Caleb Watkins wants to do some good in the world. The Bittern eco commerce entrepreneur is currently focussed on rescuing landfill-bound fabrics. He transforms salvaged heavy-duty canvas and PVC into smart, durable, naturally waterproof outdoor gear. It’s not easy to work with this kind of fabric, but it’s the perfect material for his Rainshaker brand because his products are made to last a lifetime.
Caleb sources his used fabrics through friends, social media and local donations. He carefully combs through all of it to find material that is in prime condition to withstand its lifetime ahead. He never ceases to be amazed at what people throw away, but he’s happy to repurpose their cast offs into limited-edition duffle bags, coats, dry bags and jackets for dogs.
He’s so confident in the quality and durability of his products that he offers a lifetime guarantee. If something goes wrong, he will fix it for free – forever. Only the fabric for his coats is sourced new because of the complexity of the fabrication. It requires four metres of fabric.
Making his coats is a very complex process because of the number of working parts and the heavy fabric Caleb uses. He outsources that heavy stitching to a Melbourne manufacturer located just an hour away. Caleb wants all of his products to be Australian-sourced and Australian-made, now and into the future.
The cogs are always turning in Caleb’s brain, imagining new products that can be made from old things. He relishes the challenge of reinvention. “I’ve always wanted to get into eco commerce, running a business creatively,” he says.
The cogs are always turning in Caleb’s brain, imagining new products that can be made from old things
Caleb grew up in Somerville. He enjoyed a carefree outdoor lifestyle climbing trees, making forts, doing arts and crafts and building all sort of things from scrap. He always had close friends to share his adventures with. In fact, they are still his closest friends today. He was glad he chose Business as his VCE subject because those concepts are still useful today.
He is very grateful to have been born in 1999 before the explosion of technology impinged on the everyday shenanigans of youth and childhood. Caleb loved exploring the peninsula with his friends, camping and surfing and being part of the natural world. He still enjoys the same activities today. He’s a mad keen surfer and it’s taken him to some great places at home and abroad.
Carefree lifestyle aside, Caleb is also a very hardworking, driven and strategic businessman. He knew that starting Rainshaker would require a lot of capital. He wanted to find his financial footing before venturing out creatively. After high school he started working in the roofing trade. He established his own roofing business which he’s been running successfully for six years. Now that he has his own roof over his head, he’s on to the next step.
“My roofing business was a way to become financially stable, to set myself up, buy a house and feel secure. I set everything else aside to set up that business. It’s done really well, but it’s not what I really want to do. Now I really want to focus on Rainshaker. In the future, I want to put down the tools and just focus on that,” he says.
Originally Caleb thought of joining the army because of his keen sense of adventure, but his uncle had a successful roofing business and, observing that success, Caleb was led in a different direction.
Growing up on the Mornington Peninsula has had a profound impact on Caleb. The diversity of environments with unique flora and fauna, the abundance of beaches on both the bay and ocean, and the colours of the bush have all had an influence on his creativity. Those earthy colours run through his entire Rainshaker brand.
He chose the name Rainshaker because the waterproofing on his products means the rain can just be shaken off like a camper shaking the rain off a tent before packing it away. In fact, much of Caleb’s gear is made from old canvas tents. It’s a heavy-duty, durable, long lasting fabric.
To waterproof his products, Caleb has concocted the perfect mixture of natural beeswax and paraffin through a process of trial and error. “I don’t use any petrochemicals. The process is all natural,” he says.
Amazingly, Caleb only learned how to sew last year, but he’s been hard at it ever since. He is so excited to create sustainable outdoor products that he doesn’t mind the hard work. He’s proud to be a part of an economy that not only supports his passion for the outdoors, but encourages others to choose a better way to buy gear – one that keeps tons of fabric out of landfill. It’s a win-win.
IG @rainshakerdesigns
W rainshakerclothing.com.au