The Histoy Of Talic
A company built out of necessity....
Day one
The history of Talic started in 1999, and Tim Tucker needed to get his garage ready for winter. This meant his three kayaks had to find their way off the floor to make room for the family car. What he wanted to do was just buy a storage rack, but in 1999 commercially available kayak storage simply did not exist. So, he picked up his tools and set out to make one. By the end of the weekend, Tim had created a free-standing rack for his three boats – and, in hindsight, a prototype for a Kayak Storage System. Having been trained and employed as a graphic illustrator, Tim knew how to create advertisements. With the notion that there were probably at least a few people out there that needed a place to store their kayaks, he created an ad to be placed in Sea Kayaker magazine. No sooner was the ad published, an order came in. He quickly made another rack. And then more orders came in.
Talic is born…
Success was in the making
By early 2002, Tim’s weekend job was doing better than his day job, so he made the decision to leave the advertising world, and promote his woodworking business. The Talic Classic Racks were selling well, but not everyone needs a rack for multiple boats. Tapping into his creative and artistic abilities, he designed a wall-mounted unit for one, two, and three boats. Another great success, but then someone called – they had a wider boat. Could he help them out? Absolutely. The Kayak Tilt was born. Designed to hold a boat on its side, it could accommodate boats of all widths. Talic has been growing every year since – where there is a need, Talic strives to help, whether it’s designing new products, or customizing existing ones.
When the first rack was created, there was no “Talic”, just a guy with a need for storage. Tim needed a “name” to put in a magazine ad. In honor of his great, great grandfather, Nikolai Talic, a shipbuilder back in the homeland of Croatia, Tim chose Talic for the name of his new business. After all, Tim felt his working with wood and building storage racks for boats was in keeping with family traditions!
Truth be told
Ok, truth is, that’s just a story.
What really happened was, while sitting at a gas station in Monson, Maine, Tim noticed a word on an adjacent building partly blocked by a truck. He could only read “tallic”, the last half of the word metallic. The sound of “tallic” resonated with him. He changed the spelling to Talic, incorporated it, and a business specializing in kayak storage systems had begun.
Talic becomes a family business…
Talic doubled in size
For many years, Tim was Talic, all by himself. However, business was growing quickly, he needed help. Part-time employees came and went. The chemistry was never right. Tim worked 7 day weeks almost every week of the year, for several years.
The history of Talic was about to expand. On a spring weekend, he took some much-needed time off and drove east to visit his father. Upon arriving, he discovered his father was not at home. Having come so far, he continued a short distance further to his hometown of Seneca Falls, to visit his sister. She was just leaving! “We’re going to a dance class.” A bit embarrassed she added, “But, you are welcome to come along!” Mostly out of curiosity, he joined her and went to his first ballroom dance class.
Jeannie, who was a resident of the neighboring town of Auburn, was at the Seneca Falls class as well. Later in the evening, she mentioned to Tim, “I want to hike all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks!” Tim, who is also an avid hiker, had his interest piqued. It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship.
New digs
It wasn’t long before Jeannie went to work for Tim in Rochester and Tim moved to Auburn. Their over an hour commute every day prompted them to begin searching for a new location in Auburn. Jeannie’s son, Jon, found a pole barn for sale, and the pieces began to fall into place. They purchased, renovated and outfitted it to run efficiently with a lot of room to grow. Best of all, it was only 5 minutes from home. While all that was going on, they got married!
Today, two of Jeannie’s sons are helping out now. Nick keeps the shelves stocked, and Pete is working in the shop with Tim. Together, they have many more ideas for new products, and ways to make the shop more efficient.
Tim and Jeannie continue to bring their love of the outdoors and adventure to their business. They hike and paddle whenever they can. Yes, they still dance. And the history of Talic continues to this day.