2 weeks Ago
Lane Willsonck, co-founder of Oveja Negra, creates sustainable, durable, and functional bikepacking bags alongside her husband, Monte, in Salida, Colorado. The company prioritizes sustainability through U.S.
-made products, innovative practices to reduce textile waste, and a fun, minimalist design approach that appeals to cyclists and non-cyclists alike. Lane Willson identifies herself as a weirdo — and so does her bikepacking company, Oveja Negra , which translates to Black Sheep in Spanish. Founding the company alongside her husband, Monte, in 2012, the Willsons have been creating and evolving their adventure-style bike bags for more than a decade to be as sustainable, durable and efficient as possible.
Holding two locations in the river town of Salida, Oveja Negra boasts a small chain factory warehouse on the east side and a retail storefront downtown. I met with Lane Willson off of a recreational trail on one of her team’s cherished “wiggle walks,” a time when the staff takes a moment to stretch and reset in the outdoors amid their work day. The bouncy seamstress was quick to introduce herself, her team and pup, Fluffernutter, who meandered between employees and Willson, guiding everyone back to the warehouse factory.
Along with her love for the “type 2” fun of cycling and outdoor recreation and walking to the beat of her own drum, Willson has a business model that goes beyond making money. It works to prioritize the well-being and balance in the lives of her workers and herself. Willson explained that what started as a favor for her then-boyfriend when the two were living in Leadville evolved naturally into the business seen in Salida today.
As a seamstress for more than two and a half decades, Willson knows a thing or two about custom stitchwork. When husband Monte asked her to make him a bag for his mountain bike, she cheerfully took up the task. “He said, ‘I want to buy this bikepacking gear but I can’t find it anywhere,’ and so I was like ‘yeah, I can make it,’” Lane Willlson said.
From there, the snowball of their custom-made bike bags picked up speed and got bigger than the two could have ever imagined. While Monte focused on designing the style of the bags, Lane worked to craft them. “He was the cyclist who taught me how to ride and I was the seamstress who taught him how to sew,” Lane Willson said.
The bags fit onto most bikes , working with the structure of the frame and handlebars to provide a minimalist appearance. The two most popular styles of bags — the “Chuck Bucket” and “Snack Pack” — fasten directly onto the front of the bike on the handlebars, allowing for easy access to phones, keys, dog leashes and grub. While Oveja Negra’s sacks were initially meant to cater to the mountain bike community, the bags can serve every type of rider from intense downhill overnighters to those who enjoy a work commute on their bike.
Even those without the cycle bug can enjoy Oveja Negra’s products, as they offer lifestyle bags including their new cross-body and tote bags. What became evident speaking with the eccentric co-founder was her passion for sustainability. “My goal is to keep everything out of the f---ing landfill,” Lane Willson said, and she and her company work to honor that sentiment through a variety of practices.
Oveja Negra is completely U.S.-made, from the fabric to the zippers.
Everything is cut and sewn in Salida, and new products are tested out locally in small batches before they are produced on a larger scale for the brand’s online shop. The retail location offers 15-minute repairs of anything in need of a quick fix, whether that be a product purchased through the company or otherwise. Willson’s team at Oveja Negra is consistently working to ensure little textile waste is produced through the production process, consistently looking for innovative ways to find use for all the fabric and other materials the company works with.
The Wack Pack was created out of a need to utilize excess fabric scraps. Instead of following a color wave through an entire product design, Oveja Negra uses whatever fabric is left over to create additional products, however wacky the combination may be. “A lot of other bikepacking bag companies are working a bit quicker but with less, and their bags aren’t built to last.
Our products are thoughtfully designed and created, Oveja Negra is really walking the talk,” longtime employee Sheridan Plummer said. “I think our products are fun, we don’t take ourselves too seriously – in the quality we do, yes, but in our content and colors, our goal is to be a fun, functional accessory,” Plummer continued..
