Dear Idylwilde Dealers, Reps, Sig. Tyers and Valued Consumers,

First day of class at Idylwilde!

Today I bring unfortunate news. The factory that I founded with a mountain bike and a dream, along with Sister Christine and her group of underprivileged people has unilaterally cut Idylwilde off mid season with no explanation. The POs Idylwilde made were accepted, but now we are being told that the deal has changed.

This decision appears to be directed at me personally. In 2012 I fell extremely ill to debilitating depression. This was brought on by stress, and the amount of work I was doing to insure that Idylwilde was successful and to build a brand that you the consumer of our flies could relate to. That stress, combined with emotional trauma from my past, sent my brain into shut-down.

First palmered hackle at Idylwilde.

I had carried the weight of a horrible secret for my entire life: the fact that I was molested by a stranger. This weight along with the stress of running Idylwilde became too much to bear. It took me a year to recover.

I assumed my trusted senior staff would rally and help me in my time of need. In fact my illness was used against me. My inability to function at full capacity was used to turn the factory I built against me. This was done by my employees, on my dime, at my office at my company.

I finally became healthy again in November of 2012 and returned to the office full time. But I soon discovered that my relationship and trust with the person who ran my manufacturing had been destroyed. Since then I have rebuilt the US staff to the best we have ever had.

My reputation within the greater fly fishing community stands on its own. I gave my word to the shops, reps, signature tiers, and you the consumer that I would deliver on the POs I accepted this fall. By my own (previous) staff undermining my credibility a string of real people and real businesses are in jeopardy of taking major financial hits.

My customers will lose sales. My reps will lose commissions that are needed to cover costs already spent this past fall visiting dealers to write PO’s, Sig. tiers will miss out on commissions they counted on and need.  Guides and outfitters that depend on certain patterns to make their living will be hurt.

Baby, still tying flies for us on one of here first days.

This isn’t just about me or Idylwilde. If those people want to hurt me personally, I can take it. But for my employees to use their position of trust and the opportunities and relationships I gave them to attempt to destroy me by turning the very manufacturing facility I built against me is sickening.

I paid my previous employees salary for the last 15 years.  Not a pay period missed our a check bounced.  When I needed them they used my mental illness to portray me as lazy, stealing from the company and incompetent in the eyes of my manufacturing management.  That is the unfortunate stigma that goes with mental disease.  The is no physical wound making it easy for others to portray me as “faking it.”

Hopefully people will come to their senses and ship the flies that they promised and we can put this behind us. The decision really lies the greater flyfishing community.  As an industry it is important to send a message that we look after our own.

Sincerely,

Zach Mertens

Idylwilde President and Founder

This is not about feeling bad for me.  If people want to take me down I can handle it.  The issue here is that my sales reps, my dealers, and my sig. tiers are being punished for doing their job. 

Dear Friends,

1997 first flies tied by first five Idylwilde Tiers. Trained by Zach Mertens

This letter is to inform you that Idylwilde’s fly production in the Philippines has been suspended indefinitely, and that we are in the process of updating all of our customers as to the status of their fly orders for 2013. Our manufacturer notified us last week that it is refusing to ship us any further product at this time. The Company is holding our April fly order, which includes the bulk of our pre-season product for 2013. We believe Idylwilde has met every obligation under our agreement, and the sudden and unilateral actions by the manufacturer are improper and a breach of our agreement. For the first time in our 15 years of business, Idylwilde is being forced to ship out pre-season orders with embarrassing fill rates. Barring some unforeseen resolution, our fill percentages will fall further as the season progresses.

Idywlilde: A mountain bike, a backpack, materials, vices and an idea

Please know that our primary concern is the success of our customers. We intend to seek every avenue to get this resolved, including through legal action if necessary. By the end of May our Portland staff will update you on the status of all outstanding pre-season orders so you know what flies you will have to sell this season. We will leave backorders open in the hope that our April shipment does eventually arrive. We will continue to ship pre-seasons according to the set schedule, and you can trust that the flies we have already set aside for your order will be saved for you. If you would like us to ship an order early, call us or let your rep know, and we will ship ASAP.

So, in the short term you can expect a call from our Portland staff with an update on the status of your order(s). We will also be conducting an inventory of our stock, so that our sales reps and staff know what flies are available for sale through the remainder of the season. And of course, we will notify you immediately if we have better news about the status of 2013 production.

Zach & Juliet at 1st workshop site.

Personally, I am doing everything in my power to get your fly orders released. We booked pre-season orders for 2013 because we had assurance that those orders would be produced by our manufacturer and your orders would be fulfilled, We want to make good on that commitment. We will communicate openly, deliver the product we have on hand, and prepare for future seasons. Rest assured we will be re-tooled with new production facilities in time to make a 2014 offering. New production facilities will allow us to improve on many levels. And we will do everything we can to rebuild your faith in Idylwilde.

Thank you for your business, and for your patience through this challenging time. We look forward to rebuilding your trust, and helping your business grow in the future.

Sincerely,

Zach Mertens

Idylwilde Flies President and Founder