Love what you do: Parlor X Lincoln Paddle
For those of you who joined us at our Spring party (such a rad time, thanks guys) the cat is already out of the bag, we've got a pretty rad partnership going on with the guys at Lincoln Canoe & Kayak. Despite Lincoln's being one of the oldest players in the paddlesports game and our relatively recent beginnings, the two brands have a ton in common. We're both New England based craftsmen, building conduits through which people connect with our planet. So, when our Mark and Lincoln's Marc started chatting about ways to work together, the answer became obvious: Lincoln Skis, and a Parlor Canoe...
Read along for a quick interview with Marc Bourgoin and check out the video below.
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Can you give everyone a little bit of background on Lincoln as a company? What's the story?
MB: Lincoln is the oldest composite canoe and kayak manufacturer in the US, founded in 1959. We were founded by two college students looking for a lighter weight canoe for traveling through the wilds of northern Canada. First generation canoes were manufactured in Stow Massachusetts and a short time after that operations were moved to Maine. Two years ago we decided to bring Lincoln back home to Mass and we landed in Amesbury.
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When did you build your first canoe or kayak?
MB: I built my first kayak in 1989. I was working for a wilderness tripping program called Chewonki where I was one of the Guides co-leading a group of teenagers from around the world. For the first three weeks of the program we each built our own Greenland style kayak which we then paddled from Wiscasset, Maine down the coast to Bar Harbor, taking another three weeks. It was a pretty cool experience for a college kid that without a doubt laid down some foundation for what we’re doing today.
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What do you like most about working in the paddle sports industry?
MB: We build a product that opens up the opportunity to get outside, on the water and explore and connect with natural spaces. That’s pretty empowering.
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We are super stoked to now have our very own Parlor canoe and hope you're feeling the same way about your Lincoln skis. What's your favorite thing about this partnership?
MB: It combines skiing and boating, which are two of my favorite passions. Through skiing, I was introduced to boating and have been engaged in both at a fairly high level for pretty much my whole adult life. What's really cool about this collaboration is that Parlor get's it too, we don't take what we do lightly. It's not easy and it's pretty humbling when you hear from your customers that your product has changed their lives and brought them so much joy. This makes the challenges of running a small manufacturing business worth it in a lot of ways.
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Check out our video of hanging out, skiing, and canoeing with the Lincoln crew!