About Gillies

Eureka

I came up with an idea about developing a fishing wader with a water-proof relief zipper.

Guinness

Gillies was born in the Spring of 1995 after returning from a wonderful stent at Guinness brewery as the quality control director in Los Angeles,

My Mother

My Mother then made me sign up for sewing lessons at Jo-Ann Fabrics in the evening.

Logo

My dear friend and Fraternity Brother Keith Allemen was then enlisted to design a logo that would rock the boat! Which in my opinion he nailed it!

Fly Fishing Retailer

I then discovered there was an actual organization called the Fly Fishing Retailer and they had an up-coming trade show in several months.

WHAT IS A GILLIE

Ancient Gaelic Term

Gillie Definition

Gillie or ghillie is an ancient Gaelic term for a person who acts as a servant or attendant on a fishing, fly fishing, hunting, or deer stalking expedition, primarily in the Highlands or on a river such as the River Spey.

Ghillie-Weetfi

A ghillie-weetfit, a term now obsolete was the ghillie whose duty it was to carry his master over streams. It became a term of contempt among the Lowlanders for the "tail" of a Highland chief

Duties

Highland chiefs needed attendants and manservants to do the toil, slog and heavy lifting, they were responsible for knowing the weather conditions for stalking, where the best fishing spots were

Traditional Outfit

a three-piece estate tweed outfit from neck to grubby boots ... thick wool waistcoat, jacket and breeches, forest-green tie and coarse-wool checked shirt, with pinned leaping salmon and stag head brooches, a spruce-green fishing hat and mud-flecked gaiters

LET’S GO FISHING

How it all began

Fish Lures

Gillies was born in the Spring of 1995 after returning from a wonderful stent at Guinness brewery as the quality control director in Los Angeles, MY childhood dream was to become the next Ralph Lauren someday. One late night I was looking over a certain brands clothing catalog and again dreaming about my two passions Fashion and Fly Fishing…a lite bulb went off in my head. I came up with an idea about developing a fishing wader with a water-proof relief zipper. Eureka this company was a go! The next few weeks I started calling around to the local Art schools whom had Fashion Design programs trying to find some help..and after several calls and many strike outs I found a guy who designed the customs at YSU Theater Dept to help. During this time we would countless hours in his studio cutting apart many of the brands I cherished and working on my vision. This took weeks. My Mother then made me sign up for sewing lessons at Jo-Ann Fabrics in the evening. So I would work all day at my Surgical Device Sales job and race to the fabric store to just make my classes. We were getting closer every week.. but we were still months into it. Now into Spring I took a break and went to watch my Nephew’s little league baseball game. While there I was introduced to one of the Teams Parents that just happened to be from Ireland. While talking about my time stationed there and the whole Guinness expiernce, my Sister told him about this Fly fishing project that I was working on. He got so excited and told me that his beloved Grandfather was an actual Gillie in Ireland. So after careful research and understanding what an actual Gillie was,I thought it was a perfect fit and the brand was born. My dear friend and Fraternity Brother Keith Allemen was then enlisted to design a logo that would rock the boat! Which in my opion he nailed it! We went from designing a logo that after 25 years still looks as good as it did when we designed it and a history with lineages that has continued on during this relaunch. I then discovered there was an acutal organization called the Fly Fishing Retailer and they had an up- coming trade show in several months. With a target date set I had a short few months to finish my line of waders and I also had a line of water repellent fishing sweaters being private labeled for me. So we wen to the show and learned a lot. Gained a ton of experience. So after a few years of growth and a few shows under our belts..My goal now was to develop a better fishing wader than the” Majors”. During this process I had secured some priority licensed fabrics and found better sourcing agents. I developed an Award Winning Wading Jacket at the Fly Fishing Retailer Show. We finally made it!

Your Cart

PASSION