SmartPak x Silva Martin Collection
Somedays I still pinch myself when I think about how insanely cool my job at SmartPak is. I must have had to pinch myself twice, to confirm I wasn’t dreaming, on the day that I saw a meeting invite titled “Silva Martin Collaboration” in my inbox.
Who am I and what is the SmartPak Luxe Collection?
My name is Al and I am the Senior Product Development Specialist on the Research and Development team at SmartPak. I have the absolute pleasure of designing, developing, and bringing to life our house-branded horse wellness products. Over the years this has been everything from breeches, turnout blankets, hay bags, horse boots, fly gear, leather tack, and my one of my most favorite collections to date, our Luxe Collection. The Luxe Collection consists of an all-purpose saddle pad, dressage saddle pad, polo wraps, and an ear bonnet, in coordinating colors with an elevated aesthetic. These products feature a “lux”-urious looking shiny, satin fabric, and a metal embossed SmartPak logo that is my go to “matchy, matchy” look for lessons, clinics, and even the show ring.
The best part of my job is getting to see the raving reviews submitted by our customers. It truly makes my day when someone loves one of our products and shares their experience with us. It took me by complete surprise when that positive feedback came from Team SmartPak Rider Silva Martin and her team. As a lifelong dressage rider, Silva Martin is an absolute queen/icon/celebrity/inspiration to me. I have been a dedicated follower of her training and career and it was such a cool moment to realize she was using products that I got to design. It was so nice of her and her team to let us know how much they loved our Luxe Collection, and it only made sense that we collaborated with Silva on her very own signature Luxe Collection Dressage pad.
Let Me Just Call Silva Martin, Real Quick
Did I ever think I would be on a video conference call with Silva Martin one day? I could not have predicted that, but it happened! Silva and her team were so happy to collaborate and so lovely to work with. I think I have the coolest job doing Product Design, but my coworkers on the Marketing Sponsorship team have a sweet gig too! It’s so cool they get to correspond with our Team SmartPak riders all the time!
I wanted to start by hearing from Silva what her personal preferences were when it came to fit, function, and aesthetics. Usually, I’m the one considering all of the design details, and most of that lives inside my head, so it was fun to prepare a visual of all of the different things she could consider customizing. I’m not sure everyone was prepared to have so much to talk about for just one saddle pad, but the options are truly endless. I didn’t want to overwhelm everyone on our first call, so I just gave a few options to spark ideas and let Silva run with it.
We had a great discussion and I just felt so starstruck getting to causally chat with a Grand Prix rider about her favorite saddle pads. I left our first meeting with the following brainstorming style notes:
- Substantial fill for comfort and contour for wither clearance
- Moisture-wicking liner 100%
- Overall design should be subtle, not flashy, but elegant, called herself boring LOL
- Swap out the shiny satin fabric for a traditional poly/cotton blend
- Small rope trim, no thank you to rhinestones and pearls
- Small square quilting pattern!!!! Yes!
- White for show ring ready or navy ~~would be ok~~ for schooling
- Square back corner!
- LOVES idea of embroidering her signature- can I sneak in gold here!?!
I had a great direction to move forward in and I was so excited to start sketching up Silva’s pad. Silva referred to herself as being boring when it comes to colors and bling, but I think we can all agree she is far from boring and there is nothing wrong with being traditional! The beauty of dressage comes from the harmonious partnership between horse and rider, and I think her vision for a subtle, elegant pad will highlight just that. It was no surprise that her main priority is that the pad fits well and is functional for the horse.
By the second call, I was certainly much more comfortable with this fun new process! I got to present my sketch and we all loved the direction of Silva’s inspiration and felt very good about this elevated schooling or show ring ready look. The poly/cotton fabric is clean and traditional but still has a little flair from the rope trims and the elegance of the squared back corner. We stuck with the bamboo-poly mesh lining because of how well it wicks moisture under the saddle, and the standard Luxe stop cushions to keep it in place. My favorite feature is Silva’s signature embroidered in gold on the left side. Every time you mount your horse with this saddle pad, you’ll be reminded of the extremely talented and inspiring rider who created it.
SmartPak x Silva Martin Hits the Website
The last step of bringing this pad to life was to get physical samples sent out for Silva’s final stamp of approval, and just like that, we were ready to order! The last, last step was to then patiently wait for the pads to be manufactured so we could launch them on the website! It felt too easy! Collaborating with Silva was such a dream and an amazing first experience for me as a Product Designer.
