The theme of the shop (and we'll be getting into this a little heavier) is the Cold War era USSR/USA Space Race. I just like the imagery and the ingenuity that came out of that period, on both sides. Additionally my cousin, Ron Garan, is a NASA astronaut and the obvious genius of my family. He's already logged a few weeks in space aboard the shuttle, the space station and spent 21 hours doing spacewalks to add a module to the station. On April 4, 2011 he'll be launching out of Kazakhstan's 'Star City' space complex aboard a Russian rocket and spend two days flying the Soyuz Capsule before meeting up again with the International Space Station for a 6-month mission. The dude is hardcore, so in honor of him we named the shop Capsule. We're also huge Akira fans and in that movie Kaneda's gang is called the 'Capsules'.

We opened up in July of 2010, so we're still very much in our infancy. Opening up mid-summer was rough but we were paying rent so we had to just get some skate product, some clothes and get the buzz going. It wasn't until October that the shop filled out and really took on the look and feel of a small indie board shop.

Our mission is to bring the best products and amazing customer service to local shreds, and to offer them a premium selection of rider-owned brands that they would actually want to run.

The typical Capsule customer is definitely skewed a little younger- middle and high school riders who, like my friends and I when we were their age, spend nearly every weekend up north in Vermont at places like Mount Snow, Okemo and Killington and nearly every weeknight at the closer night riding spots.

We always felt we needed a real hometown shop and we were really just put off with all the area ski shops and what they were pushing on people. They had nothing we ever wanted and they were (and are) completely out of touch with our industry, which is definitely on a different planet compared to skiing. I am not trying to perpetuate the skier vs. snowboarder thing because it's pretty played out but it's definitely important to get your gear from people who actually ride and everyone involved at Capsule shreds at a pretty high level and gets it, for the most part.

I love the industry otherwise I would never have sunk my life savings into this and maxed out the credit cards. I went to CU-Boulder specifically to ride and to get a degree from the Leeds School of Business so that I could do something like this after college.

I am stoked on where the sport's at and how diverse it is- riders everywhere are killing it and the progression cannot be stopped. I also love the 'trickle down' effect that's happened with gear. The fact you can buy $130 bindings and a $300 board and have some serious stuff is definitely helping to get more people onboard. Couple that with urban and backyard sesh's made possible with bungees and it's just awesome. I definitely want to see more all mountain parks though and think smaller areas need to put their cash into that approach-like Echo, Carinthia and Mountain Creek have. If more places like that pop up its going to get even crazier.

Our best selling products in term of hardgoods have been Capita's, Signals and Union bindings.

In terms of softgoods Nomis and Airblaster stuff did well and of course CandyGrind gloves. The Handbag needed to be re-ordered before Christmas and we did well with every model. Also the CG hoodies killed it- the marsupial pocket is clutch. Such an easy sell and obviously a hoodie designed for riding, by someone who rides.

CandyGrind stands out because of the attention to detail, the unique designs and features of sick products like the Handbag and the Shell Shocker and the fit of the streetwear. Across the board it's obvious that snowboarders design and test the product with, of course, other snowboarders in mind.

When I was working at WP last season and someone showed me the Handbag mitten for the first time my jaw literally dropped and I knew immediately that when and if I did the shop we'd need the brand on the walls. Those kinds of selling points just take it to the next level and really make it pop. Everyone at the company's dedication and stoke is so apparent and that's huge because it makes it so much easier to put your full weight behind the brand as a shop owner or employee. I don't like lame salesman tactics and I pride myself on being as honest and upfront with my customers so when I use a phrase like "best glove ever" I mean it and they can see that I am being 100% authentic. When they come back after the weekend and thank me for the selling them their new favorite pair of gloves and say stuff like "dude, you were right!" it feels good.