.
I bike to work every day. I was in the habit of rolling up my pants so that they wouldn't get
dirty on the chain and so that my pants would stay clean. So purely from the idea of saying,
what can I do to make my ride to work easier, to keep my clothing from getting filthy,
and to show up at work without having to be labeled the biker guy showing up at work.
Right now our primary product is the Stay Sharp commuter cuff. It covers the
bottom of your pants at the top of your shoes and it's made to coordinate or match your pants
so that your pants stay clean. You don't get any bike grease or chain grease on it
and then when you get to your destination, nobody looks at your rolled up pant cuff or
you know this neon strap around your pants and says, oh so you bike to work. So you know you
can ride with confidence and get to where you're going knowing that you look and feel good.
What makes Jen and I a really great team besides that I'm madly in love with her is that we
and I guess as part of it is we have a lot of respect for each other and we
listen really well to each other. Basically our website, our online store,
our manufacturing is my purview with Jonathan's input and Mercifully. Jonathan is an excellent
marketer in sales for instance so he handles that. So between design and promotion we make a
really good team. You know make things for others that you would like to purchase yourself that
you would wear yourself that you would feel that you're getting a good value for and make sure
that the people that are working for you are you know feel the same that they feel treated
well at the end of the day. Seeing that something that we thought was valuable and useful and having
that be affirmed by the people we bring it to. The fact that not just individuals on the street
but two stores now have said to us yes not only do we think that's something people would buy but
we also personally as individuals think this was a great idea. It feels really good. There's a
really important like balance between active wear and stylish wear that has not yet been
hit by anyone and I think Jen and I are going to try to hit that mark.
