Cool Tip: How We Began This Adventure ...

Now that we’ve passed the first anniversary of Colbrook Kitchen, we thought we’d share how we got started on this adventure (or: what are two recovering lawyers and Silicon Valley refugees doing selling kitchen tools?)

We’ve both always loved to cook and entertain...and to find the perfect tool to make it all easier to do. Along the way we came up with some ideas for tools we wanted to “invent”. Knowing nothing about creating a product, we decided to go to the International Housewares Show in Chicago to see what was out there that might be competitive, to get some ideas and maybe find a manufacturer to bring our ideas to life. So we registered and got badges that dubbed us “Trade Guest”. Little did we know (although we soon found out) that Trade Guest on your badge means that by and large you’re a lurker and not a buyer, and even the nicest manufacturers’ representative won’t give you the time of day.

So to get people to talk to us, we had to develop a cover story: we said we were planning to start an online-only business selling a limited number of high design, high functionality tools to make life easier for home cooks like us, and we would write original content about why we thought they were “cool”. In addition, we’d sell only those products that we personally used and felt comfortable recommending to others.

Well, lo and behold (always wanted to use that in a sentence!), people started talking to us, saying they liked the idea and that no one was doing that. By lunchtime, we’d refined our pitch and, that night at dinner, our cover story became our business plan. For now, the rest is history!

And our two mottoes:

If we don't use it, we won't sell it

We've made the mistakes, so you don't have to

have remained our guiding principles to this day.

Thanks to each of you for helping us make Colbrook Kitchen a reality!