BOISE, IDAHO — No matter where you were born and raised, you'll always have fond and nostalgic memories of the place you call home. A brother and sister team certainly feels that way about Boise, and to the delight of other locals, started showing that hilarious nostalgia through stickers, hats, and more. In this week's Made in Idaho, we fondly remember the "good old days," with Boise OG!
In the fall of 2020, siblings Kelly Knopp and Heidi Tilby were scheming ideas.
"We met up like once a week and we'd have some drinks and talk about old Boise memories and stuff that made us feel really nostalgic or funny things that we remembered, and it kind of evolved into what if we made some shirts or some hats or stickers to commemorate it," said Boise OG owners Kelly Knopp and Heidi Tilby.
Fast forward to April of this year and Boise OG was born; an online marketplace for stickers, magnets, hats, and other swag made with Treasure Valley locals in mind.
"Since we started, every time we release a design it seems like we get like five to ten emails that are like hey I remember that, do you remember? And what's funny too is we're up to probably 150 designs now so people are like hey what about what about? And we're like have that one, did that one," said Knopp.
Their most popular design? An infamous former playground in Boise's North End.
"Originally Camel's Back had a pretty impressive playground. It was definitely before safety was a first priority. So now you go to a playground and it's just far safer and less fun," joked Knopp.
They're surprised with how much they continue to learn about the place they grew up in.
"I'd like to say almost like Mad Magazine historians where we know a lot more about Boise now but in a very sarcastic, tongue and cheek way. We know weird stuff. Yeah. Useless stuff. A resource for useless Boise facts," laughed the siblings.
But don't think they stick to just Boise.
"It's finding that tie of if you grew up here, if you've been here long enough, like what is Kuna Caves to a Boise OG, what is Breadloaf Rock? For us, it was driving by and of course, you know, every time, the normal dad thing was like hey look it's Breadloaf Rock. That was a big deal growing up. Or every time you go into Nampa you smell sugar beets. Or the first time you go to Kuna Caves and you realize it's just a bunch of glass and shotgun shells which is kind of traumatizing. So that actually might turn into a sticker next week," laughed Knopp.
Boise OG is run out of their homes with no current plans for expansion.
"We're really bad about goals so growing our business is probably on the backburner. We're like, our plan is probably whatever ends up happening. Yeah, we might just shut it all down tomorrow," joked Knopp and Tilby.
But why add a storefront when business has been booming from the beginning? Their customers are just as proud as Boise OG to have been made in Idaho.
"Everybody, you know, supporting us and we get really great emails with people saying they just love it and forgot about all this stuff and they really want to be a part of the conversation so we're always trying to figure out ways to bring people in to be involved with their ideas or share their stories. Yeah. It's been really fun," said Tilby.
In the future, look out for new items like fanny packs, flasks, and plenty more. You can find all their unique merchandise at BoiseOG.com.
