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  • GSD x BRNLY Watch

    GSD x BRNLY Watch

    We’re excited to announce a new collaboration with our friend, Greg Stevens, of Greg Stevens Design for an exclusive GSD x BRNLY watch.

    Last year, we did a small run of watches with Greg for our Burnley Collector’s Club (AKA the “Brawlers”) and the end result turned out beautifully. Click here to check out the project. 

    This new GSD x BRNLY timepiece is based on Greg’s GSD-3A pilot watch and is perfect for everyday wear. The watch will feature the WHDG graphic on its face and the Burnley Rose on its backside.

    These GSD x BRNLY watches will start at $650 (shipped in the U.S.) depending on options selected, and Greg is currently taking $200 deposits to secure orders. Estimated delivery for watches is in early July, and the balance will be due a week before delivery.

    There are only 100 pieces available in this run, and Greg is currently taking pre-orders. Email Greg at greg@gregstevens-design.com to secure your spot!

    Watch Specs:

    - 41mm case
    - 20mm lug/strap width
    - Miyota 9015 automatic movement
    - Water resistant to 100m
    - Vintage-style domed plexiglass crystal—we love the distortion and “warmth” that you get from a plexiglass crystal. It will attract some scratches, but it is quite easy to polish up.
    - Old Radium Superluminova on the hands and hours will glow green. On the WHDG graphic, Greg is using BGW9 Superluminova which glows blue.
    - Dial: your choice of black or dark military green
    - Hands: your choice of heat blued, black, chrome, or gold
    - Each watch comes with one of Greg’s custom leather straps, a nylon nato strap, and a strap changing tool.
    - 100 piece run

    3 case finish variants available:

    - Stainless ($650)
    - PVD/black ($700)
    - Acid washed ($700)

    In keeping with the WHDG spirit, Greg will be donating 10% of sales to charity. 

    Email greg@gregstevens-design.com to secure your spot!

  • GSD x BRNLY Brawler Watch

    GSD x BRNLY Brawler Watch

    One of our favorite aspects of BRNLY is our ability to collaborate with other makers that we like and whose work inspires us. We’ve been working with Greg Stevens of Greg Stevens Design (GSD), for years now. You might be familiar with Greg’s handmade Cypop Cozies but you might NOT know that he is also a talented horologist. Greg’s high-quality timepieces are made to his exacting standards and have become well-known in the EDC community and beyond because, well, they’re awesome.

    A few years ago, Greg launched his GSD-1A pilot watch, and when that happened, members of our Burnley Collector’s Club (aka “The Brawlers”) started asking for a special Brawler edition watch. After some good conversations with Greg at Blade Show 2018, we started hashing out the details, reviewing mockups, making some tweaks, and the GSD x BRNLY Brawler watch was finally born!

    In August 2018, we began taking pre-orders for the 50-piece, limited run of GSD x BRNLY Brawler watches (with customers making deposits to secure their spot). As the watches went into production, Greg continued to provide project status updates.

    When the watches were delivered a few months later, we were floored by the quality of the watch and the presentation, and super-proud to have our name associated with such an amazing product.

    Now that the GSD x BRNLY Brawler edition watch has been out in the wild (and on our wrist) for a few months, we wanted to share some project details and photos. P.S. if you have a GSD x BRNLY Brawler watch, please tag @brnly_brand on Instagram!

    GSD x BRNLY Brawler edition watch specs and details:

    • Based off of Greg’s GSD-2A Diver
    • Features BRNLY W.H.D.G. (Work Hard, Do Good) graphic on backside of watch and Brawler logo on the dial
    • 44mm case width—decently sized for those who like larger timepieces
    • 24mm lug width
    • Sapphire Crystal
    • Swiss 2824 Movement
    • Water resistant to 300m
    • Superluminova on the dial
    • Bronze Bezel Insert
    • 2 Case Finishes: PVD/Black and Stainless with a brushed finish
    • Leather strap: Horween Coffee with gold thread, stamped with Brawler logo and Brawler number
    • Nylon nato strap and bracelet option as well
    • Strap changing tool

    It’s amazing when a project exceeds expectations, but the icing on the cake for us was that in true “Work Hard, Do Good” fashion, Greg donated 10% of the sales from the GSD x BRNLY Brawler edition to an important and inspiring cause— a Burn Camp operated by the University of Utah.

    We’re looking forward to future watch projects with Greg—stay tuned!

  • 2018 Cypop for Tots!

    2018 Cypop for Tots!

    *Donations are officially closed! Thank you all for your incredible generosity this year in support of Toys for Tots. We’re going to follow-up in another blog post with the final numbers and pictures from our shopping trip. In the meantime, if you want to follow along check us out @burnleyknives and @brnly_brand on Instagram!*

     

    Thanks for joining our 6th annual 2018 Cypop for Tots raffle! 100% of the proceeds from this fundraiser go to Marine Toys for Tots.

    Entries are $10.00 each, but you can select the number of entries you want to make (more entries means more chances to win and more toys for the kids).

    We’ll run the raffle for approximately 24 hours (ending on the afternoon of Wednesday the 5th), and then go shopping! We’re stoked to be teaming up with our local Police and Fire Departments for Cape Cod’s annual “Stuff a Bus” Toys for Tots challenge! This is a friendly competition between the Police and Fire Departments of Cape Cod to see which town can collect the most toys for kids. While everybody wins, we’re really hoping to help bring home the “W” for our town of Orleans (and deliver lots of cheer in the process).

    After the fundraiser has run for 24 hours, we’ll start shopping. On Sunday, December 9th, the toys we’ve purchased will be picked up from our local Police and Fire Departments and transported to the nearby town of Hyannis where they’ll be “stuffed” into school buses by Marines following a brief parade. Oh, and we’ll be in the parade too. WE. CAN’T. WAIT.

    Due to the fact that we had to shorten our schedule to meet up with “Stuff a Bus,” we’re flying by the seat of our pants to pull this off. We’ve posted some work in progress pictures below, but you may have to use your imagination a little bit until we can get some final photos posted up in a day or so. We’re excited to be adding some new stamps to the Cypop for Tots family…

    Winners will be picked on Monday, December 10th via random number generator, and this year we’re going to pick 26 winners (!!). A few more names will also be pulled for special Steel Flame gear plus some smaller schwag packs.

    One 1st place winner will receive a .375 inch Mokuti “Little Bear” Cypop and matching PopEye bead with our new Cypop for Tots stamps. This is the thickest Mokuti Cypop Luc has ever made! 

    For 2nd place winners, Luc has made 25 Cypops in different materials (Nickel Silver, Stainless Steel, Brass, Copper, and Titanium) and various thicknesses with a variety of stamps. Each features our exclusive Cypop for Tots stamps only released during the Toys for Tots drive. This year, we have some new designs to share! 

    Just for fun, Luc has made 5 PopEyes in different materials. And our friends at Steel Flame have contributed an awesome WHDG lighter with Darkness skull as well as some WHDG EBOs.

    All Cypop and PopEye winners drawn will receive a spot in the Burnley Collector’s Association (AKA “The Brawlers”).

    From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support and generosity.

     

    Work Hard. Do Good.

    Lucas, Maddie, and Barlow

  • The BRNLY Cypop Contra

    The BRNLY Cypop Contra

    This week, our friends over at Blade HQ are dropping the second run of Cypop Contras in Green Canvas Micarta and Brass. It’s amazing to see projects that have been in the works for a long time become a reality, and I’m pretty stoked about this one.

    I’ve fielded a lot of questions about this project since the release of the CF Contra on Black Friday in 2017, so I thought this would be the perfect time to tell the Contra’s origin story. 

    Part bottle opener, part pocket charm and challenge coin, the Cypop has been a flagship of the BRNLY Brand line since I began making it in 2013 as a way to connect with customers at shows. With a limited output of signature (custom) knives, I wanted to build something with a high level of design and craftsmanship that would be a little bit easier to get than my knives.

    Blade Show 2017. A long line at the BRNLY Knives table waiting to purchase Cypops first-come-first-served. 

    The goal for the Cypop was simple enough. But, as it started developing what can only be described as a cult following, it seemed like I was never able to keep up with the demand even with an increase in production. We had just come off of another Blade Show where there were twice as many people waiting in line for Cypops than we actually had available (and while some people would say that’s a good problem to have, I still see it as just a problem) when Blade HQ approached me to talk about doing a run for a Black Friday sale.

    I love making the Cypop, and I wanted to keep the original just for myself. But the Cypop was always about including people in the brand, and it was becoming clear that that idea was limited by my output. When Blade HQ approached me, I had been thinking about a way to develop a modular version of the Cypop. But, with a baby on the way and a cross-country move looming, I knew that I didn’t have the bandwidth to make it happen on my own. In a happy convergence of events, I had recently worked with Shane and the team at Millit Knives in Idaho on a successful production run of the BRNLY Huck, and the pieces started falling into place…

    The Cypop Contra is a BRNLY Brand project managed and fulfilled by Blade HQ and made in the U.S.A by Millit.

    Contra means “opposite” (it’s also one of the best run-and-gun action games ever), and it’s the perfect monicker for a modular Cypop that uses two different materials in its construction. Even though the concept seems simple, it’s actually fairly tricky because the two materials need to be finished separately and still fit together correctly. The Cypop has a high level of refinement even in the little details and the same holds true for the Contra. 

    Millit was the right choice for the production of the Cypop Contra—they know the type of fit and finishes required for high-end custom knives, and understand critical tolerances. They’re also used to dealing with my *slightly* OCD tendencies. The Contra is made by Millit with the same care and techniques that I use in my own shop, and because of the caliber of Millit’s craftsmen, the Contra feels like the Cypops that I make in-house.  

    The BRNLY Brand is just me and my wife Maddie. In the past when we’ve done larger sales of Cypops on our website, we’ve simultaneously had to deal with tech issues, respond to a ton of customer emails, and then drop everything so that we can ship in a timely manner. It can be majorly stressful (when the website crashes) and it’s definitely not scalable.

    I’ve built a great working relationship with Blade HQ over the years, and I knew that they were perfectly suited to take on the challenge of releasing the Cypop Contra. From excellent customer service and fulfillment capabilities to working with us on designing new packaging for the Cypop (something we had wanted to do for years), Blade HQ has the talent and attention for detail required to manage this project’s many moving parts.

    New packaging for the Cypop designed by BRNLY and Blade HQ. 

    The Cypop has allowed me to connect with customers in a way that I was never able to with custom knives alone. I’m super grateful for the demand and community built around the Cypop, and I hope that with the Cypop Contra we can continue to reach for the goal of inclusivity. Pop in good health!

    Photos courtesy: BRNLY Brand, Blade HQ, and Millit Knives.

     

     

  • 2017 Cypop for Tots Recap!

    2017 Cypop for Tots Recap!

    Part of the awesome team that helped make this year possible.

    Last week, we ran our 5th annual Cypop for Tots fundraiser. Every year, we can’t imagine that this raffle with humble beginnings could possibly get any bigger than the previous. And every year, we’ve been proven wrong. Hands down, this has been the biggest year to date, bringing in over $50,000 ($52,500.87 to be exact) in 24 hours for the Marine Toys for Tots foundation. 

    Because this yearly tradition couldn’t happen without such generous support, it’s fun to do a little recap to let everyone see the impact of their contributions. Plus, given that we run this entire fundraiser inside of 48 hours (one day for the raffle, and one day for shopping), it’s great to take a moment to reflect and try to answer the question, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!” Spoiler alert: awesome stuff happened.

    For the past two years, we’ve run Cypop for Tots out in New Mexico, with donations going to Albuquerque and neighboring towns. This year, after the birth of our first child, we picked up and moved ourselves and our business to Massachusetts. Not only were we eager to give back to kids in our new community, we were hoping that we’d raise enough to be able to donate on a national level as well. 

    After opening the Cypop for Tots raffle on Saturday afternoon and watching the donation amount climb higher and higher in record time, we decided that we should get an early jump on our shopping and went to The Red Balloon Toy Shop in Orleans, MA. As small business owners ourselves, we love the idea of supporting other small businesses in our community. 

    The Bruder trucks were awesome. We bought as many as we could grab.

    The fellas couldn’t resist this awesome Victorian Dollhouse.

    Star Wars. Joe’s happy place.

    The Red Balloon carries some exceptional and high-quality toys and the staff there couldn’t have been more helpful. What won’t break? What’s popular? What’s educational AND fun? I remember shopping there as a kid and always dreaming of being able to buy everything in the store. It was one of those rare instances of expectation living up to reality.

    Many thanks to the helpful staff at the Red Balloon Toy Shop! Our little elf, Barlow, was pretty tuckered out from all the fun.

    On Monday morning, the day of the BIG shop, Luc woke up to a phone interview with Carl Stevens of WBZ radio in Boston. Later that day as we arrived at Toys R Us in Hyannis, we did another with Walt Perkins of 95 WXTK Cape Cod. In the grand scheme of things, we know that we’re a small grass-roots contributor to Toys for Tots. But, if there’s a chance we can broaden our reach and get the word out about the organization, Luc will stand in front of ANY camera or microphone to make it happen. 

    At Toys R Us, we were grateful to be met by some local Brawlers (members of the Burnley Collector’s Club) who offered to help us navigate holiday shopping madness and transport toys. Thank goodness for awesome friends with pickup trucks!

    We had also reached out to Toys for Tots representatives in Massachusetts a few weeks prior and they were great about helping us understand their distribution logistics and the local need. Armed with the knowledge that the local Toys for Tots contingency was very much in need of baby toys and toys for tweens, we devised a plan on the fly and grabbed our carts.

    BIKESSSSSS!!!

    Helmets are required by law in the state of Massachusetts, so we picked some pretty cool ones that received the Barlow seal of approval.

    After 5 years, you’d think we’d have this whole toy shopping thing down to a science. While we definitely are more dialed than we were back in 2013, something happens to your brain when you walk into a toy store and…oh look…LEGOS. With a baby on my hip and 5 shoppers to wrangle, I felt like I could barely keep up to try and take pictures.

    It’s easy to get ahead of yourself and end up with overfilled carts and arms.

    Passing Bruce in the aisles, “Got another $680 in this cart!” Passing Peter in the aisles, “I’ve got kids who are 6, 10, and 15 so I’ve got the inside track on what everyone is looking for this season.” Passing Jeremy in the aisles, “…” Jeremy was all business, head-down filling up carts like a pro and taking pictures.

    Jeremy manning a two-cart haul.

    Bruce coming in hot with another cart.

    It felt like we went through Toys R Us in record time, and when we all finally reconvened and took stock of the carts we had amassed at the front of the store, we were amazed.

    Every year we learn another insider trick and information to help us improve our system for the following year. Next year we were told to come back to Toys R Us before the doors open so that we can have free reign of the place without bumping into other shoppers or causing a traffic jam.

    The reason we shop on our own is twofold. Not only does it allow us to show all the contributors how their donations were spent and make more people feel like part of the process, but it’s also because Toys for Tots has a $29.95 cap per toy while purchasing, and we don’t. So, we can buy some of the really special larger gifts that are great for families with multiple kids, foster homes, churches, etc.

     

    Tablets, iPods, and awesome Kano Computer kits for kids who like coding. These are some of the highly sought-after bigger ticket items we’re able to purchase for older kids.

    Whether the donation is big or small, we recognize that the money individuals contribute to our Cypop for Tots raffle is hard-earned and given generously. With that in mind, we always try and make that money go far and pick high-quality toys that will last families a long time. When all was said and done this year, we spent $28,750.94 purchasing toys and donating them directly.

    The receipt was so big this year that we had to tack two together. The little girl next to Luc was curious about what exactly was going on…

    Joey made a time-lapse video of shopping and checking out that we’ve included below. This is how fast it feels like we’re actually moving at some points during the day.

    That left us with $23,749.93 remaining to donate to Toys for Tots. We know that if we were to simply write a check to Toys for Tots in that amount they would allocate the funds accordingly to places where it’s needed most. However, community—both in the local and larger sense—has always been an important part of the Cypop for Tots fundraiser, and with so many donations coming in from around the country (and indeed, some outside of the country too) there’s something special about knowing which communities received the extra boost. Because of the growth and visibility of this fundraiser, Luc was able to connect with the Vice President of Operations for Marine Toys for Tots this year, and he gave us the names of towns across the country that were behind the national average in fundraising. We also spoke to our good friend and Toys for Tots organizer back in Albuquerque, First Sgt. John Finney, who gave us the name of a town out in New Mexico that needed some help this year. At the publishing of this blog post, the remaining $23,749.93 has been donated to Jackson, MS, Omaha, NE, Milwaukee, WI, Woodland, CA, and Truth or Consequences, NM.

    One of the reasons we love Toys for Tots is that 97% of all monetary donations go directly to the program, with only 3% of donations being spent on overhead. And, not one dollar donated goes toward paying employee salaries. As far as non-profits go, that’s just about as good as it gets.

    To everyone who donated to our Cypop for Tots fundraiser, thank you. With so many life changes this year, we honestly weren’t sure whether we would be able to rally and make this happen. We continue to be amazed and humbled by your generosity and know that we couldn’t do any of this without you.  

    Work Hard. Do Good.

    Maddie + Lucas

  • 2017 Cypop for Tots

    2017 Cypop for Tots

    Donations are officially closed! Thank you all for your incredible generosity this year in support of Toys for Tots. We’re going to follow-up in another blog post with the final numbers and pictures from our shopping trip.

    Thanks for joining our 5th annual 2017 Cypop for Tots raffle! 100% of the proceeds from this fundraiser go to Marine Toys for Tots.

    Entries are $10.00 each, but you can select the number of entries you want to make (more entries means more chances to win and more toys for the kids). We’ll run the raffle for approximately 24 hours (ending on the afternoon of Sunday the 26th), and then go shopping on Monday the 27th. Winners will be picked on the 28th via random number generator, and this year we’re going to pick 26 winners (!!) plus some smaller schwag packs.

    One 1st place winner will receive the 1/2 inch Zirconium “Little Bear” Cypop with our Cypop for Tots, Brawler, and Rose stamps.

    For 2nd place winners, Luc has made 20 Cypops in three different materials, two thicknesses, and a variety of stamps. Each features our exclusive Cypop for Tots stamps only released during the Toys for Tots drive.

    Just for fun, Luc also made 5 bronze PopEyes. This is the first time these have been released

    All Cypop and PopEye winners drawn will receive a spot in the Burnley Collector’s Club (AKA The Brawlers).

    From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support and generosity.

    Work Hard. Do Good.
    Lucas + Maddie