How do you reinvent the world’s most basic item—a T-shirt—and make pants that actually fight back against plumber’s crack? In this episode of The Curious Builder Podcast, Mark sits down with Alex Chou, co-founder of Harnish Workwear, to talk about premium workwear, design snags, field testing with framers, and why durability shouldn’t mean looking like a walking sandbag. From sourcing Cordura to building a cult following in Canada, this episode has everything: branding, community, custom tags, and a spam-surfing sidetrack you didn’t see coming.

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The host of the Curious Builder Podcast is Mark D. Williams, the founder of Mark D. Williams Custom Homes Inc. They are an award-winning Twin Cities-based home builder, creating quality custom homes and remodels — one-of-a-kind dream homes of all styles and scopes. Whether you’re looking to reimagine your current space or start fresh with a new construction, we build homes that reflect how you live your everyday life.

Sponsors for the Episode: 

Pella Website: https://www.pella.com/ppc/professionals/why-wood/ 

Contractor Coalition Summit: Website: https://www.contractorscoalitionsummit.com/ **Anyone who signs up to CCS between 10/6/2025 and 10/13/2025 gets a free apparel kit from Harnish

Adaptive  Website: https://referrals.adaptive.build/u8Gkiaev 

Where to find the Guest:  Website: https://www.harnishworkwear.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harnishworkwear/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harnishworkwear

Where to find the Host:  Website - https://www.mdwilliamshomes.com/  Podcast Website - https://www.curiousbuilderpodcast.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markdwilliams_customhomes/  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MarkDWilliamsCustomHomesInc/  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-williams-968a3420/  Houzz - https://www.houzz.com/pro/markdwilliamscustomhomes/mark-d-williams-custom-homes-inc