Is this the end of RDSW?
Honestly? I really don't know.
This past year has been a tough one for me, and I've been very quiet and private about it. The last real release I did was the NASA Utility Pack release back in December of 2023. Since then I've been pretty quiet. Let me tell you what's been going on, and what may be going on in the future.
When I released the NASA EVA Bag in the summer of 2023, I hit both a high and low point. That bag was the single greatest selling bag I've made. Prior to that, I had never made more than 15 bags in one release. When I sold that bag I was concerned that it was not going to sell well, so I stipulated ahead of time that the bag would be made as ordered, meaning I wasn't going to make any, and then release them. Instead I would be making them following the first round of orders. This way I wouldn't run the risk of having spent a bunch of time and money on bags people wouldn't want.
Well, I messed up. I didn't realize what a demand those would have. In the first day I sold over 50 and I'd sell many more in the following days. So many that I would have to halt all sales on my site due to the demand. And while I was pleasantly surprised that I had been too pessimistic about it, I was now basically chained to the sewing machine for the next few months.
It took me the entire summer, plus a few weeks into the fall to produce every bag that was bought. Even then, I managed to average a manufacturing time of a little under 3 days per bag. That was pretty impressive, considering the complexities and features of the bag.
But I was burnt out. I worked 7 days a week until all bags shipped. I missed out on a lot that summer, and creatively I was exhausted. On top of that, I didn't have the time to work on the other aspects of my business, and things started to dry up.
The stress on the economy was starting to show, and orders were fewer and fewer, and my heart wasn't really in it coming off a stressful few months.
I tried again with the NASA Utility Pack, but following that I really needed a break. It was at this point that I began searching for a job again, and luckily, I found one.
I worked as an engineer prior to RDSW, and I returned to that role with a local company in the early spring of 2024. That's what I've been doing for the past few months. Does this mean it's the end for me? Well, not quite.
I can't divulge what the future holds because, quite simply, I don't even know yet. But there are some ideas and tentative plans out there that may see me relocating and being separated from my shop for an extended time. So for all intents and purposes, RDSW is on hiatus indefinitely.
The positive side of this is that once the dust settles, I may once again have a space for my shop, and the time to work on new things, and I'm excited about all this new change (potentially) coming my way. If and when it all happens I'll be happy to provide details.
Until then, I need to remain cautiously optimistic, as I've experienced in the past what happens when you count your chickens before they hatch. So for now just don't expect much more coming out of my shop, and if you ever wanted a one of the OG watch bands, or needed to replace an aging one, now is the time. I remain hopeful that before long I will be back to creating new things again. I just needed a little time away.
Have a great holiday, and a happy new year!
-Richie, RDSW