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The Sunday Afternoons Story
In 1990 Robbin and Angeline made their very first Adventure Blanket. This outdoor blanket was born from the desire to have a better outdoor surface for their young family's frequent outings. The blanket featured a waterproof bottom, water-resistant top, pockets, a carry sling, and of course, bright early nineties colors. Soon, friends of the couple who also had young families started noticing the blankets, and commissioned them to make Adventure blankets for their families as well. With Sunday Afternoons being the time of the week that most families spent valuable moments together, the business was founded... and the name was chosen.
After many evenings cutting fabric on the living room floor (fabric was still cut on a piece by piece basis at this point), and sewing in a makeshift room from home, Robbin and Angeline became concerned about the pile of scrap fabric that was accumulating with no use. Being ecologically minded, and having little extra money at the time, they brainstormed the best way to use these fabric pieces. Together, they came up with the Sundrizzle, a color coordinated sun hat to sell along with the blankets. Little did they know, this would change the face of their company forever.
Sales of the hats took off at outdoor craft fairs where the couple was selling most of their Adventure Blankets at the time. Soon there was not nearly enough scrap fabric to keep up with the demand for more hats. In addition to selling, Robbin and Angeline often found themselves taking notes about suggestions and desires for new styles, colors, and functional designs from folks who lived and worked outside in the sun.
A big company shift occurred in 1995 when Angeline invented the Adventure Hat. It was sun protective, lightweight, technical, and proved to be the most innovative sun blocking headwear on the market and Sunday Afternoons' best seller. The Adventure Hat was subsequently patented and is still Sunday Afternoons' most recognizable product. Following the success, sun protection became the main theme of the company.
Sunday Afternoons is now a thriving company, designing and manufacturing high quality sun protective hats and clothing for customers worldwide. Sunday Afternoons' growing line includes new, dermatologist approved sun protective hats and clothing, and other active lifestyle gear. It is their desire to help their customers follow their lead by enjoying the sunshine wisely, and playing it safe with full coverage hats, protective clothing and sunscreens. They have discovered that those customers that have made a life long habit of sun protection have healthy skin and a wrinkle-free youthfulness that belies their age. As Sunday Afternoons continues to evolve, their families of workers stay connected to their small-town roots, and commitment to friendly, one on-one customer service.
Sunday Afternoons produces 30% of their inventory within an hour long drive from the headquarters in Talent, Oregon. They employ in an area that once was a timber rich economy for the local worker. Keeping some production in the USA is important to the company, and they strive to keep this part of their business alive and flourishing. Not only does this keep some of their long time employees working, but it also provides USA made goods for customers who would still wish to buy made in USA products.
The other 70% of the Sunday Afternoons line is produced overseas in Vietnam and China. Deciding whether to produce on US soil or overseas basically came down to customers and wholesalers wanting better pricing to compete in the marketplace. By moving production to Vietnam and China not only was Sunday Afternoons able to offer customers a lower price but they were also able increase some technical quality issues on some of their labor intensive, complicated designs. Before using a manufacturer overseas, the owners always tour the production floor and look into the company's background and practices to insure a safe and good working environment. Producing offshore, also provides jobs, and improves lives of people in the other countries. In some of these countries the improvement is huge, and they can see the direct effect of the job, and the positive lifestyle change in a short time.
At Sunday Afternoons, they take their job as an employer and manufacturer seriously. "We are in the position to help others, and to spread goodwill," Says Meadow Lacy, National Account Executive. "We hope to use our website, catalog and brand as one that improves the lives of others; by making hats and clothing that allow people to enjoy the sun, by employing people here in the valley and overseas, and by raising money or donating goods for others in need. All this accomplishes our goal to be a contributing citizen/business of the world."
Sunday Afternoons gives back by donating product and money to different charities throughout the year, and reviews all requests on a case by case basis. You would be surprised how many people find and ask Sunday Afternoons for hats to be donated for specific events.
Their most recent fundraiser was their Earth Day Internet event, on April 2nd through April 22nd (Earth Day), where they offered 10% of all sales of the Sport Hat and Kids Fun Bucket to the following organizations: Surf Rider, Klamath Siskiyou Wild, and Oregon Natural Deserts Association. The company ended up raising around $750 but increased it to $900 so they could give each organization a $300 dollar check.
One donation program that Robbin and Angeline, the owners of Sunday Afternoons, became very passionate about was Shinta Mani's program in Cambodia. After a production trip to Vietnam they visited Cambodia for several days. While there, they became captivated by the happy and good natured Cambodian people, even though many of them live in serious poverty. Through the Shinta Mani program, they built 10 water wells, donated 200 lbs of food, 4 sets of piglets (for raising), and several sewing machines. Once the owners returned they became more involved in helping to build a new elementary school in the same area of Cambodia and have donated over $10,000 to date on the project.
