It’s The Official Blog

  • Account Now Required to Place Orders

    Account Now Required to Place Orders

    Due to a prolonged “failed order attack” on the store, it has become necessary to require user accounts to make purchases, at least while security options can be reviewed and experimented with.

    If you didn’t know, a failed order attack is when one or more bots latch onto an ecommerce shop, usually one product, and persistently attempt to purchase it using stolen or randomized credentials, to test whether or not they are false.

    Surely these bots scour the web seeking stores with vulnerabilities and latch onto whichever one will allow it to. But don’t worry, checkout is secure, this site doesn’t retain financial information in user accounts, and it is super fast and easy for anyone with an email to set up.

    There are numerous plugins and services out there to shake the bots off, but they aren’t all created equal, so it’s a serious decision to mull over. This is why most tiny brands launch with platforms like Shopify, Amazon, or even just Etsy. For that matter, you can use Etsy, or even just email me and we can use Venmo privately. I use WordPress with a small but well-reputed domain hosting company with servers in the great state of Oregon. It’s just another way to be American-made.

    Screenshot of a recent failed order attack.

  • New Products. New DePop Listings.

    There is never a shortage of product ideas, only the capacity to inventory and the market to buy them.

    Marketing is the toughest part of the business. This website has been improved substantially, and new marketing materials have been developed.

    To make room for new ideas, I am liquidating overstock on DePop. The DePop store will now be the place for discontinued designs, irregular products, experiments and prototypes.

    A new batch of products have been added as well. They all take advantage of materials on hand, making them affordable to build and easy to inventory.

    The Classic line of products now includes a belt bracelet, a slim belt choker, and a simplified slim waist belt.

    All three of these are made from one-inch strap carefully cut by our fabricator in Michigan, then paired with a nickel-plated brass roller buckle set.

    The roller buckle set is one of the defining aspects of the Classic product line, and they are very dependably restocked.

    The center bar buckle used for the Barbary set is now available as an add-on, and it fits especially with the Classic Slim belt and choker.

    Two universal designs have been added: Portals and Smilodon.

    Dual Prong Belt by Held Gear. THRU LLC 2025.

    Portals are punches all the way across the broad side of any belt (wider than one inch). It is considered a utility belt because it works great with carabiners, and may be ideal for rock climbers, iron workers, perhaps hikers and hunters, but there’s an undeniable style about it that can be enjoyed by anyone.

    Smilodon is commonly known as the Saber Tooth Tiger, iconic for its two great teeth, and the belt features is dual-prong roller buckle with dual snaps. Believe it or not, I couldn’t find any affordable dual roller buckles until very recently. This design can be ordered with any 1.5 inch strap in stock. As of this blog post, that includes the black Classic, the grey Mammoth, the brown Auroch, and the orange Cantaloupe.

    With these few new products available, numerous design bugs fixed on the site, updates and revisions made, and new graphic design layout concepts for advertising, I’m in a much better position to begin a genuine marketing campaign.

    Let’s go.

  • Website Makeover Underway and the New LLC is Official

    Website Makeover Underway and the New LLC is Official

    As of today, the trade name of Held Gear is owned by THRU LLC in the state of Arizona. The federal EIN has also been filed. The flexibility of Arizona’s “any legal purpose” entities make it very easy to start small and grow. There is a broader vision for this company, if successful.

    A new website is now underway, it is an upgrade from an older WordPress theme, and it’s basically a clean slate that you can do almost anything with. All of the content is being revised, and new features are forthcoming.

    Promoting a fashion brand is almost half the product design and half the multimedia that goes into promoting it. From the product photos to modeling, and now the expectation of video plus social content creation, a whole lot of energy goes into the multimedia.

    THRU LLC comes from a publishing brand that I co-created to operate as a magazine back in 2015. We formed Thru Media LLC in Oregon at the time, but it dissolved in 2018. Very tough thing, starting up a magazine.

    In 2022, I brought THRU back because I wanted to publish documentaries and other media again. Held Gear was the excuse for buying the pro camera, because that was necessary for good product images.

    The idea was to file an LLC based out of Philly, but life changed before that happened, and it is fortunate that Arizona has certain advantages for small business formation. In Pennsylvania, you cannot be a fashion designer/retailer/marketplace and publish indie documentaries while doing photo shoots for hire on the side all under one LLC. You would need a minimum of two LLC’s just to get started with that.

    It’s good advice that I’ve heard multiple times, that you just put your idea and brand out there without any official filings to see if you even have a business. I guess that’s what I did.

    Ironically, it had to move away from the testing ground that established I’m capable of it. It’s a retest.

    So off I go to work on this website. And then the next thing. Thanks for reading. Be seeing ya.

  • Held Gear is Now Based in Tucson, Arizona

    Held Gear is Now Based in Tucson, Arizona

    As of February 22, 2025, the current sole proprietor of Held Gear (yours truly) was on the move to Tucson, Arizona, having three years ago brought the brand to Philadelphia from the small town of Ajo, Arizona.

    The roots of the brand go back to Portland, Oregon, as a side hustle developed by Micah Perry in late 2007, officially launching the business months later in 2008.

    While Philadelphia is a great location in terms of aesthetics and values that drive the Held Gear idea, this brand is a sole proprietorship that has to move with the ebbs and flows of the single operator’s life. Such was the case with Micah, as the business from time to time went on stand still as he managed the challenges thrown at him.

    From Tucson, the business environment is friendly, and the process of launching an LLC is more affordable, and simpler, than from Pennsylvania. The tax burden on a small business is minimum as compared to Philly. There are two large metropolises in Arizona, and many small towns with values aligned to the Held Brand. And yet, it is a smaller pond.

    Already, a new office in the heart of downtown Tucson has been established for Held Gear and can be found on the Contact Page.

    The inventory for all Held marketplaces have all been updated.

    Thank You Philly for the experience, and for the support received from customers, models, and creatives.