In 1954, Sir Edmund Hillary had become the first man to summit Mount Everest, and in the decade after this achievement, the sport of mountaineering became the fashion of the world, a pursuit that won knighthoods and flirted with nature's radical extremities. Nowhere could claim this craze more than the Pacific Northwest, endowed with hundreds of peaks of which, though not as high as the Himalaya, many were unclimbed.

In this heady atmosphere, Ed Johann, a veteran of Pearl Harbor, a boxer, and a Portland firefighter, founded the Johann Mountain Guides, a service to introduce the curious public to this new and fascinating realm of experience.

Ed Johann at the summit of Pico de Orizaba, Mexico, in the 1970s.

Ed soon had opportunities to climb in more exotic locales, ranging from Norway to Peru, and the guide service began to expand to climbs in Central and South America. The service branched out with a store, offering sales and rentals of mountaineering equipment.

Throughout the life of the guide service, and during numerous mountain rescue efforts, equipment broke, packs ripped, tents tore in the wind, and reputedly good designs proved themselves unsuited to the tasks being asked of them. The value of good gear was made evident, as was the value of a good alteration or repair. Johann's was soon in the repairs and custom sewing business.

Now under the aegis of Ed's daughter and son-in-law, Johann's has expanded it's custom sewing services to numerous fields, from apparel & general repairs to custom prototype assembly, upholstery, and commercial & industrial production.

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Timeline:

1964. Edward Johann, a Mazama mountain guide, starts Nothwest Mountain Guides in Portland, Oregon. With a number of associate guides, the service offered clients ascents of mountains in the Cascades.

1965. Northwest Mountain Guides becomes Johann Mountain Guides, and the service expands to climbs in Central America.

1973. Ed and his wife Marion open a store to outfit clients with in the Multnomah neighborhood of Portland. The business changes names again to reflect the new service, becoming the Johann Mountain Shop & Guides.

1976. Gary & Judy Craghead, Ed's son-in-law and daughter, open up the Rhododendron House in Tigard. The store specializes in products made in Oregon & the Northwest. Shortly after opening, the mountain shop moves into the same space, and the businesses are combined, becoming the Johann Mountain Shop and Guides at the Rhododendron House. Ed continues to coordinate the guide service, while Gary & Judy run the retail and services portion.

1980-1984. Burdened by gear that is constantly being put through it's paces, the shop begins to offer sewing repairs and custom sewing services. The shop also begins to sell handknits and apparel designed to keep climbers and skiers warm.

1985. After one last ascent of Mount Hood, Ed Johann retires from climbing. With his retirement, the guide services are discontinued.

1985-1995. Over this decade, the business focus shifts from retail to more and more sewing services. In addition to the existing lines of repairs and custom sewing, the shop begins offering upholstering.

1995-2000. The sewing services division continues to grow. Working with numerous start-ups and high-tech firms, the company begins to undertake prototype development and small-batch production work.

2001. The company goes on the web for the first time at http://www.johannmountain.com/ .

2004. The company relaunches its web presence at a new location, http://www.johannsonline.com/ . This new site focuses more on the sewing services sector.

2006. Gary & Judy launch a new department of the business. Operating under the brand J.A. Craghead & Company, the new arm is tailored to market artisan textile goods. The retail department evolves into J. A. Craghead & Company's showroom.

2007. The company relaunches its website. The company streamlines its name to Johann's to better reflect it's focus.