Struktur :: The First Creative Conference for Active Outdoor Designers

Here at Carryology, we love to loop you in to the world of carry design. That said, many of these people work in the urban/outdoor industries and until now there were few opportunities for us to come together to meet to exchange thoughts. We are all islands in the vast carry landscape, or so it would seem.

Enter Struktur, a new creative conference aimed at bolstering design through the power of presentation.

Launching May 2014, in Portland, it’s an OR for active outdoor equipment and apparel design professionals. The two-day event will feature innovative speakers and panels on topics including design thinking, modern and traditional influences on design, and entrepreneurship.

“Struktur is an event that champions design,” said Michelle Rose, co-founder of Struktur. “There was no space for designers in the active outdoor industry to come together and share what they do with one another, so we created one.”

Speakers include Abe Burmeister of Outlier, Robert Fry of Mountain Hardwear, Jeanine Pesce from Range, Benji Wagner of Poler, Roman Mars, host of 99% Invisible, and many others.

Portland is the epicenter of the active outdoor design industry that includes San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver BC, and Boulder. “We chose Portland for the conference because it is a hub for the active outdoor design industry, and is the birthplace of the merging of outdoor and fashion markets.” Companies in the region include Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Icebreaker, Nau, and Poler Stuff.

Rose added, “We’re excited by the reaction we’re getting to Struktur. We see active outdoor as the wave of where modern everyday clothing and gear is going. There is huge potential and it’s clear there is a hunger for an event like this!”

Struktur has partnered with the Portland Development Commission, which supports and promotes businesses in the Athletic and Outdoor (A&O) industry in an effort to spur economic growth and job creation. The concentration of designers and A&O talent in the city play a key role in growing Portland’s reputation as the hub of the global A&O industry.

So if you can’t make it, Carryology will be your boots on the ground to recap events and provide insight for the length of the show. If you can make it, look us up, we’d love to meet you.

Learn more at strukturevent.com and follow them on Twitter