Symbiosis Gear: Ultralight Backpacks for People With Boobs

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Written By Sarah Berkeley

There are enough barriers for women in the outdoors, and Sarah Berkeley of Symbiosis Gear is on a mission to obliterate these obstacles by designing frameless, ultralight backpacks specifically “for people with boobs”.

“I just felt excluded,” Sarah said.  “Men had all these options, in terms of packs. There really wasn’t anything for women in the ultralight space.”

Growing up on a farm in Michigan, and later the mountains of Colorado, Sarah came from a household of creatives.  From learning to sew, to woodworking, gardening, running lemonade stands, and even helping build her family’s home, Sarah was always making stuff.

She went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan writing her thesis on, of all things, walking. As simple as it sounds, there’s plenty of discussion on the topic, she said. 

Sarah Berkeley

I am a front-end web designer, photographer, and conceptual artist. I hold an MFA in Art & Design from the University of Michigan and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I started my career as a UI/UX designer in New York City. Later, I moved to Berlin, Germany to pursue my art career and live a more bohemian lifestyle. After three years in Berlin, I returned to the United States for graduate school. Following my MFA, I began teaching web and graphic design, photography, and video the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Metro Community College.

In 2018 I left my tenure track position at Nebraska Wesleyan University, to pursue The Unknown! That year I did my first triathlon, founded an artist residency program at a state park in Iowa, performed in Seattle and hiked the 273 mile Vermont Long Trail. In the subsequent years I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Colorado Trail and half of the Continental Divide Trail. Following clues that appeared during the downtime led me to founding Expansive Media. I am super excited to be able to combine my tech and art skills through Expansive Media. I am also able to incorporate my passion for well-being and community by working with clients who make the world a better place.

https://www.expansivemedia.co
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Symbiosis Gear’s The Aspen Review: Finally, ‘A Pack for People With Boobs