If you’ve ever ordered from us you may have noticed the return address on your shipment was Stowe, VT. We’re very proud to call this historic little ski town our home. We, the staff of SkiEssentials.com, feel exceptionally lucky to be able to work in an industry we love in a quaint little Vermont town and we owe that privilege to our owner, David Wolfgang. David was recently honored by The Stowe Area Association as the Stowe Business Person of the Year at their Annual Dinner on June 15th. He has played an integral role in developing and maintaining the Stowe business community and we thought we’d take a moment to say “thanks” and reflect on everything he’s done for our small town.
David is a native New Yorker who moved to Vermont for the same reason lots of people do: the mountains, environment, and ski culture. His first stints in our town were the same as so many other ski bums: odd jobs around town to pay the bills while maximizing time on-hill. As many of us know, this is a great lifestyle for a while, but becomes somewhat difficult to sustain over the years. Sensing stagnation, his girlfriend-turned-wife Katrine gave him some tough love, which resulted in his first business venture: Bedside Tuners.
An original Bedside Tuners business card.
Launched in 1985, it was a relatively innovative business for its time, offering mobile ski tuning services. Your skis were picked up, tuned overnight, and then returned to you in the morning with a freshly baked blueberry muffin. Yes, that’s right; you got breakfast with your newly waxed and sharpened skis. Needless to say this creative business model was hugely popular amongst vacationers staying at the multitude of inns and lodges in the area. Soon enough, Bedside Tuners grew large enough that it warranted a permanent residence. That’s when David first setup shop in the building on Mountain Rd that is now the home of our physical store Pinnacle Ski and Sports and the custom bootfitting shop Inner Bootworks. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way David kicked the muffins to the curb, something we’re still a bit upset about. So no, SkiEssentials.com will not be including muffins with your order (although we do have some exciting partnerships we’ll be announcing soon that will result in something similar...).
A few years after setting up shop on Mountain Road, David came across an opportunity to work with the Trapp Family Lodge Sales Team selling timeshares. Once again, he hit a homerun as the team sold 100% of the available timeshare units. This success catapulted a real estate career for David, which has grown over the years to include six buildings within the Stowe communities consisting of apartment units, retail storefronts, gyms and yoga studios, offices, and more.
All things considered, it seems almost too obvious that this award should belong to David. If it wasn’t for his business ventures in the Stowe area, many of us would not be in the position we are today. Between SkiEssentials, Pinnacle Ski and Sports, and Inner Bootworks, David has created numerous job opportunities that simply don’t exist in other mountain towns. Take this very website for example. How many other ski destinations are home to a thriving E-commerce ski retailer that employs web developers, web designers, warehouse positions, ski technicians, and more?
On the real estate side of things, David’s created several quality residences and business spaces that have helped pave the way for a sustainable, successful town with a strong local economy supporting an abundance of die-hard skiers, mountain bikers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. For this reason all of us who work under the Mazel-Tec umbrella want to extend a HUGE “Thank You” to David for allowing us to help continue to grow your businesses while living in this amazing town we call home.
Now all we need are some industrial convection ovens to start baking as many muffins as skis that leave our warehouse. Unfortunately, that would require a bigger warehouse.
An original Bedside Tuners business card.
Launched in 1985, it was a relatively innovative business for its time, offering mobile ski tuning services. Your skis were picked up, tuned overnight, and then returned to you in the morning with a freshly baked blueberry muffin. Yes, that’s right; you got breakfast with your newly waxed and sharpened skis. Needless to say this creative business model was hugely popular amongst vacationers staying at the multitude of inns and lodges in the area. Soon enough, Bedside Tuners grew large enough that it warranted a permanent residence. That’s when David first setup shop in the building on Mountain Rd that is now the home of our physical store Pinnacle Ski and Sports and the custom bootfitting shop Inner Bootworks. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way David kicked the muffins to the curb, something we’re still a bit upset about. So no, SkiEssentials.com will not be including muffins with your order (although we do have some exciting partnerships we’ll be announcing soon that will result in something similar...).
A few years after setting up shop on Mountain Road, David came across an opportunity to work with the Trapp Family Lodge Sales Team selling timeshares. Once again, he hit a homerun as the team sold 100% of the available timeshare units. This success catapulted a real estate career for David, which has grown over the years to include six buildings within the Stowe communities consisting of apartment units, retail storefronts, gyms and yoga studios, offices, and more.
All things considered, it seems almost too obvious that this award should belong to David. If it wasn’t for his business ventures in the Stowe area, many of us would not be in the position we are today. Between SkiEssentials, Pinnacle Ski and Sports, and Inner Bootworks, David has created numerous job opportunities that simply don’t exist in other mountain towns. Take this very website for example. How many other ski destinations are home to a thriving E-commerce ski retailer that employs web developers, web designers, warehouse positions, ski technicians, and more?
On the real estate side of things, David’s created several quality residences and business spaces that have helped pave the way for a sustainable, successful town with a strong local economy supporting an abundance of die-hard skiers, mountain bikers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. For this reason all of us who work under the Mazel-Tec umbrella want to extend a HUGE “Thank You” to David for allowing us to help continue to grow your businesses while living in this amazing town we call home.
Now all we need are some industrial convection ovens to start baking as many muffins as skis that leave our warehouse. Unfortunately, that would require a bigger warehouse.
