About Us

Welcome to the About Us page for Serigena™ Silk Base Layer

When we were in our mid-twenties, we decided to put good careers on pause to go and ‘see the world’. For the next two years we lived out of our backpacks, adventure traveling by air, sea, rail, and road, to experience different cultures and places as diverse as Denali National Park in Alaska, Mexico, Central Turkey, and Thailand. We drove Route 101 a 1,548-mile (2,491 km) journey along the California Coast, and then Interstate 10, a 2,460 miles (3959 km) taking us across the USA to Florida.

We then made our way down to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and then Belize in Central America. Following a brief return to Florida, it was on to London, England; and then eventually Europe; the Mediterranean, the Middle East; South Asia; and Western Australia.

During our travels we experienced temperatures as low as -40°C, and as hot as 42°C+. We camped on Alaskan permafrost over a metre deep. We frequently cross country skied stunning mountain terrain in the Canadian Rockies. We took on the black diamond runs at Whistler Blackcomb. We camped out in hot deserts. We scuba dived the spectacular reefs of Belize, and the Red Sea.

We didn’t have extensive wardrobes to call on during our travels – we had to be able to rely on what we could fit into and carry in our back packs. We travelled light, and had to choose our gear well. The ability to layer our clothing enabled us to adjust to large temperature changes within the day, over days, and over months.

Along the way, good friends and friends of friends, and extended family welcomed us into their homes. Though we usually took our accommodation in the form of guest-houses, pension’s, and youth hostels. They were a great place to meet fellow travelers from all around the world. Conversations while cooking in communal facilities, and then over dinner often gravitated toward discussions about the best places to travel to, where to stay, and what to do. They were great forums for swapping notes and refining travel plans.

We shared days, and sometimes weeks of travel with some of the people we met. A long haul flight from Florida to London, England, re-connected us with some home town friends there, and with a room becoming available at their rented lodgings, we soon moved in. We shared with them a five bedroom house, five couples all up, with the mix changing as couples moved off on their travel and new arrivals took their place. We always made room for friends to stay for a meal or a few nights when they turned up. In time we had people from five different nationalities living in the house. All working hard to save for their next leg of travel like us. We made good friends there – friends for life.

Our travels, and many days, weekends, and occasional weeks spent in the mountain ranges, and along the rivers, and coasts of New Zealand – contending with its fast changing weather – helped us discern what we considered to be the ideal next to skin base layer. Later management roles with extensive national and international business travel, and the startup and establishment of our business – which included selling Terramar Sport, Thermasilk – Silk Baselayer for around 15 years, helped confirm it. 

During those 15 years we helped outfit people for work and adventure travel to places as diverse as Fiordland in Southern New Zealand, the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Southern Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Southern & Northern Hemisphere Ski Fields, and Mt Everest. Our many and varied experiences with adventure & business travel, adventure sports, motorcycling, horse riding, back packing, great walks & hikes, and the great outdoors have collectively helped us bring the best to the Serigena™ Silk Baselayer Collection. We know from our testing that it’s good. You may well ask – how good is it. Well, we think it’s simply the best!

We could happily have named this page ‘about you’, rather than about us. That’s because when we sum things up, everything we do is focused on delivering you the best base layer, from specification, styling, and garment development, through to our user friendly website, crafted especially to help you with your purchases. It’s all about how we can develop and provide you the highest performing, most comfortable, and stylish Silk Base Layer.

Whether you want Silk Base Layer because you are going snow skiing, off walking the great walks, hikes, & trails, traveling your country, exploring the world, spending time in the saddle, touring on your motorbike, commuting to work, away on business travel, or just wanting to be superbly comfortable in your workplace, at a function, at the cafe, or around home – we have your needs in mind – and something for you.

You can place your order on our website, or get in touch with us from our contact page if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions. We look forward to helping with your purchase.

Serigena™ is a brand owned by Karea Group Ltd, a company, incorporated in New Zealand.