JUN18-pubweb

Beach Chairman

Cape Cod Life  /  June 2018 / ,

Writer: Allyson Plessner

Beach Chairman

JUN18-pubweb

Cape Cod Life  /  June 2018 / ,

Writer: Allyson Plessner

Cape Cod Beach ChairCape Cod Beach Chair offers pure seaside comfort

There’s nothing worse than the feeling when your brand new beach chair starts to rust, when the fabric starts to fade and irritate your skin, when the frame begins to buckle and you’re sitting so low in the sand that it seems like there’s barely a chair there to support you at all. You just bought it! Long beach days can be tough on the skin and harsh on the water toys, but surely your chair should be built to last.

Brewster native Justin Labdon fully understands this struggle, and he’s set out to create durable, comfortable, high-quality beach chairs—thrones some may argue—to ensure that your much-anticipated beach day isn’t ruined by subpar seating options.

Cape Cod Beach Chair started in 2002 in Labdon’s garage with a 70-page business plan and a humble goal to create the type of durable equipment that beach lovers everywhere deserve. Today, Labdon has his own storefront and clients all over the world. “We’ve shipped chairs to mega yachts in the Mediterranean and to hotels in Hawaii and the Caribbean,” says Labdon.

Some of his more notable clients include companies like Corona and The Rooftop Cinema Club in London, as well as stars like Justin Timberlake and Ellen DeGeneres. His chairs have even debuted on an album cover for Sammy Hagar, former front man for Van Halen. “We’ve had so many cool things happen over the years and lots of cool stories,” says Labdon. “It’s been neat for me, as someone who just started with an idea in Boston. To see that happen has been really cool.”

The Cape Cod Beach Chair storefront in Harwich used to be a barrel factory in the 1800s and now houses a wide variety of fun products. “Everybody knows we make chairs, but a lot of people don’t fully understand that we also have a full-service beach store,” says Labdon, whose products range from clothes to paddleboards, surrounded throughout the store by hundreds of beach chairs in vibrant colors and patterns.

“Quality-wise, they really are the best ones on the market in terms of the materials that we use,” Labdon says about his chairs. Labdon and his team create all the chairs by hand in the shop, and the customizations they add are almost limitless—from embroidery to unique fabrics. They’ve even created extra large chairs for The Rooftop Cinema Club, which uses them to comfortably seat three to four people in one chair as they enjoy rooftop movies across Europe and the U.S.

For Labdon, Cape Cod Beach Chair is a dream come true, a way to marry his love of the Cape with his passion for the beach. Plus, as his own boss, he has the time and the flexibility to spend with his two kids, loving wife, and adorable puppy. As a local business owner, there’s no better sign of success.

Allyson Plessner

Allyson Plessner is a former editorial intern for Cape Cod Life and now works for the publication as a staff writer and digital media coordinator. Born in Florida, Allyson has been a lifelong summer resident of the Cape. She is a recent alumna of the College of Charleston, located in Charleston, South Carolina, where she completed bachelor’s degrees in both English and Spanish. In her free time, Allyson is an avid sailor, beach-goer, and—like her fellow Cape Cod Life colleagues—a dog-lover.