She Spent 12 Years at Patagonia. Then She Built Her Own Brand.

Laura Kinman

Laura Kinman spent 25+ years in the outdoor industry, and she didn't plan to start a brand. Then, in October 2024, she was laid off from Patagonia while flying home from Vietnam. She calls it the day she "won the lottery."

She traces a winding path — hunting for sharks' teeth near Myrtle Beach as a kid, meeting her husband on a 1990s bulletin board system, living the "Rachel from Friends" life as a young buyer in New York, and landing a job at Patagonia she felt completely underqualified for, where she "went in a climber and became a surfer."

Imposter syndrome
The quiet grief of a layoff
Learning a sport as an adult
Building Coastal Range Collective for the "other 90 percent"
Choosing materials and making something timeless

“The center of everything I do is the acknowledgement that each day is a gift and they aren't promised, and to make the most of it. What will I have done with my time? That's important to me.”

“The inspiration comes from inclusivity. There's beauty in falling. There's beauty in learning and the journey. And why aren't brands showing that?”

“I went there as a climber and I became a surfer. I felt so much more comfortable in the water than I ever did on a multi-pitch climb. Surfing kind of spoke to me in a way that climbing didn't.”