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Made in Colorado (Spring 2024): Alexxander Designs and Kargo Gear
As owner of contract cut-and-sew shop Axxes Industries, Albert Tapia has manufactured bags and backpacks for a wide variety of clients.
Eric Peterson //April 11, 2024//
Photo courtesy of Alexxander Designs.
Photo courtesy of Alexxander Designs.
Made in Colorado (Spring 2024): Alexxander Designs and Kargo Gear
As owner of contract cut-and-sew shop Axxes Industries, Albert Tapia has manufactured bags and backpacks for a wide variety of clients.
Eric Peterson //April 11, 2024//
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All Made In Colorado’s featured companies have at least one thing in common: They all make products in Colorado.
It underlines the sheer breadth of the products made in Colorado. While the Colorado manufacturing base is not as established as places like the Rust Belt and the Southeast, it is also unconstrained by tradition and underpinned by innovation.
And that might be exactly what the domestic industry needs as it rides a winning streak fueled by the return of manufacturing from China and other overseas locales — no matter whether it lands in Detroit or Kremmling, Colorado.
Alexxander Designs and Kargo Gear
Lafayette, CO
Outdoor Accessories
$55-180 Retail
Website: www.alexxanderdesigns.com
As owner of contract cut-and-sew shop Axxes Industries, Albert Tapia has manufactured bags and backpacks for a wide variety of clients. Many customers moved production overseas as they grew. “I don’t like it when brands go overseas and leave domestic manufacturers hanging,” Tapia says.
The trend led Tapia to launch a pair of brands in the last five years: Alexxander Designs and Kargo Gear. The 10-employee Axxes still manufactures for outside brands, but Alexxander and Kargo are now focal points for the business. “We try to design Kargo for the outdoors — hiking, walking, biking — and travel,” Tapia says. “Alexxander is a little more urban.”
Tapia highlights Kargo’s Loculus Sling Bag for its organization-friendly design. “We added a lot of pockets inside, including the exterior,” he says. “We haven’t gotten any bad reviews on it.”
