Jim Gorman is an award-winning book and magazine author. He's a contributing
editor to Backpacker and Popular Mechanics magazines, and his writing has
appeared in Men's Health, Runner's World, This Old House, Country Living,
National Geographic Adventure, Better Homes and Gardens, Endless Vacation,
Bicycling, Boy's Life, and elsewhere. He writes primarily about the
environment, outdoor exploration on foot and mountain bike, health &
wellness, home and garden, and energy conservation.
Jim's work has won a variety of awards, including a National Magazine Award
(2003) for "Wild In The Parks," National Geographic Adventure Magazine;
Travel Writer of the Year Award from the Caribbean Tourism Organization for
""Wild Beauties," Endless Vacation Magazine; and the Pluma de Plata (Silver
Quill) Award for Best Travel Writing on Mexico from the Mexico Tourism
Board, for "Zacatecas: Desert Rose," also in Endless Vacation Magazine. He
was also a National Magazine Award Finalist in 2005 for "Grail Trails,"
National Geographic Adventure Magazine.
Prior to his career as a freelance writer, Jim was an editor at Backpacker
Magazine, the website GORP.com, and the environmental journal World Watch.
Chapter 1
Highlight product: Maine Hunting Shoe / Bean Boot
Theme: L.L.s personal story and the founding of Bean
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The Maine Mystique: Former governor John McKernan once famously quipped, Is Maine Maine because of Bean, or is Bean Bean because of Maine?” Bean cant be fully comprehended without understanding Maines symbolic identity in the American psyche. Moose, lobster, Katahdin, Maine Guides, Yankee values, wilderness camps, black flies; they add up to Vacationlands sense of place, real and imagined.
Making the Bean Hunting Shoe. A step-by-step, photo-driven look at the production process. Meaty captions add depth. Emphasize the point that the boot is still hand-sewn in Maine.
Wit and Wisdom from L.L. Select stories and quotes from the founder.
Styles of the Time: 1920s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
100 Years of Dry Feet. Customer testimonials and stories about Bean Boots.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 1912-1929. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos. For each era well pinpoint important and quirky milestones such as Eleanor Roosevelt visiting the store in 1939, Bean getting its own zip code in 1976, sales topping $100 million in 1979, the 500,000th Bean boot sold, etc.
Chapter 2
Highlight product: Chamois Cloth Shirt
Theme: The company weathers the Depression and joins war effort
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
A Bean In Every Mailbox: Visual tour of the Bean catalog through the decades. Text describes LLs writing style and personal imprint on the catalog. Inset of catalog copy of the Chamois Shirt from this era.
Midnight Run: Throw away the key. Bean begins operating its store 24 hours a day, in 1951 catering to early-rising hunters and fisherman and creating odd, middle-of-the-night encounters recollected here by showroom staff.
Cutting Edge. Product and materials innovations pioneered by Bean through the years, like no-leak waders.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 19301945. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 3
Highlight product: Field Coat
Theme: Post-war years and innovative business practice
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The State of Bean. Map of Maine rendered as one of those old-time, kitschy state maps in cartoon form, only with key Bean events and locales, and L.L.s greatest hunting and fishing achievements flagged, along with outdoor highlights like Katahdin, Acadia, Penobscott Bay, Allagash and St. John rivers, etc.
Face of Bean: A profile spotlighting an employee, for example, Winfield Win” Given, boot sewer and one of the companys first and longest-serving employees.
Northwoods Ambassadors: Maine Guides are legendary for their woods wisdom and have been a key part of L.L. Bean for decades. A look at their history and most memorable personalities and moments.
Styles of the Time: 1940s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
Married At Bean. Theres customer loyalty and then theres loving a company so much you hold your wedding at its flagship retail store. More than a few brides have walked down the showroom aisle.
100 Years of Staying Warm. Customer testimonials and stories about the field coat.
L.L. Bean Timeline, 19461959. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 4
Highlight product: Boat and Tote Bag
Theme: Increased sales and catalog offerings, death of L.L. Bean
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
The Customer is Always Right (Well, Usually): Amusing anecdotes from the customer care department (past and present) of interactions with customers.
Face of Bean: Mel Collins, longtime catalog photographer.
100 Years of Toting. Customer testimonials and stories about the Boat and Tote.
Test Run: L.L. wouldnt include anything in his catalog unless hed used it in the field first to make sure it works as advertised. That tradition continues today in the Bean tester program, described here, which taps into the experiences of ##TK## testers in the field from Costa Rica to Alaska.
Bean Timeline, 1960-1967. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 5
Highlight product: Goose Down Vest
Theme: The outdoor boom
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
A Classic Gets A Makeover. Advances in materials and changing costs of production have altered the look and performance of favorite items. Show a before and after photos of the Adventure Duffel to trace its change from canvas, leather, and brass fixtures to Cordura and polypropylene (chk). Captions and leader lines point out key features and why they were changed.
From Brainstorm to Doorstep. Photo-driven treatment traces the evolution of a single product from concept to SKU. Gives us an opportunity to meet designers, buyers, testers, warehouse employees, call center people, pickers, etc. Also allows us to trumpet Beans control and testing systems.
Best Sellers: The top 5 best selling items from 1950 v 2012.
Styles of the Time: 1970s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from this era.
Chapter 6
Highlight product: Norwegian Sweater
Theme: The Rise of Preppy Helps Make L.L. Bean a National Brand
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
Pilgrimage to Freeport: Visiting the Bean store becomes a rite of passage for anyone serious about the outdoors, or wishing to appear so. Customer recollections of their first journey to the Mecca of outdoor sporting goods.
100 Years of Looking Good. Customer testimonials and stories about the Norwegian Sweater and other lifestyle apparel.
Bean Timeline, 1968-1988. Bottom of the page scroll across two pages pinpointing great moments in Bean history through clever call outs and small photos.
Chapter 7
Highlight product: [PRODUCT TBD]
Theme: New opportunities beyond the catalog
Preliminary selection of sidebars:
Tour de Bean. A map of Freeport and surroundings showing the location of the companys many facilities.
Bean On Top: Bean sponsors Jim Whittakers Peace climb up Everest in 1990, an expedition that also included Leon Gorman and Tom Armstrong.
Styles of the Time: 1990s. With historically accurate apparel and sporting equipment picked from the L.L. Bean archives, we photograph a Bean employee decked out in the best of the Bean catalog from the era.
Beanest Town in America. Profile of the town that orders the most Bean product, based on sales per resident or overall sales.
Face of Bean: George Soule and his Duck Decoy, beloved by hunters and cottage decorators alike
24 Hours at L.L. Bean A Special 8-page Inset
The sun never sets on L.L. Bean, or at least the lights never get switched off. Through photo and caption, we capture the swirl of activity that makes Beans far-flung operations hum. For example, 2:00 am finds us at the Retail Store as a salesman explains the finer points of canoe design to a prospective customer, 3:30 am finds us at the customer call center eavesdropping as a veteran agent handles a call from a homesick New Englander who just wants to hear a familiar accent, 4:15 and were half a world away as the retail manager in Shanghai