It all started with…a shuttlecock?
Though renowned for innovations in hunting, fishing, and mountaineering equipment, Eddie Bauer’s first two patents related to the leisure activity of badminton.
On the surface, it may seem an odd move for an avid outdoorsman to step away from the world of hunting and fishing to develop a product perfect for spending a relaxed Sunday afternoon at the park. However, the invention, community-mindedness, and business savvy are all classic Eddie.
SERVING THE COMMUNITY
As the winner of a national tennis racket restringing contest, Eddie started his first business Eddie Bauer’s Tennis Shop after striking out on his own in 1920. So it’s no real surprise that when a group of Seattle tennis players looking to start a badminton club in the early 1930s were in need of supplies, they turned to Eddie.
The main problem was procuring shuttlecocks—the small, feathered balls of cork and leather that players hit back and forth. Badminton had become popular in Canada, England, and Europe, but was still relatively new in the States.
At the time, the cost of handmade, European shuttlecocks, or “birdies,” came to more than seven dollars per dozen—a lot of money during the Depression. The Seattle players were hoping Eddie could come up with a more affordable option.
So he went hunting. Literally.
BIRDIE HUNTING
On Eddie’s next hunting trip to Canada, he bought a case of British shuttlecocks at wholesale. By convincing some of his hunting customers to do the same on their periodic trips to Canada, he created a semi-reliable source of birdies for the club.
Of the first batch of shuttlecocks that he brought home, most went to the badminton enthusiasts, but Eddie kept a few for himself. He had an idea.
If he could find a way to produce the shuttlecocks himself, he could sell them more cheaply than the imported models, and badminton could become a good game for him to promote. After all, it was easy to play at a relaxed, novice level, but could also be played exceptionally fast by experts. And because no competitors had jumped into the game, he’d have a corner on the market.
COURTSIDE INNOVATION
The first challenge was analyzing his recently acquired shuttlecocks. After breaking them down, he set about ordering the specialized cork for the shuttle base and the high-quality leather that covered it. Luckily, years of running a tackle shop provided Eddie with easy access to and deep understanding of the shuttlecock’s most recognizable feature: feathers.
Now that he had all the parts, the real, aerodynamical challenge began: how to balance and standardize the weight of each shuttlecock. Even minuscule differences in weight and balance could affect flight distance dramatically, so consistency was key.
The industry-standard method of ensuring uniformity was to weigh the cork tips before adding the leather cover and trailing feathers, then to add counterweights and bring the tips to a standard weight.
The problem with this approach is that it meant that while each cork would start out the same weight, small differences in the assembly process would inevitably introduce variance. The leather, feathers, stitching, and even the glue had to be exactly the same from one shuttlecock to another—an impossible proposition.
Eddie’s solution was to invent a new method of simultaneously weighing and fine-tuning the weight of each birdie after it had been assembled.
Once he’d puzzled out his answer, he had a local die maker build equipment to hold the shuttlecock upside-down and at the same time pierce a small hole in the cork. He could then add counterweights into this hole until the birdie reached its exact desired weight.
What did he use as weights? Birdshot from his shotguns.
BAUER’S SHUTTLES, INC.
From 1933 until the start of WWII when the government froze all commercial use of feathers and down, Eddie manufactured several lines of shuttlecocks in a small factory above his Sport Shop. In the process, he secured his first two patents—for his shuttlecock design and innovative method of weighing it—and launched his first incorporated business.
Bauer’s Shuttles, Inc. quickly became a thriving business. Eddie’s Shuttlecocks became his first product to reach a national audience and by the end of the decade, they were being used in national tournaments.
Eddie had served up another win.
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