Canopy Collection

In Their Own Words

How did the idea for Canopy Collection come about?

It was a crazy idea born over a post-concert Thai meal and inspired by a stainless steel tumbler.

I wrote more about our beginnings here:

https://canopy-collection.com/editorial/how-canopy-came-to-be

What does a day in the life look like for you running Canopy Collection?

Every day varies quite a bit—the busyness comes and goes. No two days are the same. One day, we might be deep in CAD, fine-tuning a design, and the next, we’re figuring out logistics for an event.

For context, a small team of us are building the brand behind the scenes. We’re all working on it part-time, balancing other commitments or jobs on the side—so it’s definitely been a juggling act.

Walk me through your creative process.

It depends—ideas come from different sources, both internally and externally. For our first year, we used the technical outdoors as a guiding theme. Outdoor brands often release product variations optimized for different use cases. Similarly, in yo-yo design, while top players can perform their full trick sets on most modern yoyos, the differences lie in the details—shape, weight distribution, and how each design caters to different playstyles.

We set out to create a universal shape that balanced competition and casual play, drawing inspiration from The Otter and the Atmos Polaris, but use material as our primarly lever. The question became: how could we use materials to enhance performance for different use cases while maintaining a consistent shape and design?

What’s your favorite memory running Canopy?

Definitely Stargazing Night! Specifically, seeing Polo beat Zach in the preliminary round of the battle. It surpassed any and all expectations we had as a team.

With the event, we wanted to create something that focused on the community—its creativity and diversity—and celebrate the people who make it so special. We aimed to build a space where everyone felt welcomed and included, while also placing creativity, originality, and musicality at the forefront.

Really grateful for how the event was received!

https://canopy-collection.com/editorial/post-stargazing-night

What’s your favorite release to date?

Personally, the Canopy SS. But I’m biased—this one most closely resembles The Otter. It has a quickness and agility that are surprising for its undersized specs.

https://canopy-collection.com/editorial/canopy-ss-design-notes

What’s your next release, and what makes it so exciting? What’s in store for Canopy Collection in the future?

We have a handful of things planned, but we’re keeping them quiet for now.

If you could go back and do one thing differently, what would it be?

Looking back, not much we’d do differently. We’ve made a ton of mistakes over the last year, but we wouldn’t be where we are today without them—and the lessons they brought! So grateful. 🙂

Any advice to aspiring companies/creators?

Just get something out into the community’s hands and learn from their feedback! Even if it’s just a concept or a rough sketch on a napkin. There were so many times we hesitated to release something, but the community is incredibly supportive.

And find a good team to work with!