Last week, Paula Rosenblum wrote about customers’ growing preferences for experiences, rather than just products. It’s a topic that is surfacing everywhere these days, particularly with the rise of debt-averse millennials. Which is funny, because I just visited a retailer who’s been focusing on both the customer experience and products for a really, really long time.

You may have heard of Filson. Up until a few days ago I knew very little about them. The retailer has a handful of stores spread out across marquis cities (London, Paris, New York), but has been based in Seattle, WA since the late 19^th century. C.C. Filson opened the store in 1897 when he noticed a whole lot of unprepared people arriving from points east to head up to Alaska for the Great Klondike Gold Rush. Seattle was their last stop before boarding a ship north, and many of them were naively unequipped for the weather and conditions they were about to meet. The man saw an opportunity, and they’ve been in business ever since. I stopped in to their flagship store on 1^st Avenue to see what’s what.

From the moment I walked in, I was impressed.

The retailer sells rugged outdoor apparel and equipment. Think of someplace Teddy Roosevelt might have visited before heading out for an adventure: wax coats, hunting pants, and heavy duty leather goods (luggage, gloves and belts). But while it does sell a handful of products from partners, Filson makes the majority of the goods it sells. And they make a lot of it right there in store.

When I walked in, I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. A two story building, the first floor was a glassed-in manufacturing plant where all of the company’s luggage is made. I could have watched the craftsman in there for hours. But when I walked upstairs, I was treated to something even cooler:

The store looked like the ultimate version of an outdoorsman’s general store: dark exposed wood beams, lots of heavy outdoor goods – even a lifesize Smokey the Bear woodcarving. Have a look:

I was immediately approached by a salesperson who could clearly tell by the look on my face that I was dumbstruck. And from his opening words, “Awesome, isn’t it? ” it was obvious it’s a reaction he sees all the time. But as we were talking while looking over handmade fillet knives, butcher blocks and fishing equipment, I noticed this:

That’s Evan. I didn’t bother him, but the sales guy I was talking to gave me the whole story. Filson is serious about making products that will last forever, and as a company comprised of outdoorsy people – they are also serious about the environment. So every day they take in leather bags and luggage that may have been sold to a customer’s great grandfather, and Evan masterfully refurbishes these pieces with new materials – right there in the center of the store. What may have started out as a tote to carry munitions in 1918 may now get a bolt of canvas here, a brass zipper there, and after some unreal craftsmanship, is now a laptop bag. The stitching is all done right there by hand, each bag is charmingly asymmetrical, and as a result, no two pieces are the same. To complete the wow factor, each comes with its own life story right there on the tag, featuring a “before ” photo, as well as details as to what had to happen to refurbish it. Here’s an example:

I spent more than an hour in the store, and I’ve picked out a few things I’ll be buying soon. It was my kind of place. Dry bags, watches, fly fishing reels. They even had a vending machine filled solely with all kinds of meat jerkies. But as cool as the experience was to walk back in time to something that felt truly authentic (an Olive Garden doesn’t really feel like Italy – this really did feel like a turn of the century outfitter’s), the thing I kept coming back to was the creative use of in-store real estate.

The company has another location on 4^th Street in Seattle where they manufacture all of their coats. They could have easily stuck Evan in there. Or they could have put him downstairs in their 1^st Avenue location among all the other craftsman. But they didn’t: his station was taking up a very large part of prime retail real estate on the show floor – where a lot more for-sale goods could be offered up. But Filson understands their customers, and they know that for some people – people like me – the experience of seeing the process in action makes a lasting impression. There’s no shortage of places to buy a great handbag. It’s the experience that sets this one apart.

I should be clear: this not in any way a tech story. And that’s the point – it doesn’t always have to be. I didn’t see any associate iPads, interactive kiosks or mobile POS devices, and that’s just fine (I will say that every employee I encountered was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and that, unto itself, is a tremendous win). But an experience doesn’t always have to be a tech story. Sometimes it can just be a “story” story. A rethinking of what matters most to the people who walk into your stores.

And in this case, it works.