Greetings Space Traveler,
Daisy here, writing to you from San Francisco.
The moment has come: the Comet Cruiser is finally back in stock!
It’s been five years since we’ve been able to invite you to “wiggle with us.” Now, as we ready ourselves for a new era of welcoming the world to join this shared experience of movement, I’d like to reflect on the road travelled to today.
Our recent years of perpetual pre-order began in the spring of 2020. Riding the momentum of our 2018 relaunch, with the Cruiser as our flagship skateboard, we had just made the decision to bring manufacturing back in-house.
Though already 23 years old as a brand, with a history of working at many speeds and scales, we were (and are) in a phase of operating as a small business. Running lean posed challenges for the large manufacturer we’d partnered with to make the first few-hundred board batches of Cruisers. They were accustomed to making skateboards by the thousands. And so, in order to allow for gradual, organic growth, we made the call to return to our roots and plug in the presses that have been churning out Comet boards since the end of the 20th century.
With a bit of stock to hold us over during the transition, we expected to be up and running with production by summer.
But just weeks after relocating our Cruiser molds from California to our new space in Rhode Island, the arrival of the pandemic shifted the timelines of both our shop setup and the supply chains of our component partners, whose products and materials were caught in the throes of global shutdowns and shortages.
Four years passed. We stayed open for business with the patience and support of our team, our families and you, all of whom have given us the grace we’ve needed to push ahead, down an uncertain path.
By this time last year we could see the light on the horizon. Long and shifting wait times hadn’t deterred demand for the Cruiser, and we were closing the gap between boards ordered and orders fulfilled almost to the point of being able to make the announcement we're sharing today.
Then came the news from our landlord: we’d need to find a new location for our operation. Again, this was a case of bigger businesses requiring the room and resources we relied on. And so we began another transition—we halted manufacturing, packed up our equipment, sourced more machines and set about a season-long move across town to a new shop space in an old mill building at the heart of Bristol. During this time, Cruisers dropped back into pre-order and we made ourselves a new home.
Today, with our new shop up and running, we can finally say that the shelves are stocked and we are ready to share our wares. We are ahead on production and shipping new orders every week. Any slight delays recent customers have experienced can be counted in days, rather than seasons. And when delays do occur, they are due only to the normal growing pains of a busy and expanding team and the standard travel times of components and materials, which we still order in small batches, remaining agile while keeping pace with community calls for Cruisers and all of our Tools for Space Travel.
Next time I write to you, I’ll share some thoughts on how we’re thinking about our role as makers and purveyors of play in the modern moment. For now, let me just say thank you for your partnership and attention, and invite you on board the Cruiser.
When you’re ready, we’re here.
Warmly,
Daisy