The Story
I’m going to be honest with you. I wasn’t out hiking the mountains one day when the clouds separated and the sun beamed light down into the forest below, illuminating a fallen tree and exposing the fingerprint grain of the wood. I didn’t then remember wise words my grandfather told me about staying in touch with nature. I didn’t know, in that specific moment, that I needed to combine nature and technology and create this company.
That would be disingenuous nonsense. You're smart, you'd see through it.
Don’t get me wrong, I love hiking and I love nature. My grandparents are and were legends but that’s not how it happened.
Barq started when I joined a tech company 4 years ago. Everyone had the same laptop. I noticed that some folks adorned their laptops with colourful stickers but I decided I wanted something a little different. So after a lot of trial and error, I made a skin for my own laptop, and started making them for friends. But it always stayed small. It’s been a passion project that sat on the sidelines, waiting patiently for the time it deserved.
Then the world turned upside down. Covid 19 arrived with a vengeance. When the madness and panic somewhat subsided, I was one of the fortunate ones who had some spare time in the evenings and weekends.
So when the lockdown loosened, I started kitesurfing, tried and failed miserably at quarantine sourdough, started a fruit and veg patch and focused on getting barq off the ground and into your hands.
The Mission:
I read somewhere that you are personally responsible for becoming more ethical than the society you grew up in. Powerful words. I want to make sure that this company is built on strong morals. Sustainable sourcing of the raw materials is essential as is contributing to the amazing work that some charities do across the world. That's why, for every single MacBook skin sold, I'll be donating 10 trees to a phenomenal charity called Trees For The Future. They focus on developing sustainable agriculture and improving the livelihoods of impoverished farmers by revitalising degraded lands in sub-saharan Africa. After spending a decent wedge of time there in my 20's, I've seen the benefits that building on the local ecosystem can have. I hope that you and I can help support their amazing work.
The Materials:
There are lots of companies out there that sell wooden skins for laptops but many use machined wood. It's essentially wood pulp, reconstituted and painted with grain. That might be good for some people but not for you. Each barq skin is made with wood taken straight from the log. It’s why every single one will be uniquely different as the natural grain of the wood is brought straight to your fingertips.
All of the wood I use comes with the Forest Stewardship Council certification (FSC). It’s ethically harvested from forests that are responsibly managed, socially beneficial, environmentally conscious and economically viable. Lots of words so you know it's legit ;) It’s then finished in a coating of hand applied Danish oil for an additional layer of protection.
I wanted to find an adhesive that held onto your laptop like a limpet to the hull of a ship but was really easy to remove without leaving a residue. Turns out that’s pretty difficult to do. Through a lot of painstaking research and testing of various products, I finally settled on one made by the most reputable brand in the industry, 3M. It is strong enough that it will grip your laptop tight for months on end but it is relatively easy to remove and it won’t leave any residue behind. The perfect partner.
Craftsmanship:
Knowing where your products come from is incredibly important. There’s no funky drop shipping going on here. No faceless factory with suspect working conditions producing and sending the goods to you, months after your order.
All barq products are painstakingly prepared and treated by hand in a small workshop in Dublin, Ireland. Ruthless attention to detail ensures that you get the best possible result.
I hope you enjoy the products as much as I do ;)
Robbie