Who is Alan Bader?
Designer
I love coming up with ways to put new spins on classic items and I would describe my design aesthetic as “timeless” and “simple yet sophisticated”. My background is industrial design — I specialize in wood products — but my portfolio also includes graphic and web design, packaging, apparel, jewelry, photography and videography.
Entrepreneur
I’m a DIY kind of person, due partially to desire and partially to necessity. I have built 8 brands over the last 16 years, which has given me the opportinuty to “do all the things” related to starting and running a business. Though I have an art degreee, I am also organized, detail oriented, a fast learner, and a nerd for spreadsheets.
Adventurer
I grew up traveling all over the world, visiting more places by the time I was 15 years old than most people do in a lifetime (thanks for working at Delta Airlines, Mom). Those experiences fostered an adventurous spirit in me that persists to this day. I love finding the world’s hidden gems and immersing myself in different cultures along the way.
Key Accomplishments
Sold over $1M of Elevate products — mostly U.S.-manufactured, 100% in-house assembled, packaged, warehoused, and fulfilled
Regularly collaborate and negotiate with my manufacturing partners in China and India to bring custom products to retailers and brands
Built a white label catalog with custom ERP flows and automations that saw $200k in sales within the first three months, without any marketing
Led brand development for a Barcelona-based strain breeder and seed manufacturer (while living and working in Spain)
Led the refresh of the Piranha brand, launching a new D2C website that increased sales 6x
Led a team that designed, developed, and launched a new product every week for nearly two years
My Story
I believe I was destined to develop brands and products.
Growing up in Atlanta, I loved math, art, puzzles, and building things. Later, as a teenager, I got into skateboarding, graffiti, and making skate videos. This led me to study film at the Savannah College of Art & Design, but I soon realized I wasn’t yet sure of my path. I moved back to Atlanta, and my brother suggested I explore industrial design. Once I looked into it, I knew it was right for me.
I moved to Denver to study industrial design at the Art Institute and landed a job as an industrial desiger at Omerica Organic, a local startup specializing in wood jewelry. After graduating, I continued working there, developing new products and manufacturing processes as well as growing the brand’s revenue. The experiences I gained working at Omerica led me to start my first business, Elevate Accessories.
Running Elevate, I did all the content creation, which scratched my artistic itch. I learned to navigate the complexities of the cannabis industry, which engaged my love of puzzles. I learned to build financial models, which, thankfully, was fun for a math nerd like me. I was accepted into the Canopy Boulder business accelerator program, which expanded my understanding of business development even more. Running my own business came with many challenges, but it positioned me to sell Elevate to a larger company, Windship Trading, and to accept a job as Director of Brand Development at that same company.
At Windship, I worked across departments with multiple teams to develop new products and brands, leading many projects with tight budgets. I eventually joined forces with two other Windship employees to buy Elevate back and start Alchemist Collective, a brand house and manufacturing company. We rebranded Elevate as Anomaly Artifacts and sold the brand again in early 2024. After selling the brand, we transitioned Alchemist Collective to a new business model that leverages our global manufacturing connections to offer product sourcing services to other retailers.
Big shout out to my wife for supporting me on this journey. Thank you, Love!