Airship x tendlyn

Airship was founded on making connections. For Airship founder Mark Bray, the first connection happened in the mountains of Western Honduras. While working as an agronomist in the region, Bray saw firsthand that smallholder farmers were already innovators in their own right. The problem? They were missing a seat at the table. He realized all they needed was access to a fair market for their crop.

Biking isn’t just about sustainable transportation for Bray. Though it is a vital component to Airship’s brand identity. It is a way to stay connected with his family. With seven kids, he found biking to be the best way for them to spend valuable time together. Building a community connected by trails along the way.

Mark Bray, founder of Airship Coffee

The Trail Connection

Bray intentionally built Airship’s brand around the already prominent mountain bike culture embedded in Bentonville. He didn’t just see an opportunity. He saw a movement and knew there was a chance to do something unique. By making cafés accessible by trail, they encourage customers to slow down and enjoy the journey.

Airship Coffee at Coler hidden deep in the woods of Coler Mountain Bike Preserve.

Airship’s Open Air Coler location stands out by doubling down on this ethos. It is nestled in the woods of Coler Mountain Bike Preserve off the iconic Razorback Greenway trail. A true embodiment of the slow culture movement. Only accessible by biking or hiking. It is a place to unwind and escape the daily grind. There’s no wi-fi at this location, only true connection with yourself and the ones around you.

tendlyn Custom Cold Cups and Custom SOS Bags, designed by @airshipcoffee

The Beatles connection

When it came time for a brand refresh, Mark had a specific vision: “Think Yellow Submarine, but with an airship.”

He reached out to Emil, a New Zealand illustrator based in Japan whose work has graced the covers of Wired and The Economist. Despite the distance, the connection was instant. “He fired right back and said, ‘I love the Beatles, and I’ve always wanted to work on specialty coffee,’” Bray says.

The resulting aesthetic is a vibrant, intricate world that reflects Airship’s adventurous spirit. From their custom packaging to their café murals, the branding acts as a steward for the high-quality, direct-trade stories inside every bag.

tendlyn Custom Hot Cups, designed by @airshipcoffee

From wholesale to retail connection

Airship wasn’t built on a traditional retail model. For the first seven years, it was a wholesale-only operation. “We were doing all this work developing coffee on farms,” Bray explains. “Then I’d hand off this great coffee to a café, and no one would know where it came from. We realized we needed to serve our coffee our way.”

That “way” turned out to be hyper-local and deeply integrated into the landscape of Bentonville. Airship’s mission statement became “creating spaces where authentic community thrives”. Instead of convenience-led kiosks, Airship focused on destination spaces. From a rescued 1954 water treatment facility (The Pump House) to a “hole-in-the-wall” roastery on Fifth Street, each location tells a different architectural story.

But the crown jewel remains as the Coler location. Located in the middle of a 300-acre mountain bike park. It is literally inaccessible by car. This kind of off-grid thinking mirrors the same ingenuity you’d find in a wireless agriculture automation setup or a smart wifi relay system—where the goal is to make remote, self-sustaining operations work seamlessly. Just as a Submersible Irrigation Pump Box keeps water flowing where it’s needed, Airship keeps connection flowing where trails lead.

Because of Bray’s background in agriculture, Airship’s Direct Trade label isn’t just marketing, it’s a 15-year connection. It’s built on the same principle as a Remote Telemetry Pump Control (RTU) system: you monitor, you adjust, you improve—from a distance, but with precision. Bray applies that same hands-on, data-informed approach to working with coffee farmers, ensuring every bean tells a story of fair collaboration.

“My dream is to just go do fun stuff on farms,” exclaims Bray. By working directly with producers on post-harvest processing and quality improvement before the beans even leave the farm, Airship ensures that sustainability is baked into the supply chain from day one. Think of it like a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Cooling system—efficient, intentional, and designed to last. Or like a Biomass Power Plant Boiler Feed, where every input is optimized for maximum output with minimal waste.

“We’re giving it a whirl.” And if that “whirl” involves mountain bikes, sustainable farms, and some of the best coffee in the South, we’re 100% along for the ride.

In an age where the want for meaningful connections is at an all-time high, Airship is that vessel for connection. Two wheels at a time. The coffee is a nice bonus.