The Short Version

At The Gear Group™, our philosophy is simple:  great-looking styles combined with high quality materials and thoughtful design. All our bags and apparel reflect these very important tenets of design and, as a result, customers around the world have come to trust The Gear Group™ name. 

The Gear Group™ was founded in 2005 with a single brand, DadGear™.  As fathers ourselves, we set out to design stylish, functional diaper bags specifically for dads.  The concept was a hit, and we applied our same design philosophy to expand into other areas with new and exciting brands and products. 

What began as a small, entrepreneurial venture, today has become a large, multi-faceted operation with multiple brands and worldwide sales.  We continue to explore new opportunities to grow, and are excited about what tomorrow may bring.  But one thing will continue to remain the same…that’s our original design philosophy.  Our customers can count on that.  

The Full Story

It all started in late 2003 over a plate of nachos.  We, the two founders, were commiserating together over our corporate jobs when the conversation migrated to our new-found passion…our babies.  We both had just entered the new world of fatherhood and were keenly focused on all the “gear” we acquired to care for our children – strollers, car seats, cribs, and of course…the diaper bag.  We both were frustrated in our quest to find a diaper bag that inspired us.  Neither of us wanted to carry mom’s flowery diaper bag, but our search for something masculine and functional was futile. So, as dads are known to do, we decided to fix the problem and set out to design some dad gear.  

While continuing to hold down our busy corporate jobs, we disappeared into our design studio (a.k.a. our basement) during many late nights and worked on prototypes.  These nights became known to our wives as the “mad scientist” hours.  Equipped with only a 30-year-old sewing machine and a junior high school home economics sewing education, we hammered out the first designs that would eventually become the foundation for our first line of products - “DadGear™.”  We spent a year and a half developing ideas and countless prototypes.  From the very beginning, we knew we wanted our gear to be synonymous with quality, style, and superior function.  Finally, in Spring 2005, DadGear™ was officially launched. 

It didn’t take long for the DadGearÔ concept to take hold, and our gear for dad attracted attention from customers and retailers worldwide.  Due to overwhelming demand, we announced a new women’s line of gear in June 2006.  DaisyGearÔ for women mirrors the same high quality and thoughtful features that DadGearÔ customers have come to trust, and offers sizes, colors, and designs crafted specially for women. 

Today DadGearÔ and DaisyGearÔ, among others brands, are all part of The Gear GroupÔ family of products.  Our brands are sold in hundreds of stores around the world and at e-tailors across the Internet.  We continue to grow our parenting product lines and have also expanded into every-day types of carrying products such as messenger bags and tote bags. 

Despite our continued growth, our original design philosophy will remain unchanged.   You can always expect high quality, high functioning products from The Gear Group™ and all our brands.  We remain dedicated to making your life easier and more fun with our products and welcome your suggestions and ideas on how to do so.

Scott Shoemaker & John Brosseau
Founding Partners
The Gear Group™