INDEX
GOOD SHEET
Heartfelt and original designs, unique recycled materials, and sustainable business practices all coalesce to make innovative, functional, and thoughtful products made in the USA and distributed worldwide. The below companies and the products they design and manufacture are quite simply, Good Sheet.
In 1997 fellow Minnesotans Tony Ciardelli and brothers Dave and Greg Benson joined strengths to form Minneapolis based TrueRide, a skate park design and construction company that shaped hand-built custom municipal skate ramps of the highest quality all over North America.
By 1999 the company needed more manufacturing space so they relocated the business to the North Shore of Lake Superior where they planted roots in Duluth and got real busy, real fast. Fueled by an obsessive desire to work for themselves and guided by a company mantra borrowed from a Bob Dylan lyric, “when something’s not right its wrong”, the three were on an entrepreneurial pilgrimage that would take them well beyond skate parks.
With hard learned manufacturing skills and capacity the growing company began making cutting boards and Adirondack chairs from excess cut-off skate park materials and Epicurean and Loll Designs were born. With a focus on modern design and doing the right thing, Epicurean and Loll forged ahead creating hundreds of purposeful and long lasting products. Now located at a brownfield industrial facility they purchased in 2003, remediated and refurbished, and dubbed “Hawks Boots”, the companies have grown to more than 80 committed employees. After designing and constructing more than 450 skate parks TrueRide was sold in 2007 and a new era started on its way.
Heartfelt and original designs, unique recycled materials, and sustainable business practices all coalesce to make innovative, functional, and thoughtful products made in the USA and distributed worldwide. The below companies and the products they design and manufacture are quite simply, Good Sheet.
LOLL DESIGNS
"We make outdoor furniture for the modern lollygagger," says Loll founder Greg Benson. "Our furniture is for people who are looking for clean design from a company with a high level of environmental and social consciousness. But it's also for people who take everything they do seriously, whether it's work or working out. Most importantly however, I think they appreciate their outdoor relaxation at a high level." Founded in 2006, Loll strives to improve the relationship between the furniture you own and the environment you want to enjoy it in. Loll furniture is made with only recycled plastic from reclaimed single use milk jugs. No maintenance Loll outdoor furniture is made in Duluth, Minnesota, USA.
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So amazing, what an experience! Don't forget to lounge in those Adirondack Chairs too. 😉👍 https://t.co/9D1v4SnwKc
EPICUREAN
Creating essential and functional culinary tools, Epicurean takes cooking to the highest level with modern utensils and cutting boards for the most demanding cooks.
INTECTURAL
Intectural curates and distributes innovative architectural surfaces for the Midwest and Central Canadian Provinces. They are proud to offer sustainably-focused product lines for interior and exterior applications.
The Hawksboots manufacturing facility was one of eight projects chosen to receive the BusinessWeek/Architectural Record "Good Design is Good Business" Award for 2009.
Architectural Record
2009 Awards of Excellence
November, 2009
Architecture MN
AIA MN Honors Awards
March, 2009
Minnesota Monthly
Great Place To Work
January, 2009
HQ
Case Studies
December, 2009
Hawksboots Sustainable Manufacturing Facility
Situated on a forested hillside in Duluth, Minnesota, Hawksboots is founded on principles of efficient and responsible use and reuse of manufacturing materials while continuously reaching to improve product quality. For nearly 80 years prior to Loll, concrete forms such as culverts, pilings, light posts and burial vaults were manufactured at the old Polaris Vault. Petroleum form oil, empty 55 gallon barrels, and tons of concrete objects were strewn around the 4 acre hilltop site when Loll purchased the unkempt facility in 2004. Before a renovation was started the 4 acre site was cleaned according to an EPA approved Development Response Action Plan. With the direction of local architect David Salmela of Salmela Architect, the tired buildings were renovated with the addition of a modern open office plan set atop a portion of the roof.
The facility overlooks the St. Louis River valley and has a distant view of Lake Superior. Although the building is not a LEED certified project, concern for environmental design was a priority. Along with greening the brownfield site and reusing the existing structures, natural lighting and ventilation, low VOC materials, and passive solar heating were employed into the project. Landscaping is all no maintenance flowers and grasses and roadways were left pervious to maintain existing water runoff. Structural Insulated Panels were used throughout the new office structure. Hawksboots is located near local bus routes and many employees can walk or bike to work.
Loll Designs Waseca Building
LOLL DESIGNS MODERN OUTDOOR FURNITURE
Loll Designs came from TrueRide, a Duluth, Minnesota based municipal skate park design and build contractor founded in 1997. TrueRide designed, built, and installed more than 450 custom skateboard parks in cities all over the U.S. and abroad over a 10 year period. The three TrueRide founders were fueled by an obsessive desire to work for themselves and guided by a company mantra borrowed from Bob Dylan “When something’s not right it’s wrong.” This entrepreneurial spirit and an inherent concern for the environment led the founders to seek sustainable business practices beginning with a reduction in raw material waste and the desire to use recycled and recyclable materials in their skate park projects.
In 2003 Loll Designs was conceived as a way to repurpose excess skate ramp material into outdoor furniture. Furniture parts were nested into the same CNC computerized router files with skate park components which would increase the yield and reduce the waste from a sheet. The chair parts came from the plastic side ramp panels which was a thick High Density Polyethylene Sheet (HDPE), made from reclaimed milk jugs. The iconic Adirondack chair was a natural place to start and three years of prototyping went into the first Loll Adirondack before it was launched at retail in 2006. Sister company Epicurean shares the same roots where excess ramp skating surface, a thin paper composite sheet, was fashioned into purposeful everyday cutting boards and kitchen tools.
With a focus on modern design and doing the right thing, Loll and Epicurean forged ahead creating hundreds of products. TrueRide was sold in 2007 and a new era for the company has taken shape with the two companies now referred to together as Good Sheet. Heartfelt and original designs, unique recycled materials, and sustainable business practices all coalesce to make innovative, functional, and thoughtful products made in the USA and distributed worldwide.
Read more about about Loll's origins in our blog post From skateparks to lollygaggers.
EPICUREAN HEART OF THE KITCHEN
Epicurean sets the standard for today’s well-equipped kitchen with premier cutting surfaces and essential utensils. Since 2003, Epicurean has revolutionized the kitchenware market by developing an array of wood-based products that range from dishwasher-safe cutting boards to stylish food preparation tools and advanced kitchen storage solutions. Environmentally friendly and durable materials, innovative designs, superb USA-made craftsmanship ensure they will last through years of rigorous daily kitchen use!
INTECTURAL DISTRIBUTION
Intectural is a distributor of innovative architectural materials which have a commitment to conservation and sustainability. Based in Duluth, Minnesota at the Hawksboots Manufacturing Facility, Intectural's partners include companies which fabricate goods out of our distributed materials. These unique relationships allow for distinctive, hands-on knowledge of material capabilities and machining. Intectural is focused on offering quality sustainable materials with a high level of customer service from an in-house support staff as well as local representatives in your area.
