Purpose-Built Gear for Paddlers Who Refuse to Settle
Designed from real experience on the water. Built in our Michigan loft to outlast the trips it goes on.
We make gear for paddlers who have already made the decision to invest in quality boats and who understand that outfitting and protecting that investment is not optional. Every product in our line was born from a specific need encountered while paddling. We don't make gear for catalogs. We make gear that solves problems we've experienced firsthand.
Every Maker Has a First Spark
When Jeremy was four years old, he wandered into the basement of the Lake Fenton Sailing Club and discovered a North Sails rep repairing torn sailcloth with a walking-foot sewing machine. Mountains of ragged fabric fed in one side, perfect sails emerged from the other. The clickety-clack rhythm and the transformation locked in his memory.
A decade later, as a teenage sea kayaker paying for his gear by mowing lawns, he couldn't afford factory dry bags. His mother, a lifelong sewist and quilter, taught him to make his own from patterns in Sea Kayaker magazine and fabric mail-ordered from Seattle Fabrics. Over the next twenty years — through careers, marriage, raising a family — he kept sewing: dry bags, spray decks, deck bags, tool rolls, fitted cloth diapers, portage packs.
The flame that sparked at four never went out. It was waiting for the right kindling.
Workshop photo
Bag Lady legacy photo
Stewarding a 45-Year Legacy
In 2019, Sue Audette — the legendary Bag Lady who had protected canoes for over four decades — decided it was time to retire. She chose to pass the legacy to Jeremy and Cassandra rather than let it disappear. A few weeks later, RedLeaf Designs was born and the Bag Lady line of canoe covers moved from Sue's Connecticut garage to a sewing loft in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
We didn't just buy a product line. We accepted responsibility for a tradition. The Original Canoe Cover has protected boats for 45+ years, and we honor that by maintaining the standard Sue established while expanding the vision with new materials, new designs, and new boat categories.
In 2020, Jeremy and Cassandra stepped away from corporate consulting and voiceover work to focus entirely on RedLeaf. Since then, it's been the family's sole income. You'll regularly find all four of them — Jeremy, Cassandra, and their two kids — in the shop, working together.
Three Lines, One Philosophy
Every product starts on the water with a problem that needed to be solved. Some are custom-fitted to individual hulls. All of them are designed from direct experience and built with uncompromising materials and care.
Outfitting & Accessories
Purpose-built gear that keeps your boat organized and your hands free. Gunwale Bags, Tether Tabs, Paddle Pockets, portage packs. Stock designs, ready to ship, solving specific problems most paddlers didn't know had solutions.
Expedition Spray Decks
Custom-patterned to your hull for precision fit in real conditions. Anatomic tunnels, quick-release safety features, marine-grade fabrics. Made to order because a spray deck that doesn't fit your boat doesn't keep water out of your boat.
Protective Covers
Hull-specific storage and transport covers patterned from a proprietary library of hundreds of canoe, kayak, surf ski, and outrigger designs. The 45-year Bag Lady tradition, expanded with new materials and modern construction.
Small Is Intentional
We are a small operation because the work demands it. Our size is not a limitation — it is the reason the work is precise, personal, and uncompromising. Limited production means every piece gets the attention it deserves.
Jeremy designs every pattern, runs the CNC fabric cutter, and operates the sewing machines. Cassandra handles strategy, customer relationships, and operations. Two contract sewists help with high-volume production runs. The kids pitch in on shipping days.
We cut fabric with an Autometrix CNC cutter, often run by our 17-year-old son Hale. We sew with industrial walking-foot machines. We use the best marine-grade materials available: Sunbrella Marine, YKK #10 marine zippers, WeatherMAX 3D, welded stainless hardware. We specify by performance, not by price.
Made to order in our Michigan loft. Shipped when it's right, not when it's fast.
Workshop photo
Six Principles That Guide Everything We Make
Design starts on the water
Every product in our line was born from a specific need encountered while paddling. That direct knowledge is what separates purpose-built equipment from generic accessories.
Fit is everything
For covers and spray decks, we pattern to specific hull designs because anything less is a compromise. A cover that doesn't fit the hull it's protecting is a liability.
Materials matter
Our gear lives outdoors, on highways, and in the harshest conditions our customers can find. We use marine-grade fabrics, zippers, and hardware because performance matters more than price.
Small is intentional
Our size is not a limitation — it is the reason the work is precise, personal, and uncompromising. Limited production means every piece gets the attention it deserves.
Legacy deserves stewardship
The Bag Lady canoe cover has protected boats for over 45 years. We didn't just buy a product line — we accepted responsibility for a tradition. We honor it by maintaining the standard and expanding the vision.
Gear should earn trust
Every product we ship should work so well that the customer forgets it's there — until they notice, years later, that their hull still looks new or their portage routine has become effortless.
Designed, Built, and Shipped in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Jeremy handles design, pattern development, CNC programming, and sewing. Cassandra manages strategy, customer relationships, and operations. Their two kids help with shipping, quality control, and keeping everyone honest. Two contract sewists support high-volume production runs.
We're not a shop, not a retailer, not a warehouse with a logo on it. We are designers and makers. Some of our products are custom-fit to individual hulls. All of them are purpose-built from direct experience on the water. Our capacity is limited by design, not by circumstance. That's what makes the work good.
Team photo
The RedLeaf Dispatch
Shop notes, paddling stories, gear tips, and first look at new products. One email a month from our loft in the U.P.