The Burlington, Vermont based design firm JDK has probably done more to shape the way we all view snowboarding than any other company ever. Their years of shaping the branding and visual design at Burton Snowboards have made them almost synonymous with the world’s largest snowboard company. And that’s only part of it. Look around in the action sports industry and JDK alumni are everywhere.
Lately, numerous changes have been shifting the balance of the company founded by Michael Jager, Giovanna di Paola Jager and David Kemp 27-years-ago, according to a Kathryn Flagg story in Seven Days. But what exactly those changes will mean for the principals are still a bit vague. One thing is certain, David Kemp has left the building.
The transformation is happening quickly, more than just the typical ebb and flow of business. Kemp declined to speak with Seven Days for this story; his two-line email response to inquiries read: “No, I am not available to be interviewed. I am no longer involved with JDK.” . . . That’s a monumental change. Again and again in interviews about JDK, former clients, friends and employees pointed to the partnership between Jager and Kemp as a main reason for JDK’s success. Their right brain/left brain pairing was primarily responsible for running the firm, especially after Giovanna Jager — a brilliant designer herself — stepped away from day-to-day business to raise the couple’s three children.
Michael Jager tells Seven Days that there will be official news after the New Year. Until then, just read this story and then come to your own conclusions. It’s much more fun that way.
[Link: Seven Days]
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