New Position Available: Rushfaster Web Designer

May 23rd, 2013 in Hiring, RushfasterNo Comments

We're Hiring Awesome People

 

We are looking for an energetic person to join our team as the Kaeho.com.au / Rushfaster.com.au Web Designer. Work with a great team to improve and maintain the look and feel of our sites. We sell men’s clothing labels like Nudie, Cheap Monday, Carhartt, Nique + accessories from Incase, Eastpak, Herschel, Hard Graft and many many more.

Our stores focus on delivering an awesome experience to our customers and a critical part of that is the image we portray on the web. So you’ll have a big responsibility to make sure we are always looking our best. Our team is really friendly and we offer some nice perks.

We’re looking for someone with a passion to help build the company and grow with us. Our office is in Marrickville near Sydenham station (and also near Bourke St Bakery, Double Roasters and Coffee Alchemy).

This position would suit someone who:

  • Wants to work in a fun and inspiring part time or casual role (2-3 days per week)
  • Is meticulously organised and can manage their time, tasks and work effectively
  • Has a keen interest in web design (and potentially men’s fashion/accessories)
  • Has amazing attention to detail (in your cover letter, write my name in all capital letters)
  • Likes working on a brand new 27″ iMac
  • Loves cereal (we supply cereal)

You’ll be responsible for:

  • Creating and uploading banners & promotional imagery for our two web stores
  • Creating beautiful EDMS
  • Tweaks and small updates to our sites

How To Apply

To apply, please send us your resume and a brief cover letter to jobs@rushfaster.com.au. Your cover letter should include:

  • Links to examples of your work
  • Your 2 major passions in life
  • 2 significant achievements
  • The 1 reason you’re the best applicant for this position
  • Your current / most recent salary (+ super + bonuses/allowances)
  • Please address your application to Joe
  • Please make “[Your Name] is your next Web Designer” the subject line of the email

We look forward to hearing from you.

Head To Head: The North Face Base Camp Vs The Patagonia Black Hole Duffle

May 17th, 2013 in Product ReviewsNo Comments

Our friends over at Carryology recently put two of the toughest bags on the market head to head. Here’s what they discovered when The North Face Base Camp Duffle battled the Patagonia Black Hole Duffle…

-From the original Carryology post -

Sometimes you just gotta haul gear. It might be into a camp spot, up a sheer granite wall, or just in your car for a fun week away. While the classic duffle was little more than a strap and a cavity, modern gear duffels have pimped things a fair way.
With the support of Patagonia and Rushfaster, we’ve hauled two of the big names in adventure duffels into some remote spots, and found a narrow favourite. Read on…

The Basics
We’ve chosen the largest size in this format for both brands.
That raised a few issues, as these duffels probably perform slightly better in medium sizes (straps are more in proportion and their lack of structure is not as noticeable). But heck, we wanted gear haulers so we went with scale.

The North Face Base Camp Duffel XL
Vitals: 155L, 2.2kg, TPE laminate over 840D ballistic Nylon
Available: Australia, US, and globally

The Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 120L
Vitals: 120L, 1.36kg, TPU laminate on 1200D Polyester
Available: Australia, US, and globally

The Look – The North Face 1, Patagonia 0
Ummm, who cares, right? These are workhorses, so look doesn’t matter too much. But in the name of thoroughness, we need a winner.
While the Patagonia looks more refined, these are adventure duffels, so we’re awarding this one to the Base Camp. It just looks like it means business.

Versatility – The North Face 0, Patagonia 1

The Patagonia is better with organising and general usability, giving you slightly better pocketing (there’s a split internal lid pocket and an external zip pocket) and softer materials.

The North Face gets some compression straps (which only sort of help) and more useful daisy chains (which help with lashing down or piggy-backing multiple bags).
With pluses to both sides, we decided by recording which duffel we grabbed more often, and it was the Patagonia that narrowly won.

A small extra comment here is that the Base Camp gives you a handy storage bag for it.
Unfortunately, the feel good aspect of this was undermined by an excess of packaging when unboxing, which just made the experience feel not as nice.

Space and Access – The North Face 0, Patagonia 1
This is the main goal of a big gear sack, so it’s a pretty important one to get right. Both have large D openings, size 10 main zippers, and fairly easy entry and egress of gear.
It’s funny though because this was also where we got a little frustrated with both. Call us crazy, but we don’t see the need to put all the straps directly over the main opening. Can’t they go on a different face to the opening? It’s not a big deal, it just feels like something that could be better.
The Patagonia has easily removable shoulder straps (they can be unclipped and tucked under the flap if they get in the way too much for you). Combine that with the slightly softer materials which move out of the way more easily, and it’s a slight win for the Patagonia.

Burliness (Durability) – The North Face 1, Patagonia 0
This is where the softer materials of the Patagonia lose out. The Base Camp just has that next level of durability, with thicker coatings and fewer seams. Both bags will outlast 98% of users, but the Base Camp will then last just that tiny bit longer again.
Both have excellent stitching, are well reinforced, and use quality hardware.

Hauling comfort – The North Face 0, Patagonia 1
The Patagonia is a fair bit lighter at 1.36kg, versus 2.2kg for the Base Camp. That probably makes more difference to airline allowance than comfort, but every bit helps.
The reality with both these duffels is that they ride too low to be comfortable for any sustained walking. They bang into your butt and restrict natural motion. Duffels like the Boreas Erawan are starting to solve this by setting the bag higher (straps lower), but if you want real carrying comfort, you might need to look at a structured pack.

The Black Hole uses wider webbing for anchoring the straps, as well as a buckle that sits on top of the webbing rather than around it. Both these things help improve the carry comfort over the Base Camp.

Weatherproofness – The North Face 1, Patagonia 1
We couldn’t really split them. They both run with a similar approach, and will both resist lots of weather, but not submersion or torrential rain. This one is a draw.

Overall victory – Patagonia Black Hole Duffel (just)
This was close, as the two duffels really are very similar. If you need a big burly duffel, you’ll be well served by either.
There needs to be a winner though, and for us the Patagonia Black Hole ended up just a touch more useable, with compliant materials and more useful pocketing.
If you are actually hauling these up big granite walls, we think the slightly thicker laminate of The North Face will sway you to that. But if you’re a mere mortal adventuring around the world, we rate the Patagonia just slightly ahead.

Thanks to Ando at Carryology for this comprehensive and informative road test!

DIY Rainbows Sydney, April 2013

April 18th, 2013 in In The Media, On The StreetNo Comments

On the weekend of the 13th-14th of April 2013, the Sydney community at large reacted to the removal of Mayor Clover Moore’s Oxford Street rainbow crossing that was installed to celebrate 30 years of Sydney’s GLBT Mardi Gras. The result was a series of chalk rainbows popping up all over the city by not only the GLBT community but the greater community at large, young and old. The trend was pushed around a Facebook page and Instagram using the #diyrainbow tag and soon spread all over the country, and then the world.

At Rushfaster, we believe in equality for one and all and therefore stopped work on Monday to produce this short video to show not only our support of the movement, but the overwhelming support in general for a movement that surely has the ear of our government by now.

Meet The Designers: Seventy Eight Percent

April 17th, 2013 in Interviews, Meet The DesignersNo Comments

Seventy Eight Percent are passionate about bags. In their eyes, a bag must be ergonomic, functional and stylish. We couldn’t agree more. The challenge of bringing these elements together is what the brand enjoys most, and as we learnt from founder and co-designer Shai Levy recently, beyond the long design process involved with making bags of this caliber, Seventy Eight Percent has four specific elements crucial to sourcing materials of a successful new product.

Can you give us a brief rundown on the history of Seventy Eight Percent.
Seventy Eight Percent was conceived in 2007. I started designing the urban bags I always wanted but could never find; functional, stylish and of high quality. A few intense months later I had completed the designs for the Schults, Dimitri and Zazie, which formed Seventy Eight Percent’s debut collection – Back to Old School.

It took more than a year to to turn the original designs into products. Finding the right materials and crafts-men took quite a while, as did making samples that reached the level of quality I was after. Finally, in late 2009, after the first collection was tested and perfected, Seventy Eight Percent was launched.

Was making bags something that came about organically or was it premeditated?
I have always loved bags. They might look simple at first glance, but they are very complicated and technical products to design. Outdoor bags have evolved so much since I started using them as a teenager, and I have followed these developments with great fascination.

As a user, I always got a kick out of tweaking and improving my gear, and in retrospect I think that being a bag designer was in my cards. That said, my first bag project landed on my doorstep by coincidence, as a result of other projects I was involved in. Luckily, the bag world found me while I was looking in another direction.

How has the industry changed since you began?
When I started, the outdoor industry and the fashion industry were estranged. There was no synergy, and the two industries did not inspire or influence each other. This has changed significantly. High fashion became more practical and outdoor sports gear became more refined and stylish. This is an interesting development, and not just a short-term trend. As a product designer who worked in the outdoor industry and now creates functional fashion, I am fortunate to be in the forefront of that movement.

How do you think changes in the tech gear we carry will alter your products/company in the next 10 years?
Technological development will surely affect some functional features of our products, and I can think of one product that might no longer be with us – the wallet. However, I do not think that tech gear will be a significant driver of change in the world of carry or in my company.

People will still be traveling and commuting ten years from now, and will have to carry things, not all tech related. In fact, I am quite sure that the owners of our current products will find them as relevant and useful in ten years as they do now. Our attache cases, for an example, which are tailored to fit the specific Apple MacBook range, are often used to carry other items; they will outlive the tech-gear they are designed to fit.

There are signature elements of a Seventy Eight Percent bag, how did the look and feel of Seventy Eight Percent come about and what inspired you?
The look and feel of our products reflect my personal taste and aesthetic preferences. Many things inspire me: all things beautiful, strange, refined and meaningful, be it man-made objects, living creatures and plants, food, music, movies and what not. They all shape my designs.

I believe in the power of minimalism and subtlety, and think that an eraser is the most important tool in a designer’s pencil-case. I am also a very practical person – my design is function driven. Our signature elements formalise when we tackle functional and constructional challenges with our aesthetic philosophy, trying to convert functional requirement, or constraint, to beauty. With very few exceptions, every element is there for a practical reason.

What is the design process like for Seventy Eight Percent and how has this changed since the brands inception?
We do not have a fixed, by the book, design process. In some cases ideas just come out of the blue, while in others we follow a longer, more methodological, approach.
Regardless of the actual design process, we usually build paper mockups. This helps us perfect the lines, curves, dimensions and proportions of the bags. We put logic aside and sculpt. When that is done, we make a proper sample and test it in the urban jungle. It usually take three rounds of sampling to get the products ready for market, but sometimes more.

In the early days I was designing by myself. Now we are two designers having a dialogue, with me usually taking the back seat as a mentor and a critic. The process itself has not changed much, but the outcome is better and designing as a team is, naturally, more fun.

A bag can only be as good as it’s components. What do you look for when choosing or designing materials and other elements? Why do you choose one material over another?
This is absolutely right. There are four factors that we look for when choosing materials: Firstly, they have to grab our attention and capture our senses; it is hard to explain but they have to radiate. Secondly, they have to age beautifully and endure, rather than wear-out . Thirdly, they have to meet the requirements of the design, in terms of aesthetics and structure. Last, but not least, they have to tell a story; there should be something interesting about the way they are made.

What is your favourite feature of a Seventy Eight Percent bag, and what products are you most excited about in the current range?
What I like the best about our products is the way they age. They become more beautiful and treasured the more they are used.

It is hard to choose my favorite products. Like my kids, they are all exciting to me, and I love each one of them in a different way. I have a special spot for Schults, our large satchel, because just a few years ago there was only one Seventy Eight Percent bag in the world – it was a Schults, and I was the only human being who had it. The products I use on a regular bases are Dimitri, Gustav, Eli, Fritz and Emile.

Is there anything you are working on currently or have in the pipeline that you are getting excited to ‘bring to life’? Can you give us an idea of what we should expect to see?
We are about to launch more travel bags as part of our latest Jet Laag collection. Their development took a long time and we are looking forward to seeing them in the market. They will include carry-on bags for a few days on the road as well as daily urban backpack and briefcase.

Hong Kong seems to be a really happening place for design at the moment, and the base of some the world’s leading companies. Why do you think this is?
Hong Kong is the base for some of the world leading companies because it is located extremely close to their suppliers in China. It is also the gateway to East Asia, where their most promising markets are. It would not make sense for them to run their operations from anywhere else. Also, because of its financial infrastructure and straight forward administration, Hong Kong is very easy to run businesses from.

It is a bit more difficult for me to say why the design scene has been evolving here the way it has. I think that Hong Kong consumers, who were totally addicted to brand-name products, are opening up and looking for new, non-branded and unique things. This has brought in small, emerging international brands, which inspire local designers. I also think that HK consumers, like anywhere else, appreciate local talent and give it a chance. This attracts talented designers who have the option to work in other places. Both expatriates and Hong Kong born designers, who studied in the best international schools, are coming to work here. This creates a community and elevates the local design standards. I hope this trend will continue.

Shop the range of Seventy Eight Percent bags and accessories now at Rushfaster.