KNOWSHOW: Canada's Premiere Lifestyle Tradeshow

The Toms Shoes story began in 2006 when founder Blake Mycoskie was traveling in Argentina. There he noticed many children living in poverty whose families could not afford shoes, something most of us take for granted. That’s when he came up with the idea to start Toms Shoes. Toms which stands for ‘shoes for tomorrow’, has a unique business model. For every pair sold Toms will give a pair to a child in need.

MyPakage began in July 2009 as a casual conversation between Dez Price and Dustin Bigney, two good friends lamenting over the lack of men’s underwear that was well-made, supportive and, above all, super cool.

While the women’s underwear market was constantly getting reinvented, Dez and Dustin quickly realized the big boys were getting left behind. 

Taking their issue to heart, the two spent months designing a prototype. Using soft, no-pill fabrics that breathed better than cotton, and washed well without any shrinkage, both their patented “Comfort Keyhole Technology” and three-dimensional pouch were finally perfected and ready for the world.

Around two years ago Paul Rodrigues, or P Rod and four childhood friends opened the doors of their streetwear and skate focussed boutique Primitive in LA. As all shops do they began to print in house tees to spread the Primitive word. It just so happened that the tees found themselves in such demand that the heads decided to launch forward into a full brand. The first steps of tees and fitted hats has now taken the next organic move into the addition of cut and sew with denim and more select pieces on the horizon. With likes of team riders Torey Pudwill and up and comer Chaz Oritz growing the already strong buzz, Primitive is a line to keep your eyes on!

The DIY approach of Dinosaurs Will Die is certainly something to appreciate in snowboarding. Founders Jeff Keenan and Sean Genovese not only handle everything from graphics to sales but also stick to the belief that if the team won't ride it, they won't produce it. Although they hold strong roots in Vancouver, Keenan states the brand is based "out of nowhere, the office moves to wherever they are at the time". Recently shifting production to European factory Elan, the crew has ensured a high production value with familiar people. 

Above, The Rat is in it's 2nd year of production. As it is their first board to feature reverse camber, the name comes back to the idea that they will only produce what the team wants to ride. At first avoiding the move to produce reverse camber it was team rider Chris Larson that finally swayed and so the Rat will follow the Pied Piper. 

Inspired by the Sex Pistols’ DIY ethic, Dave Briker established Some Product as a clothing and design company in early 2003. From humble origins consisting of Dave hawking t-shirts to shops around LA’s notorious Sunset Strip, the Vancouver-situated company has been a growing presence on the international apparel design scene, mostly in the US, Japan and Canada.

Founded in 2002 by designer Paul Budnitz, Kidrobot is the world's premier creator of limited edition art toys and apparel.  Kidrobot creates toys, apparel, accessories, and other products in collaboration with many of the world's most talented artists and designers. The products sold at Kidrobot are the centerpieces of a global movement that exemplifies the cutting edge of both pop art and mass culture.

In 2002, Coal was started as a labor of love in an apartment in Portland, Oregon by former professional snowboarder Brad Scheuffele and friends. In our first year, we launched with a vision for a quality headwear line—one that would be an outlet for our whole new take on the woolen, knit beanie.

Coal delivered great fit and forward thinking design, drawing from deep roots in art, skate and snowboard culture. Although we now call Seattle, Washington home, we've stayed true to our original inspiration and today offer a wide range of distinctive pieces from caps and hats to gloves and knits that match your unique life and style.
By bringing design to the forefront– and offering a headwear culture you can't find anywhere else– we've established an authentic brand for the modern day.

Established in 1995, ThirtyTwo was created by snowboarders for snowboarders. Rider-owned and privately held since day one, ThirtyTwo has led the snowboard market with new and never before seen innovations in technology, performance, comfort and eco-friendly initiatives.  

For the winter 2011 we are going back to our roots of ThirtyTwo, and back to the feeling of what makes someone carefully rip pages out of magazines and tape them to their bedroom walls – the style and influence of their favourite riders.

YES. NOW BOARD was created by 3 of snowboarding’s most influential riders: D.C.P. (David Carrier-Porcheron), Romain De Marchi and JP Solberg.  After they were released from their previous contracts, they ventured out on their own to start their own brand, YES was born. For manufacturing, YES partnered with Nidecker of Switzerland, known not only for producing some of the highest quality and  technological snowboards in the industry.