It was ten years ago ... June 29th, 2012 ... that we shipped our very first order. Three cases of Die Cast MBTA Green Line Trolleys were hand delivered to WardMaps in Cambridge. Later that day we made stops at Newbury Comics in Brighton, The Renaissance Boston, Underground Express in Downtown Crossing, Dodd House Gift Shoppe in the North End, Boston Copley Marriott, Lamonts Gift Shop in the Weston Hotel, and Teddy Ballgames in South Station...delivering the same Die Cast Green Line Trolley - our one and only item at the time.

It was a full year later that we decided to print our first t-shirt. It was the same vintage-looking Green Line Trolley design that we sell today - Green on White and also White on Green. Before long, some of our customers began asking for other train designs, and other sizes, even baby onesies. Today we have over 125 graphic shirt items and onesies are among our best sellers.

Over time we added more souvenir items for the tourists and more items that appeal to the local crowd, which consisted of mostly young MBTA train fans like my young (at the time) son, who was the inspiration for this business idea. We also started venturing out. We vended our first pop-up event in late 2014 and began experimenting at other events such as the Greenway Open Market and SoWa, eventually shifting into local events like Wellesley Marketplace and Quincy Holiday Shopping Expo. At these events we found many of our new customers and we were thanked by long-time customers who started with size 2T for their little one and have come back for larger sizes each year.

We have always and still do appreciate each and every sale, from our popup events to online orders. And of course, we could not do this without our amazing retail partners, small businesses just like us who have had to struggle through some recent challenges just like us. There is a sense of community among us, and it feels great to be a part of that.

THANK YOU for your all your support over these past ten years. We intend to keep at it as long as you'll have us.

With love and gratitude,

Todd Krutchkoff

Owner, Sidetrack Products