Greetings friends and paddling family! Boy this has been a tough season hasn't it? From races being cancelled, teams unable to train and connect. And for many, being unable to get on the water at times. Now mind you, we know full-well that these sacrifices are small compared to the challenges many are facing, but being paddlers ourselves, we just wanted to acknowledge that it has been tough on our paddling psyche. And we hope you are finding some time to get on the water to help provide that Vitamin SEA that can get us through the days.All that said, we wanted to take a moment and give you a PERSONAL update on Cali Paddler. As you probably know, in-person events are where the majority of our connections are made. Where our story is best told. And where our products can be seen and tried-on to witness in person how your friends gush at how awesome you look wearing it. So with the cancelling of the various seasons we have really missed connecting with you, showing off our newest lines, and hearing how your race went. We have maintained our online website and orders have come in through that avenue, and gosh we are so grateful to you all. We had to make a tough call to hold off on replenishing many sizes and out of stock items that continue to be very popular. Our apologies if you found an item online you wanted, only to see your size was not in stock. Ugh, that sucks - we get it! We also had to hit the brakes on many of our new designs that we planned to launch in May and June for you. The amazing feedback you always give drives our products, and we are sad to not have had them ready for the public as we intended.
All that said, we have found some ways to introduce new items that hopefully brought some smiles. We have added gift cards this year for a little while so paddlers can brighten up the day of their friends. (And a big thank you to a very special friend who bought a bunch for his teammates!) And we also added our PupLid Trucker Hats for Paddle Dogs. Yes we know this is a little unorthodox, but we felt a little levity might bring smiles and part some clouds. :)
Some really good news this year was the addition of Cathie and Daven to our Rock Star Sales Team. It is always fun to add to the energy of the team and these two paddlers will continue to make sure the entire paddling state feels loved and connected. Once we get back to the event scene, expect these folks to represent at events. We can't for you to meet them!
So where do we go from here?
Well at this time, we are doing our best to be in a position to come out next season bursting with more awesomeness than ever. We hope to introduce new designs and bring back some classics. Increase the articles and posts with more great content. And grow our cleanup initiatives and non-profit give-backs to new heights.
Thank you for continuing to be Cali Paddlers. Seeing pics of you rocking the gear, tagging us, and taking the steps to be empowered stewards on your own has lifted our spirits. And held true our hopes that we can come out of this better. We will continue to support all the paddlers out there as best we can with our stoke and mission, to be EPIC (Every Paddler In California).
As grateful as ever,
Your paddling friends at Cali Paddler
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