Team
Kerry Cotter, Found and Chief Maker
After 20+ years as a finance and technology professional for large companies, Kerry took a "learn how to sew" class in early 2016. After a few private lessons and encouragement from the Portland maker community and friends, Belmont Blanket was launched in late 2016. The idea was created out of his frustration from going to shows and getting 'wet butt' every time. After researching the blanket market and finding many branded products with a good message, none contained the attributes important to his beliefs: real waterproof, feels great, washable and made in the USA.
So in the summer of 2016, Kerry bought an industrial sewing machine, rented a studio and bought 50 yards of performance fabric. Utilizing the skills learned after 20+ years of managing large projects for Fortune 500 companies, he quickly partnered with many resources to set up fabric sourcing, local manufacturing and learned how to build up the basic framework for a brand. The community in Portland, OR is unique as everybody is willing to help (even if somewhat competitive) and many big companies are open to partnering with smaller brands.
Listen to your audience. This is what spawned the introduction of a few unique dog products, a cape and a multi-use bag. Many other products, all containing the same value message, are in the works.
Always set up to check and adjust if it is best for the customer and the product.
Rest of the Team
Belmont Blanket provides fairly paid work to dozens of skilled creative workers in Portland and other places in the U.S.A., Europe and Asia.