Scottee and Brian Barry
“Hey, what would you say to starting a pickleball paddle company?” said my husband one night while laying in bed. To be honest, I was not thinking about a pickleball company at all, so I replied with a sleepy “sure.”
I guess this meant that I was all in!
Unbeknownst to me, Brian had been researching types of materials, the pros and cons of each, while doing market research for the Phoenix area. Six weeks later, we had over 20 different paddles from 6 different manufacturers. Brian held “focus groups” (ie. groups of friends, neighbors, and random guys) testing the different paddles. I think it gave him a great excuse to play pickleball on a week night without feeling bad for leaving the family. It was amazing how different each paddle played, but one manufacturer stood out. Their products were high quality and everyone fought to play with these paddles. Six months later, we have hundreds of paddles filling my formal living room. I was able to design the look of each paddle. I really wanted to focus on getting some girlie paddles for us ladies. We love cute things!
Did I mention we decided to sell pickleball apparel as well? Well, that is when the assets of a screen printing business fell into our laps. I have been a stay at home mom since our oldest was born 14 years ago. I have always been crafty, working with the PTO, and painting pictures to hang on the walls. I have not had training in the art of Adobe Illustrator, but I found that I picked it up pretty easily. I have learned how to screen print, create vinyl shirts, and even the art of rhinestones! Who knew all the bedazzling I did in the 80’s would help me now! I design all of the shirts and print them myself. I used my kids and their friends to be my models.
We also decided to use the company to help local charter schools with their apparel needs. This is where the Crash Sportswear company came into play. Because I have been involved with schools through my kids, I am able to help create team shirts, jerseys, trip shirts, spirit shirts, and other custom apparel. I love giving them a quality product for a discounted price.
Thanks for visiting our website and shopping at our store – we hope you love it as much as we do!
Scottee & Brian Barry
