Hello and welcome to the first-ever edition of Waggle Fringe Thoughts! The impetus for launching a blog of this kind is part business, part indulgence, all long overdue (one can only write so many press releases and email CTAs before the brain band starts drumming to “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”)
Fringe Thoughts is a working title… we’re very open to suggestions. Waggle Weekly is the obvious answer, but transparently I’d hesitate to brand it anything that might implicate us (@me) into such a regular cadence. So for now, Fringe Thoughts it is. Or Waggle FT, to our friends.
On the list of all the cool Waggle things I could cover in this inaugural post, nothing felt cooler than our upcoming Masters-inspired Azalea Collection release. I know we’re far from the only apparel company to drop Augusta-themed merch, but this one—the third edition—is the stuff of lore. To put in the words of our Gen Z contingent, it’s “heat.”
Now, most golf fans know that the game’s most iconic tournament is a bit… quirky. Pimento cheese sandwiches, caddy jumpsuits, payphones and a gentleman’s rule about folding chairs.
One of Augusta’s more recently captivating traditions is the… *checks notes*... commemorative garden gnome.
The pint-sized collector’s item was introduced in 2016 and quickly amassed a cult following, selling out every year with patrons lining up each morning at the merchandise tent to get their hands on one. Within the last six months, the cute little fellas have really upped the ante, giving Travelocity a run for its money with social media nods by everyone from golf influencer royalty St. Andre to the Masters account itself.
And who are we to deny them their moment in the spotlight?
The idea to put gnomes at the forefront of Waggle’s 2024 Azalea Collection came from Jacob Kohner, head of our design team and one creative SOB. A golf rube himself, Jacob has always been fascinated by how pristine the conditions are at Augusta. “No blade of grass out of place,” as they say. And maybe it had something to do with the bedtime stories he was reading to his newborn, but Jacob found himself imagining a world in which the gnomes escape from their boxes each night to become the grounds crew... digging hole locations, watering the Azalea flowers, cutting every blade of grass to a precise length with a tiny little scissor. Santa’s elves but, instead of children’s dreams, they’re fulfilling those of millennial golf dads the world over. And thus, the staple pieces of this year’s collection were born.
But if half-foot lawn ornaments don’t get you going, rest assured we’ve got plenty more to be excited about. Also dropping is a lower profile hat that fuses the iconic patron chairs with the more iconic green jacket (The Green Hat[ket]) and a vintage-style unisex crewneck sweatshirt. Both new product categories make the historically male-geared collection more accessible to women, playing to us ladies who look decidedly less cool than Billie Eilish when we attempt to wear oversized men’s polos.
Curious when you can bring the gnome home? Early release drops March 6 to email subscribers (get on the list here) with free-for-all public access on March 13.
That’s all until next time! On behalf of everyone at Waggle, thanks for following along and we’ll see you on the links!