Why The Pretend Supply Co?

'We are what we Pretend to be, so we must be careful what we Pretend to be'

I've always been by intrigued by this quote from American author Kurt Vonnegut. How much of who we are is actually 'us', and how much is us pretending to be something we wish we were? But once we've pretended to be that thing, are we actually it and not pretending at all - deep stuff. 

For the past 20 years I've had what might be considered a dream job for many people. I worked at a very popular, successful and long established skate shop as a buyer, graphic designer and general manager of 'stuff'. I worked for, and with a fantastic team of people and enjoyed myself a lot doing it. 

But about a year ago I started 'pretending' about what it would be like to start a new project. Taking the foundations of what I did for a living then, but focusing on just the aspects of it that I really felt passionate about and doing that to the best of my ability. I love skateboarding and its culture and have been so deeply engrossed in it for the past 28 years since I first picked up a skateboard that I'm sure that my love for it is here for life. But skateboard culture has matured over time, and I've matured with it. I've learnt that some sub-sections of the culture resonate perfectly with my tastes and lifestyle and some maybe don't anymore. I'm interested in art, jazz, fashion, music, nature, science and there's a part of skateboarding out there that fits that mindset perfectly. That's the part I 'pretended' about. 

I'm a believer in specialisation - focusing on one thing and optimising that as best possible. I looked at the industry I was in and quickly realised that enough people out there already seemed to share my vision that this could be a reality. Certain brands all seemed like they were already on the same page, and those are the brands we focus on here at the Pretend Supply Co.

Eventually Kurt Vonnegut's words rung true - 'we are what we pretend to be'. Somehow without even really making a conscious decision it's actually happened. I'm no longer 'pretending' about what that project would be like - I'm standing in it. The 'Pretend Supply Co' was born.

Just from 'pretending'....