Pagosa Springs-based company Voormi embodies Southwest Colorado. Its equipment is developed in a local warehouse, then tested in the San Juan Mountains. With a background in guiding, co-founder Dustin English wanted to get more performance out of less gear, so he decided to try to change the textile industry. Voormi weaves locally developed technology into traditional textiles to create some of the most versatile gear available. By Connor Shreve. This story is sponsored by The Payroll Department and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.
Transcript
An outdoor apparel company based in Southwest Colorado is aiming to change the textile industry, developing new technology that could be the future of adventure. You’re watching the, “Local News Network,” brought to you by, The Payroll Department, and Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steak Burgers. I’m Connor Shreve. Voormi is focused on making the most versatile outdoor gear it can with the fiber it develops in the company’s Pagosa Springs headquarters. Co-founder, Dustin English, says Voormi represents the intersection between his experience as an outdoor guide and his dad’s background in the hunting industry.
Had lots of duffle bags, lots of gear, and so we really wanted to try and eliminate the, you know, just in case gear and really try and build, you know, better clothing for all conditions, all expectations of what we might encounter while we’re out in the field doing what we love to do. So really, really emphasis of, you know, building better, bringing less, more versatile clothing.
He chose to headquarter the company in Pagosa Springs after considering a handful of places and says, “It’s the perfect fit.”
You know, we’re surrounded by millions of acres of the national forest here in the southwest part of the state. Arguably some of the most snow, you know, in the lower 48 as well. So, you know, super rugged terrain. It makes, you know, building new products and testing and iterating super fast and super quick as well.
Carly Owen grew up in Pagosa Springs and feels a personal connection to the brand.
This is, we’re a family owned business, family owned business, we’re small, local. It’s a lot different than like what a lot of companies are doing, especially with that patented fabrics and that we are very family oriented as far as like the whole entire English family is involved here in the business. And then they kind of incorporate us into their family. We’re one big giant family, but very small business, very unique for us.
At the heart of Voormi is its dedication to developing its own fabric, using wool as a base, development is constant.
We have, you know, a full textile R&D lab here. We have a cut and sew facility here, and so we can, you know, truly get new fabric in from the mill that we’ve developed in-house, using proprietary technologies. We can test it in the textile lab and truly get, you know, test data there. Then we can make a sample and then we can easily run up to Wolf Creek Pass and test it in the field, real-time.
English hopes local outdoor enthusiasts put Voormi on their radar. In the next year, he promises a groundbreaking development in the company’s goal of changing the expectations of outdoor gear. Meaning this could be the ground floor to get in on the Voormi’s story. For more information about this and other stories, visit durangolocal.news. Thanks for watching this edition of the, “Local News Network.” I’m Connor Shreve.
