Finally, a Diaper Bag Dads WANT to be Seen Carrying!

Rochester native Jesse Andrist (who now lives in Menomonie, Wis., with his wife, Christina, and their three children) has channeled his passion for being a stay-at-home dad into his company, Chabee Outfitters, and recently designed a diaper bag for dads -- and they are really great! I actually have a non-dad friend that has one of these and he uses it as a messenger bag and always gets compliments on it!

The business name, Chabee, is a mashup of the words "change and be." Andrist says the company name was inspired by the beautiful Gandhi quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

"I did this to validate and celebrate my decision to be an involved dad," he said. "I decided to become a stay-at-home dad when my first child was born. I believe there is nothing better for your kids or your soul than to be an involved father or father figure. That's how this was all born — my small way of trying to put a little bit of validation into that choice to be a stay-at-home dad and an involved dad and just do it differently than other dads have. My intention is that other dads seeing products made just for them will, in a small way, add validation and evidence that the world respects and appreciates the decision to be an involved dad."

After going through a few prototypes, Jesse began producing and selling the bags last fall. "Honesty" and "quality" are themes that come across in talking to Andrist. The materials are high-quality and guaranteed to last.

"I wanted waxed canvas because it's waterproof," he said. "And it's nice and sturdy. All of the hardware is 100 percent brass. I could do brass-plated nickel or something, but I want this bag to be long term, last through multiple kids, and then with the nice leather, all of the sudden I have a high-end bag, which I didn't set out to do. I grew up with a pretty normal childhood — we didn't have loads of extravagances, so to justify this bag for myself, I offer free repairs for life — your fault or mine — for as long as you want to send it in to me. I'll fix it as best I can. That's my version of a more honest guarantee. My end goal is to be a company that I would want to do business with."

For more on Chabee Outfitters, check out www.chabeeoutfitters.com or find it on Facebook:www.facebook.com/chabeeoutfitters, or check out this video here!  http://www.chabeeoutfitters.com/productions