ep 063: The Craft x Herschel Supply with Jamie & Lyndon Cormack

The Craft with May Globus

[SPECIAL EDITION] I loved this conversation. Our second The Craft live podcast recording in partnership with Herschel Supply drops today, this time with Jamie & Lyndon Cormack, the brother cofounders of Herschel Supply Co.

In 1906, their great grandparents—through a homestead program—moved across the Atlantic from Scotland to Canada. They landed on the east coast and made their way across the country, settling on property just outside the little hamlet of Herschel, Saskatchewan. It was here where their father grew up and married his high school sweetheart, their mother.

They grew up mainly in Calgary, Alberta but spent time running free outdoors in Herschel during visits to their grandparents . Team sports and being active were major parts of their upbringing, so it was no surprise they found themselves in sales within the action sports industry as adults —Jamie at KT Sports and Lyndon at Vans. From a young age, both were passionate about design, art, music & culture, something that has only grown stronger since then.

In 2009, they identified a gap in the market for stylish, functional, design-forward bags and founded Herschel Supply. They left their full-time jobs in 2011 to focus solely on building the company—now a widely known, successful brand across the world.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Where they grew up and what they were like as kids
• Things they’ve learned about being better leaders & business minds from their CEO Jon Hoerauf
• The importance of curiosity, passion and asking yourself ‘why not?’
• The art & science of entrepreneurship
• Staying relevant & progressive in a fast-moving world and breaking your own rules
• If curation is innate or something that can be learned
• Why they’re passionate about supporting creatives & emerging artists
• Questioning the status quo
• How they teach their kids to navigate the world and their futures
• What they’d say to their team throughout the years and to the team today
• Working with family & what they mean to one other
• And much more

I learned a ton during this exchange, not only about Jamie & Lyndon as business leaders and founders but as people, too. And, as they each said separately during our conversation: ask yourself, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” and, mostly, dream big.

Much love,
May

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TIMESTAMPS
6:37 - Growing up in Herschel

9:27 - As kids and teens

11:22 - Where design comes from

14:13 - How they got into what they were doing prior to Herschel

19:45 - Biggest challenges of scaling of the brand

24:39 - What they have learned from John

27:31 - Being an entrepreneur

32:40 - How companies stay relevant

35:21 - Is the art of curation innate or learned

38:21 - Why its important to support creatives and emerging artists

45:36 - What is something that’s generally obvious that should be obvious

48:06 - What they teach their children about how to navigate life

52:22 - Reflecting on the last 12-13 years

56:07 - What they would say to their team, past and present

59:38 - What they mean to each other

01:03 - Final Question