In a moment, I will tell you everything you need to know about Ugmonk.

But, first, a story...

Once upon a time, a fisherman taught a banker a lesson that would change his life.

The banker was vacationing in a small coastal village when a fisherman docked beside him with several beautiful large fin tuna in his small boat. The banker complimented the fisherman on his catch and asked how long it took.

“Just a little while”, replied the fisherman.

The banker then asked why the fisherman didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish.

As the fisherman unloaded the tuna, one by one, he replied, “Because I have enough to support my family. Plus, I enjoy sleeping late, playing with my children, taking an afternoon nap with my wife and strolling into the village in the evenings to sip wine and play guitar with my friends.”

The banker, who was extremely well-educated with an ivy league education, scoffed and gave the fisherman a lesson in business…

“Spend more time fishing. With the proceeds, buy a bigger boat, and with those proceeds, buy several boats. Eventually, you will have a fleet of fishing boats and you could move to a big city like LA or NYC to run your growing business.”

“But then what?” asked the fisherman.

The banker chuckled condescendingly and said, “Then, you could eventually announce an IPO, sell your company stock and become a millionaire.”

“But then what?” asked the fisherman, again.

The banker responded, “Then you can retire. Move to a small coastal village and enjoy sleeping late, playing with your children, taking an afternoon nap with your wife and strolling into the village in the evenings to sip wine and play guitar with your friends.”

The fisherman smiled at the banker, winked, threw the stringed tuna over his shoulder and then carried his catch into town.

Hi. I'm Jeff.

I'm a designer by trade, an entrepreneur by accident. Ugmonk, in many ways, is my beautiful accident.

I sort of fell into this back in 2008 (great time to start a business, huh?) after scouring the internet for simple, minimal, well-made t-shirts and coming up short. So, I decided to make my own from scratch.

Folks seemed to dig them. So much so that over the years, I kept designing other products that shared the same philosophy: simple, functional, extremely well-made and long-lasting.

Eventually, Ugmonk evolved into what it is today: a collection of analog tools designed to help you think better. Task management cards, note-taking systems, desk organizers. Tools that pull you away from the screen and back to paper, where ideas can breathe.

. . . . .

The slow approach

Like the fisherman in the fable, I take a slow and thoughtful approach to everything. Whether it's baking sourdough on a lazy Sunday afternoon, building Legos with my kids or thinking up the next design for Ugmonk, I'm never one for rushing things.

In a world full of disposable products that end up in landfills after a few months of use, I want to design products that last a lifetime and then some. It always brings a smile to my face when customers send me pictures of their Analog System they've been using for years and how much effect it's had on their life.

. . . . .

How we work

Shopping from Ugmonk is a lot like buying from your neighborhood corner store. You're supporting our family and the craftspeople who share our obsession with getting every detail right.

We take months (sometimes years) perfecting each product. Quality materials, timeless design, products built to last. Not what's trending, not what's cheapest, not what's fastest to market.

Now, with all that said, if I'm lucky enough to call you a customer, great. But, if for whatever reason you don't see anything that catches your eye, please walk away with this...

I encourage you to leave the world better than you found it by thoughtfully choosing quality over quantity, less over more, lasting over "trending" and profound over popular.

I think now more than ever, our world could use more of the fishermen's ethos.