Making it in America
From left, Trey Sisson, Sathish Naadimuthu and Michael Kushner take a break from working on their “Goods of Record” website, which focuses on goods produced by American artisans.
The Riegel Rucksack
Railroad spike bottle opener from Wicks Forge
Two Washington County natives who have known each other since grade school have created an online store that’s tapping into the growing movement for “Made-In-USA” goods.
The site, Goods of Record, which launched in August, is just in time for “Cyber Monday,” the day following Black Friday weekend, when many Americans begin shopping online for the holidays.
Trey Sisson and Michael Kushner, both 29 and 2003 graduates of Trinity High School, have teamed up with a third partner to create “Goods of Record.”
The site, at goodsofrecord.com., focuses on goods produced by American artisans.
While most major retailers – from Martha Stewart to LL Bean – feature “Made In USA” sections as part of their overall online offerings, Sisson stressed that “Goods of Record” features products made by small American producers who source all of their materials in the U.S.
“We’re an online marketplace for men’s goods that are made only in America,” Sisson said during a recent telephone interview. He added that the site offers items “that are well-made and will last a long time.”
True to its name, “Goods of Record” includes videos of many of the artisans making the products that are sold on the site.
“We’re actually meeting with these girls and guys who are making these products,” Sisson said.
When the site launched in the summer, Sisson and Kushner were visiting all of the artisans to record video interviews, but as it gained more participants and products – it now features more than 20 artisans and 60 products – it became impossible to produce a video for everyone. However, it does provide a story about the artisan and his or her product.
The “finds” include a high school literature teacher who also makes rucksacks on a vintage sewing machine to a blacksmith who uses recycled railroad spikes to create unique bottle openers and corkscrews.
Prices of items on the site range from about $30 to $350.
Goods of Record brings together three distinctly different but complementary skill sets of the three founders.
The copywriting duties are handled by Sathish Naadimuthu, a veteran of e-commerce companies, who like Sisson is a second-year student at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where both are in the MBA program.
Kushner, son of Larry and Linda Kushner of Washington, is a graduate of Denison University with a degree in communications. After selling pharmaceuticals for Eli Lilly for a couple of years, he headed off to Miami Ad School in San Francisco and Berlin, eventually landing a job as senior art director at Grey Advertising in New York.
At Goods of Record, Kushner directs the art for the site, as well as providing much of the product photography.
Sisson, son of John and Vicki Sisson of Washington, holds both bachelor’s and masters degrees in information science from Carnegie Mellon, and has also worked in start-up companies. He designed the site and writes the coding for it.
Sisson noted that the Wharton School of Business has several alumni who have successfully launched commercial websites, including Harry’s, a website that deals in men’s shaving products.
The Goods of Record business model charges a commission for the goods it sells, paying the remainder of the sale to the artisan.
“We do all the marketing for them,” Sisson said, noting that the site can reach a far broader audience than the artisans themselves.
“We’re essentially exposing these guys who might not have otherwise gotten exposure,” Kushner explained.
While Goods of Record was originally designed to appeal to “guys in their late twenties who have a little bit of money to spend,” Sisson said, “we’re getting a lot of older guys who appreciate what we’re doing.”
Both Sisson and Kushner said it’s critical to keep adding goods to the site, so there should be a lot more American artisans getting their products to market in the future. According to Kushner, the goal is to add two new artisans and three to 15 new products a week. The three partners are hoping to devote full time to the site sometime next year.
While Kushner acknowledged the site’s tilt toward a male demographic, he said it was a natural inclination by the founders.
“We’re three guys, so we’re not going to try to think what women would want,” he said.
But he said his wife, Hedvig, whom he met in art school, and who is also an art director at another advertising agency in New York, checks out his work at Goods of Record on a regular basis.
“She’s a very harsh critic, but that’s a good thing,” he said with a laugh.
Kushner said he and Sisson met while still in grade school at John F. Kennedy Catholic School, and were close friends throughout high school.
“Yes, we’ve known each other since third grade,” Sisson said, adding that despite going off to pursue divergent degrees and careers, they were both on the same page when it came time to launch the online site.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said.
“Goods of Record” can be accessed at goodsofrecord.com.