The Final Prototype

Welcome back! In last week’s post we covered the initial prototype and all the fun that went into it. As we left off, there were lots of adjustments that needed to be made in order to finalize our prototyping process. Luckily, we had a great team to sort it all out and further develop it into what became our baseline for The Original Nelson Hill Golf Bag.

First proto on the right — Second on the left // Photography: Haik Kavookjian

As you can see above, the devil is in the details. While the first prototype was great, it can’t hold a candle next to proto #2. That was to be expected, but it’s still fascinating. If you look closely you can see the main thing our final prototype needed was better structure…in the spine, in the belly, and in the upper rim. Sure, a golf bag can gain structure from the clubs themselves, but without a proper bag skeleton you’re left with a loose sack that has little to no balance whatsoever. So we swapped out the spine for a more rigid material, added some proper support to the belly and doubled the upper trim stiffener. Nothing is ever perfect, but after that we had balance in spades!

Next on the list was to improve the contact points for better comfort. The new structure helped a lot but was far from ideal. Our first thought was to add some padding to the contact point on your back but that would add unwanted bulk. The next option was to adjust the strap end points but that would take away from the aesthetic. So the team dug further in to problem solve and came up with a pretty simple but unique solution. If you look closely at the picture below, you’ll see a double seam on both sides of the spine for the final prototype. It’s subtle, but adds just enough curve to the leather to prevent it from digging into your back while carrying it.

The added structure made the second proto stand out — literally!

The remaining adjustments were relatively minor compared to the structure and comfort of the bag. Adjusting a seam here, moving a pocket there…pretty straight-forward. Stressing the details is a labor of love, however, and our bags wouldn’t be what they are if we hadn’t. Again, nothing’s perfect, so we’ll surely need to adjust some more stuff in the near future but in the end we were left with a prototype that was worthy for market. That left us with the next most crucial point in the process, taking it from prototype to production.

Luckily enough we had Haik’s experience in product development in our back pocket. So long before we ever started the first prototype, Haik and I spent a few moments discussing how that transition would take place. Obviously he had his own business to attend to once we were finished so before we officially started, Haik put me in contact with a few Kansas City locals. They were hoping to get their own small batch manufacturing business off the ground while also pursuing their own artful interests. Unfortunately, that group disbanded before we’d get a chance to work together, but one of the members kept on with the pursuit. So after many cups of coffee and trial runs on smaller product ideas bouncing around my head, Miranda Treas agreed to give the golf bags a go! As time would have it, Haik and I were gearing up to make the final prototype at the same moment. So rather than just have him make it and relay what was done, he and Miranda got together to make it in tandem to ease the transition from prototype to production.

Production of the first 10 golf bags under way!

This all brought us to the final few steps in our origin story. Proper photography of the final prototype (thanks Haik!). The first production run of our first 10 golf bags. And the first few steps in taking those bags to market. We’ll dig through those starting next weekend but for now, stay safe and be good. And thanks again for reading!

Best // Eric