Colin SA – Made here

The newly founded incorporation Colin SA avoids the world’s large metropolises and moved to the assessable oldest town of Switzerland. Colin’s own roots authentically shall become the company’s roots of success as well. Specifically, the location is at the Salvatorenstrasse where little Colin caught his first glimpse at the world of an entrepreneur at his grandfather’s transportation company, whose black and white logo on the green truck tarpaulins representing the corporate design for decades has impressed him.

The Colin SA produces and distributes products for office and home working purposes and was founded in 2011 by three companions from Chur (Colin Schaelli, Pierin Menzli and Arne Nold). These three teamed up in a very interesting but in retrospect almost logical manner: When Menzli, the HSG graduate in economics, offered to create a business plan for what was to become Colin’s new company, the DBCSC trustee and book keeper Nold supplied him with the necessary data. The result was an impressive sixty page business plan which turned out so convincing that Menzli and Nold themselves, without any narcissistic touch to their own work, filled the gaps of the sought for business partners themselves. Also the canton of Grisons was obviously impressed by the strategy of Colin SA and granted a generous monetary start up support.

A further jackpot hit by the Colin SA was the signing of Sascha Koeglmeier, who recently had left the Freitag lab. AG. Chased by headhunters over hill and dale he ended up in the claws of the Colin SA. Koeglmeier will not function as CEO, which was initially the idea, but gladly assumes the role of the chief-operating officer COO. Since Al Ego was always on the lookout for a hierarchically impressive position, the structural gap was filled in a blink of an eye.

The idea behind the Colin SA is based on Colin’s hobby to produce practical things. It all started with clothing, followed by furniture, and there are still plenty of raw gimmicks in his drawer that await their realization. It will be interesting to see which new project will next go through Colin’s creative mill.
All his products are no flashy design objects. They show some design moments without pushing themselves to the fore, appear rational and live on the reduction to the essence.

Colin realized that many people loved his hobby. Therefore he continuously tries hard not get inspired too much by anything. He prefers to rely on his own personal experience, because inspiration from outside can always turn into a mental blockade. He acknowledges that not everything can be done perfectly that way and allows the details to live.

In order to give utterance to his firm belief that one’s hobby should always be more important than one’s job, he now turns his hobby into a corporation. The strong ties to the design bureau allows for a positive business-boomerang: while the brand surely can take advantage of the design bureau’s idea box, the bureau hopes for many useful realized products for itself.

The company claim «made here» reflects the globally-local approach of the Colin SA. On the one hand the Colin SA values its own roots, demonstrated by the choice of the city Chur as headquarters; on the other hand the local origin of the raw material and handcraft displays a responsibility and creates a desirable bond between the product and the client.

Just like a valley cheese. Prized worldwide, but always a piece of home. The Colin SA.