Randi Jo Fabrications Keeps Cyclists Pedaling in Style & Comfort
Story and photos by Craig Reed
A long bicycle ride across the United States in the summer of 2004 gave Randi Jo Smith and her husband, Eric Reichmuth, plenty of time to talk about their future.
Many of the avid cyclists’ discussions centered on cycling apparel and products. That trip led them to launch Randi Jo Fabrications in 2005. The Elkton area craft sewing operation designs and produces bicycle caps, pants, bike saddle covers, bike bags, hip packs, and shop aprons. Randi is the seamstress, and Eric handles marketing, packaging, and any other needs. He closed his bicycle repair shop to join Randi Jo full-time when the fabrication business expanded.
“We talked it out on the trip,” Eric says. “We weren’t racers, we were tourists on a long ride. We intentionally didn’t wear Spandex. We wanted to see what would hold up.”
Instead of Spandex—the synthetic fiber favored by serious cyclists—Randi Jo and Eric wore pants she sewed using a breathable linen fabric and caps she made from cotton. Halfway across the country, their pants wore out, and Randi Jo had to patch them up. When they wore out again, the couple bought some. The experiences and discussions they had during that trip were key in Randi Jo and Eric deciding how to develop products for their new company.
Stitching Up a Following
Randi Jo Fabrications now fills orders from 4 companies in the United States, 1 in Canada, and 1 in Japan. The business ships products to every continent except Antarctica. Because the business is consistently 6 weeks out on filling orders, Randi and Eric have had to turn down some large orders, most recently from a European distributor who wanted products for the Australian market.
“The quality of their products is second to none,” says John Bennett, the former general manager for Rivendell Bicycle Works, a Walnut Creek, California, store that sells Randi Jo’s products. “Randi Jo and Eric are extremely meticulous in what they make. All the companies that buy from them idolized Randi Jo and Eric for their quality products. Randi Jo Fabrications is the pinnacle for that type of company. They make beautiful products for a niche market in small Elkton. They are fantastic people making fantastic products.”
Randi Jo and Eric are basically a 2-person business, but they do get part-time help from Randi Jo’s mother, Joan Smith, who cuts out patterns, and 1 other employee who helps with packaging and shipping.
“I do like doing this,” Randi Jo says. “I sometimes feel like a robot, but there are enough items to work on to give me variety. Sometimes customers want a customized product, and that gives me something different to work on.”
Randi Jo started sewing when she was 9, mentored by her mother and her grandmother, Dee Smith. The older women demonstrated different approaches for their young student.
“Mom was all about breaking the rules in sewing and figuring out ways to do different things,” Randi Jo says. “If something didn’t seem like it was going to work, she would say, ‘Let’s do it this way.’ My grandmother had more of a quilting background, so she was more about precision.”
Visiting her grandmother during her youth involved a 3-mile bicycle ride for Randi Jo. “I’ve been deep into cycling ever since,” she says.
A Family Affair
In 2000, Randi Jo attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She worked in the school’s costume shop all 4 of her years there, repairing many garments. That’s where she met Eric, who was making a documentary on the theater for his senior project. He was also an avid cyclist.
After the pair graduated in 2004, Randi Jo’s father, Jeff Smith, suggested the cross-country bike trip for the trio. They pedaled 71 days, crossing 3,100 miles from Anacortes, Washington, to Bar Harbor, Maine. They then boxed up their bikes and flew home.
After returning, Randi Jo worked for several months making decor for cruise ships, but she also made cycling caps as a side business. The couple then briefly lived in Morgan Hill, California, where Randi Jo continued to make cycling products, selling them at bike events, and Eric worked as a bike mechanic. The couple was inspired to make the business a full-time career in 2007 when Rivendell Bicycle Works ordered their products.
They moved back north, spending 4 years in Cottage Grove, where they owned and operated Rainy Peak Cyclery, which included Randi Jo’s sewing business. They sold the cyclery and in 2011 relocated to the Elkton area to raise their children. Son Beck is now 16, and daughter Coe is 13. Both children help with some of the work in the shop.
“We don’t think about doing anything else,” Eric says. “Our goal is to continue to make everything in-house, although we do think about expanding and bringing on a couple more employees to help out.”
That would help give Randi Jo and Eric more time to ride their bikes, something they don’t have as much time for as they would like