Dragonwear
Management Team
ALYX FIER
Founder / CEO
When I was five years old, our family was going to visit Yellowstone National Park. My father informed me that there would be bears there, and he asked me what I’d do if I saw one. I replied, “I’d kick ’em in the butt!” The attitude I displayed at that tender age has continued to manifest itself in my quest for adventure and the audacity to start a company, which is not for the faint of heart. I guess you could say that “kicking butt” has become a life-long habit.
I graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where I studied film, theater, music and audio engineering. After graduation, I realized that having completed my education, but not yet having started a career, that I was free in a way that is rare in life. After some reflection (and working and saving money) I bicycled from London to Athens, then worked on a Kibbutz in the Negev desert of Israel for a few months. Following that, I spent 11 months in East Africa where the highlights included sailing the Nile, climbing Mt. Kenya, bicycling into the Great Rift Valley and up into the Chalbi desert, climbing in the Mountains of the Moon, going on game safaris and sailing to Zanzibar in a Dhow. During that two year sojourn, I pondered how I could live my life in a way that would allow me to continue to pursue my passions. My answer was to start a company to make backpacks and adventure gear. Today, in addition to running the company, I am the lead product designer. I also develop the trademarks, branding, and write and file our numerous patents.
I started out with a sewing machine from Goodwill and an idea for a new type of pack based on my outdoor experience. While working fulltime as a carpenter, I spent six months teaching myself pack design, patterning and prototyping on nights and weekends. I did this by taking apart some of my packs and reverse-engineering the design and construction process. Eventually, I was able to design and sew my own designs. It took many years to grow True North from a single person working alone in a garage to the global business that we are today, but we wouldn’t be here without the incredible team that’s grown with me.
I believe in being honest, fair and treating others as you would like to be treated. I like to create clear expectations, and then give people the ownership and support to achieve those goals. If you treat people like adults they tend to act like adults. Above all, I believe process is more important than product: Learn from what didn’t work, apply what you learned and try again. It’s only a failure if you didn’t learn anything. And, of course, I think we should all work hard and play harder.
My favorite moments outside of work are those spent in the great outdoors. Nature is my cathedral, where I go to feed my spirit and rejuvenate. Hiking, biking and skiing are the sports that inspired me to create tools like our first pack, which allow me and others to get more joy from the experience of the wilderness. In addition to outdoor adventure, my passions are creating music and audio engineering.
STEVE MISIANO
President
I began my career following the traditional corporate path. I worked in a bank and earned an MBA degree, but still struggled to find meaning in my day-to-day work. While hiking in Iceland with my wife in 2002, we had the realization that it was time for a change. We flew home, quit our jobs, packed up our Subaru, and drove from Newark, Delaware to Seattle, Washington with our yellow lab Hannah and dreams of living in a community where our work and play felt more meaningful.
Despite my banking background, at heart I’m a gearhead and wanted to work with people who were passionate about being outdoors and creating tools to make the experience more fun. I was fortunate to meet Alyx, our founder, in March 2003 and we’ve been inseparable ever since. I joined True North Gear that same year and became president of the company in 2010.
We didn’t know much about being a firefighter, a lineman, or the challenges of working around fire hazards when we started. In fact, these folks came to us and asked us to create products that would work for the jobs they had to do. What we did know, from personal experience, was the challenge of working and playing outdoors, and we were smart enough to seek out experts who told us about the joys and risks of doing their jobs.
We started with three backpacks, two radio harnesses and a duffle bag. Our business and product line grew every year as we partnered and learned from more people who were passionate about gear, safety, and doing meaningful work.
Today, I carry a coin in my pocket that reads “Amor Fati” (literally love fate) on the front and “Not merely to bear what is necessary … but love it” on the back. It’s a constant reminder that life is short and I should not just accept what’s outside of my control, but love it! This mindset helps me take control of my perceptions, imbue my actions with integrity and make what seems impossible, possible.
Outside of work, I love being outdoors. I was one of those kids that went outside to play first thing Saturday morning and didn’t come home until dark. I haven’t changed much. I spend my free time in the woods or on the water. My favorite activity is trail running in the mountains. I’ve had six-month-long daily running streaks and have ran in the Cascade Mountains for over 15 consecutive hours. Trail running is what excites and grounds me.
All this running requires (or helps me justify) searching for the perfect pair of shoes. I once made the mistake of asking my wife why she bought another pair of sandals. She proceeded to walk me around that house and count my 44 pairs of running shoes. I’ve never commented on her shoe buying habits again.
DEANE SEEGER
Director of Sales
I attended the University of Washington where I earned degrees in Natural Science and Education. I was certified to teach K-6 elementary school and 6-12 in biology, physics and chemistry. After school, I went on to manage apparel factories in the US and Central America, focusing on operations, bag and apparel production, and warehouse management. In my early days at True North I ran our bag and clothing production, but in 2008 I moved into a sales role, where I am today.
One of my favorite parts of my job is bringing protective apparel to the industrial safety market. It is incredible to know that the clothing we make protects workers from potentially serious injuries. One story that comes to mind is when I was working at a trade show and a gentleman came up to me and said, “Deane, I want you to know that you make really good clothing.” He then showed me a photo of him wearing our Exxtreme jacket right after he had been involved in an ARC flash event. During the event our jacket protected him from being injured and he walked away without a single burn. That story allowed me to see a real-life example of how protective our products truly are, and reminded me just how important the work we do is.
Throughout my career and my personal life, I have always believed in being upfront and transparent. Being honest and forthright gives an individual credibility that earns them the respect of everyone around them.
Outside of work, I am a hobby wine grape grower and winemaker. I love to cook and pair my wines with foods from around the world.
AMBER HAMBLIN
Director of Operations
My career started in customer service in a manufacturing environment over 20 years ago. The puzzle that is manufacturing indulged my natural problem solving abilities. I quickly discovered that the best way to serve customers is to understand how all the pieces fit together. I learn best by seeing and doing, so I dug in and gained experience in many of the business functions. Because I have managed each department in operations, I have a unique view of the day-to-day tasks, along with the bigger picture. After all this time, I still find that operations is about simply serving the customer in the best way possible.
At True North Gear, my days are all about communicating and problem solving within our three teams: production and planning, customer service, and the warehouse. It takes a village to coordinate all of the moving pieces of building, receiving and shipping our products. The more efficient and productive we are, the better customer experience we can provide.
Over the years, I have measured my accomplishments in small moments: keeping in touch with customers long after you both have moved on from the company; creating a process that makes your co-workers life just a little easier; and making something work that you thought would be impossible. Feeling like I made a difference, even in little ways, is a triumph for me. Every day I find that empathy is the greatest gift I have been given. I believe in treating people the way you want to be treated. I was also raised to never do anything halfway, so I am driven to go the extra mile to be thoughtful and thorough in my interactions.
Because I spend most of the day organizing and solving problems, I am mostly a couch potato at home. You can find me sitting in the sun with a good book, and when that’s not possible (it is Seattle after all), I try to indulge my artsy side by arranging flowers, making quilts or some other DIY project. I get my exercise by chasing my granddaughter around as often as I can.
I know I said I make quilts, but it’s really more that I have a dream to make them. I grew up helping my grandmother sew quilts by hand. It seemed like the frame taut with fabric was a constant fixture, filling up the family room. I started quilting with the idea that I would be able to pass something on to my son and my grandchildren. Then reality hit, and I now realize that I need to repeat the cut portion of the cut and paste part of kindergarten. Who knew it was so hard to cut and sew in a straight line? Send help.
JACQUELINE LECLAIR
Director of Marketing
When I was 12, my dad tapped me to ghostwrite his creative writing papers for the college class he was enrolled in. I routinely got top grades on “his” papers, which simultaneously gave me confidence and created an insufferable pre-teen wordsmith. This was the perfect tee up for the field of marketing and content creation.
I began my studies at Bellevue College, and later transferred to the University of Washington to attend the Michael G. Foster School of Business. I worked full time while attending college, allowing me to accelerate my learning and directly apply the principles of marketing in real time. Fast forward over fifteen years; I’ve worked as a marketing professional in a variety of industries, including healthcare and commercial development. While marketing practices can be similar across business sectors, I did not fully connect with the products I was promoting until I came to True North Gear. I’m incredibly proud of the gear we make for first responder and industrial safety communities, which are designed to protect and support workers in the dangerous tasks they perform.
When I started with True North Gear, I was a one-person department. With the support of our leadership, I have grown the marketing department into a team of specialized marketers who work creatively to support our customers across multiple points of engagement. Together, we connect the fire and industrial safety communities with the lifesaving products we make, always mindful that marketing is a cross-departmental collaboration structured to benefit and support customer needs from every entry point.
As for my life outside the company, I separate everything as “B.C.” and “A.C.” – before children and after children. Life at the moment is all about weekend swim meets with my daughter, gymnastic class with my toddler and weekend trips to the lake with my family. I’m knee-deep in that thing called raising a family, and I feel blessed even when it gets a little crazy!
MICHAEL BATSON
Director of Product Development
My career began in Clemson University, where I studied business and earned an MBA. Later, I attended the Institute of Textile Engineering, where I earned a Master’s Degree in Textile Engineering. Since then, I have spent 25 years in the textile industry, with more than half of that time focusing on flame resistant and protective textiles, clothing and gear.
My first exposure to flame resistant textiles was part of a business development task force for Milliken, where we did a deep dive into the protective textiles market segment. Our small, three-person team created a business case to enter the FR fabric market to achieve organic sales growth along with recommending the purchase of several leading FR fabric companies.
Ultimately, Milliken acted on this proposal and acquired several leading FR companies, becoming the largest player in the US market. Several years later, I joined Polartec to become the team lead to both create and sell the first FR knit garment layering system for workwear. This knit FR layering system concept was widely embraced by the consumer and has been replicated and improved upon by leading FR fabric and clothing brands across the North American market.
Throughout my career, I have always believed that honesty is best and that trust has to be earned. Having strong integrity as a person is critical to earning trust and respect from others. I seek to work and associate with others who share these same values, and I’ve found that at True North Gear.
Competition is also a strong motivator. I once lost 25 pounds as a new year’s resolution bet I had with a close friend. The wager was only five dollars which, I might add, my friend never paid. But had the wager not existed, the diet would have been a flop. It was the level of competition added to the task that made it both fun and purposeful.
When I am not in the office, I enjoy gardening and fishing. These both let me unplug and allow my mind to roam freely. I’ve found that it’s during these moments of relaxation that new ideas or solutions to ongoing problems present themselves.
Source: https://www.truenorthgear.com/about-us/leadership
