07 July . 2025
Can a garage change the world?
The garage. That cold concrete box where bikes lean precariously, half-finished projects collect dust, and tools are scattered about, waiting to be reorganized. These projects are suspended around the "no fly zone," a cordoned off parking space for your vehicle, standing by, sleeping off the day's commute. But the car backs out into the elements when ideas start flowing, chaos ensues, and the garage then becomes a launchpad. Or band rehearsal space. Or a painting studio. Or workshop. It's the beginning of something great.
Garage (and Barn) Legends
If you lived in the 1800s, your “project space” smelled a lot more like hay. But as cars replaced horses and garages became a suburban necessity, garages became the new frontier of DIY life.
One of the key innovators in aluminum bicycle design, Gary Klein, began prototyping in a barn in Mary’s Corner, WA. Road cyclists and mountain bikers in Tehaleh have benefitted ever since. It’s not about having the perfect setup. It’s about having a space that invites you to start.
While their inventiveness has traveled far and wide, these innovators had the heart and soul of a garage project:
- Al Moen, from Seattle, invented the single-handle faucet. His idea came from a burned hand and a better way of doing things. A simple fix with global impact.
- Mark Oblack and Mariel Head, based out of Kent, invented the Chuckit! dog toy. Tens of millions sold. Countless shoulders and elbows saved. Dogs across the globe think we're bionic.
- And let’s not forget the countless tech titans with humble beginnings. Microsoft started in a garage in Albuquerque before moving to Seattle. And that young upstart, Jeff Bezos, who started Amazon in his parents' Bellevue garage. But the point isn’t the billions. It’s that these ideas started in spaces that were never meant to be fancy, they were meant to be free.
The Garage: Where Ideas Take Root
There’s something about a garage that invites experimentation. Maybe it’s the bare décor, the dim lighting, or the fact that nobody expects perfection in there. It’s a space where paint spills don’t matter, where sawdust is part of the vibe, and where a little chaos feels like progress.
Garages are low-stakes places that encourage trial and error. There’s room to fail and keep going. In a region like the PNW, where rainy stretches practically beg for indoor projects, it makes perfect sense that the garage has become a creative epicenter.
Why Garages Work
There’s a reason we return to these spaces, especially in places like Tehaleh, where the natural world is right outside your door, and your garage is right next to your ideas.
Garages are:
- Flexible: One day it’s a painting studio, the next it’s a home gym.
- Forgiving: Spills don’t matter. Failures don’t matter.
- Accessible: Power outlets, storage, airflow, space.
- Unfussy: You don’t need to explain yourself to a garage.
It’s where your wildest ideas can sit half-finished for months and no one will judge you, not even the rake in the corner.
Even the Quiet Projects Matter
You don’t need to invent the next revolutionary device to belong to this tradition. If you built a crafty shelving system to store your camping gear, that’s still innovation. If you MacGyver’d a pulley system to dry your wetsuit, you’re solving a problem with your own two hands. That’s genius in motion.
Forget the billionaire fairytales. The real heart of garage culture is crafting, tinkering, and trying. No good idea shows up polished and press ready. It starts messy, weird, half-broken, and eventually, maybe, a little beautiful.
And If You Need a Break…
If your latest project is driving you a little mad, step outside. Tehaleh’s trail system is practically designed for brain resets. A short walk, a view of the mountain, or grabbing a coffee at Post & Pour can do wonders. You can’t force brilliance, but you can invite it to stay a bit longer. Sometimes, the best way to move forward is to step away, breathe deep, and come back when the idea’s ready.