For the Birds.
#11 The Last Men of Steel
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#10 That time where Santa came down my drain pipe. And connection.
This is what happens when you prompt Chat GPT to replace Santa coming down the chimney with a drain pipe. We're all doomed.
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#9 That time I tried to be perfect, and ended up with boogers on the floor.
As my dad would say...excavating the ole proboscis.
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# 8 That time I was nearly gored by a woolly mammoth.
Yes, I know that this is not a picture of a Wooly Mammoth.
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#7 That time I nearly put snakes in James's car, and a NEW PRODUCT REVEAL
That over there is James. He designs our things.
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#6 That time I thought gratitude was a little schlocky. Unrelated: how to make sure your people don't quit.
A gratitude post on Thanksgiving
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#5 That time I gave my cell phone number out to 75,000 people (and didn't get doxxed).
It's 724.312.1012 btw
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#4 That Time I Buried Treasure and Nobody Looked For It.
And I don't care because it's still awesome.
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#3 That time I googled "how to start a backpack business."
For a CEO, I google an embarrassing amount of simple information. I did not go to business school, and despite being the first in my immediate family to got to college at all, something in my addled millennial brain feels a deep shame when I search for things I feel I should know…
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#2 A Hungarian Badass, Erewhon Smoothies, and Business Screwups
When I brought Day Owl back, I found myself trying to replicate all the stuff we did well the first time. I tried to make the best possible sustainable backpack. I ignored all the stuff I messed up. But then I realized that for every good decision I’ve made, I’ve probably made 10 bad ones. That’s 10x the lessons, and according to Abraham Wald, that’s where we should also be focusing, on the lessons learned from the things that went poorly. So we will.
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Day Owl...We're For the Birds
Recently we started talking about birds...a lot. We're going to keep it up. People have started to ask why. Here's why.
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College Move-In Day Tips: Your Ultimate Guide to a Stress-Free Start
Everything you need to know for a well-organized and hassle-free move-in experience
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Solo Travel Safety Tips for Women
How to Stay Safe and Enjoy Every Moment as a Solo Female Traveler
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Eco-Friendly Travel Tips: How to Explore the World Sustainably
Practical Advice for Minimizing Your Carbon Footprint on the Go
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Your Guide to National Parks and Recreation Month
8 ways to support your local park and celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month
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Show Your Pride with Day Owl Backpack Patches
Wear your heart on your backpack with our #patcheswithapurpose
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Fun & Thoughtful Back-To-School Gifts for Teachers
Make this school year special with these back-to-school gifts
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Dad’s Day Made Easy: A Father’s Day Gift Guide for The Dad in Your Life
Thoughtful Father’s Day gift ideas to fuel every dad’s unique passion
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The Ultimate Gift Guide For the Nurses In Your Life
Thoughtful gifts to show some appreciation for your favorite nurse
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How To Clean Your Canvas Backpack
From hand washing to stain treatments, here’s how to keep your backpack looking new
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Celebrating Graduation with Quality Gifts That Leave a Lasting Impact
Gift ideas to help your grad start their next chapter
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Eco-Friendly Mother’s Day Gifts for Every Mom
Thoughtful and sustainably-made gifts for mom
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Making Backpacks is HARD
Getting going isn't going to get us where we’re going, but letting go might.
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Tech-Savvy Commuting: Safeguarding Your Gadgets with Day Owl
Pack and protect your gear on the go with Day Owl
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Winter Cool: Nailing Minimalist Vibes
An easy guide to going simpler and minimalist from head to toe and everything in between.
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Backpack TLC: A Comprehensive Guide to Washing and Maintaining Your Beloved Backpacks
How to wash, maintain, and repair your backpacks
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A Sustainable Valentine's Day Gift Guide: Thoughtful Presents for Your Eco-Conscious Love
Thoughtful Presents for Your Eco-Conscious Love
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Day Owl, The Lanyard Project, Mental Health, and The JED Foundation
(4 Minute Read) This week, we're releasing a very small batch of handmade beaded lanyards that today will help to keep you from losing your mask, and post-COVID will help to keep you from losing your sunglasses. You should buy them, they're great. Also, they were made by my mom and my Aunt Janet. All of the proceeds from the Lanyard Project are going to the JED Foundation, which helps protect and promote the emotional and mental health of teens and young adults. The Lanyard Project was Danny and James's idea.
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Onward
We knew it was a little unusual for a company to endorse a presidential candidate. While we were overwhelmed by the good vibes and well wishes of the vast majority of the Day Owl community when we endorsed Biden and Harris, those of you who didn't agree with us definitely let us know it. To those who were outright nasty, we wish you the very best. You are our brothers and sisters, and we hope you get the chance soon to take a nice long relaxing vacation.
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That Wasn't Protest
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5 Ways You Helped Us Get More Sustainable in 2020
(3 Minute Read) What a weird year. It's December, and while we like to think our recycled circular backpack future is so bright we're gonna need shades, the year has been DARK. With that in mind, after more than a few virtual cocktail hours, some online meditation classes, and more (terrible) sourdough baking than we care to mention, we've decided that when the wind blows, we should just raise our sail and ride this MFer out. That's why we are dedicating a little time here to sharing the moments that kept us going this year.
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Day Owl Joins The Mission Brand Alliance with United By Blue, Patagonia Worn Wear, tentree, and Others...YOU Get a Deal.
(2 Minute Read) As a small business struggling to make it in a crazy year, at Day Owl, we all know how hard YOU work for your dollars. We also know how frustrating it can be to spend them on stuff that doesn't work, doesn't last, or doesn't give you anything more than a piece of fabric that might make you look good, but ultimately ends up in a landfill, the ocean, or an incinerator. So when you sign up to follow the Alliance, you get access to deals that you save you some cash for voting for with your dollars on brands that are working hard to make it easier for you and better for the planet.
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Biff Tannen, Backpacks, and Five Minutes of Gratitude (Happy Thanksgiving)
(3 Minute Read) I used to think that I would have been much more suited to a different time. As a millennial raised on Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark, things seemed to be at once simpler and somehow more delightfully technicolor in 1885 or 1935 than they they were in1990s rural-suburbia Western PA where I grew up. In the old days, it seemed to me, villains were simple and easy to defeat in three acts over an hour and a half on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Like most other white males of my generation, it was also offered up to me directly and indirectly from all directions that I was special, and so I easily fancied myself a quick hero in the mold of Marty McFly or Indiana Jones. That feeling, as it turns out, isn't called heroism. It's called privilege.
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Day Owl's Mission-Driven Gift Guide Is Here!
(5 Minute Read) With the holiday season just around the corner and family celebrations happening over Zoom, now more than ever we are eager to find the perfect gift for our loved ones. Gift giving can be overwhelming, not to mention a shameless ploy for overconsumption, so beyond the Day Owl backpack, we’re here to help you find the perfect gift for your loved ones while also having a positive impact.
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Black Friday Is Terrible, Why We're Moving to a Circular Economy, and How Philadelphia is Responsible For It All
(3 Minute Read) The town that once threw batteries at Santa Claus also invented Black Friday.
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(I Don't Know How, But) We Made it To November 4
(3 Minute Read) I suspect many of you breathed a giant sigh of relief this past weekend, finally taking your pads off after what felt like the most consequential election of our lives (so far). A friend of mine said it best- "Last week was the longest year of my life." Preach.
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Small Talk With Henry Kissinger
(3 Minute Read) In 2008, I stood in line to vote in front of Henry Kissinger...former Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and advisor to Richard Nixon and pretty much every president since, Henry Kissinger. The Great Recession and the potential election of our nation's first black president had already given the day a lot of weight, but I'll be damned if standing in front of a Nobel Prize recipient didn't raise the stakes for me. The man fled Nazi Germany to get to our voting precinct. I walked from Dunkin' Donuts.
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Why Ben Kander of Welly Bottles is the Nicest Founder I've Ever Met
(2 Minute Read) With Welly, we came for how great the water bottle is, but we stayed because of how great the team is. Ben (the founder) is the type of person that immediately makes you feel like you've known him for 10 years. He feels like the kind of guy that invites strangers to Thanksgiving or fosters two-legged dogs. Just a great guy.
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Why We're Voting For Joe Biden
(2 Minute Read) We're connected. All of us. We can't help it. That a virus spread so quickly between us is a reminder that we cannot escape one other, even though sometimes this year we've probably wanted to...
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Why We Found the Best Sustainable Essentials Brands and Partnered With Them
(3 Minute Read) We had a big debate when we started Day Owl about whether the world needed more “stuff” (we may have used a stronger word than stuff). Regardless of how great they say they are, most big apparel and accessories brands are terrible at making stuff...
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