An undergrad in college and constantly on the move, Dylan Kim was looking for a travel camera bag that functioned like existing products on the market, but looked like a regular backpack.
Like most photographers, he wanted to be able to secure his camera gear without advertising the fact that he was carrying around thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
When he couldn’t find anything to his liking, Dylan teamed up with his two brothers Brandon and Elliot to create their own bag, which would eventually turn into a full-scale company.
“When you go into work, your life shouldn’t have to end,” he said. “They should be one in the same.”
Brevitē has now released five different types of camera bags and a camera strap since launching about fours year ago. All of the company’s sleek, stylish bags have removable inserts to securely lock in and store camera equipment.
“Removable inserts actually ended up taking the industry by storm [after we launched Brevitē] and now a bunch of bags offer them,” Brandon told Rhode Island Inno. “We really came to it by looking at what photographers actually needed. There is a lot of products out on the market that are doing a range of different things, but I think it’s easy to forget what the photographer actually needs. We really slimmed it down to the core offering.”
The company began while the three brothers were in college when they launched a Kickstarter campaign to create their first bag. But it really picked up steam while Brandon was completing his master's degree in industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design, and Dylan was living in Providence.
The five bags are made in several different styles to offer photographers a variety of options.
There is the company’s most popular product, the "Rucksack," which is meant for outdoor travel; the "Scout" bag made of durable material for frequent use; the "Roamer" bag for lightweight, every day use; the "Rolltop," made with water-resistant material to withstand the elements; and the "Original," the company’s flagship product.
In addition to camera equipment, all of the bags can hold clothing, toiletries and water bottles. Each is equipped with a large computer slot and the camera is also packed into a separate bag within the pack, so if users want to bring the product for a hiking trip or something else, they can remove all the camera gear and fill it like a regular bag.
“Instead of going hard into one style, we decided to go into multiple different styles to capture a broader audience,” said Brandon. “Sales have been strong.”
Brandon added that the company’s goal is to appeal and support a new generation of workers that build a lifestyle that integrates work, life and passion.
“When you go into work, your life shouldn’t have to end,” he said. “They should be one in the same.”
Recently, all three brothers relocated to Brooklyn and are planning to move into everyday travel bags.
While Brandon estimates the size of the camera bag market to be roughly $1 billion and the backpack market somewhere between $6 to $10 billion, he said the travel bag market is about $17 billion.
The company is well positioned to move into this market because they already have a lot of the necessary infrastructure in place.
For its current products, Brandon said Brevitē works with technical soft goods manufacturing factories, which are the same ones it would need to work with for everyday travel bags.
Although Brandon said he and his brothers at one point considered trying to pursue raising funding, they have since decided to forego this route.
“Welcoming investors can be daunting,” he said. “We want to grow as a direct-to-consumer product company. We are going to continue growing the company the way we’ve been and see where that takes us.”
Editor's Note: Dylan Kim was named one of Rhode Island Inno's 25 Under 25. Read the full piece here.
