WHO WE ARE.HI, I’M GWEN.

The spark was a friend who wanted to make a drinks kit out of a thrift-store briefcase. My first thought was, Well, I can do better.

I had a stash of walnut scraps under my desk and thought, I can make something cool with all this. A love of cocktails, a pile of wood and the urge to make something of my own — that’s how the original briefcase began.

I’m a little shy and would normally prefer to let the product do the talking. But there’s a person behind it, and a lifetime of learning how to make things.

I build products for a living at a friendly neighborhood tech company. I’ve spent more than a decade professionally building models and prototypes, with hands-on experience in manufacturing and design.

There are no shortcuts or guarantees in bringing a product to life. I believe in the Mixologists’ Briefcase, and I’m working diligently to give it — and the people supporting it — the care it deserves.

Everywhere I take the briefcase, people want one. That’s what made me think about selling it: something I’d made for myself could be something other people would love, too.

I tried to get Barwear off the ground in 2020. Then life happened. I got busy. And, honestly, I was a little afraid to fail.

I knew how to make things, but bringing a product to life on my own felt monumental. I was overwhelmed and didn’t know how to move forward. That’s the honest part of this story — it hasn’t been a straight line from making the briefcase to sharing it with the world.

Now I’m working on prototype 2. Years of using the original have taught me a few things. As a maker, I can see ways to make it better: aiming for a lighter, more durable briefcase, and refining the details that make it a pleasure to bring along. It’s still a work in progress, shaped by real use.