I started full-time at what was then Struck Design on June 16, 2003. There were 4 of us in an 800 sq. ft. room on the second floor of the old Sweet’s Candy Factory in SLC. It was a great space: a beat up hardwood floor, exposed beams, a newly designed vinyl dot pattern on the windows, and of course the classic Struck wall-paint simply known as Autumn Pumpkin.

On my first day of work, I spent the day putting together shelves and cabinets. I asked Jason what my email address would be. He said kyles[at]struckdesign.com. I looked around at the 2 other dudes and was like, can’t it just be kyle rather than kyles? Jason said no, cuz Struck was gonna grow and could have another Kyle at some point. I sort of smiled and nodded. But he didn’t stop there; he went on to share his vision of Struck as a team of experts based here in SLC but with other groups of experts in locations around the nation. Again, I sort of smiled and nodded.

For the record, we’re currently up to 4 Ryans, but there’s still only one Kyle.

On Wednesday I walked up to the second floor of the building on 208 SW 1st Ave. in Portland, Oregon. And talk about deja vu. There before me was a very surreal, yet familiar scene: a space with, you guessed it: beat up hardwood floors, exposed beams, vinyl dots, and yes oh yes, Autumn Pumpkin.

For those of you that don’t know, the rumors are true! Struck has officially opened an office in P-town. And let me just say that being there in person rocked my world! I even got to put together some furniture. It was a little like Back to the Future, except it was mostly like the part in Back to the Future II when Doc and Marty skewed into the alternate space-time continuum. (I was really hoping not to run into a bizzaro version of myself.) But seriously, Struck and Portland fit together like hipsters and skinny jeans. The doors are open, phones are working, we already have some amazing peeps on the ground, and we’re hiring more.

So calling all PDX pixel pushers—WE WANT YOU. A new era of Struckdom is upon us, and it’s happening in your backyard. Come join the cause.