We had a chance to fly over to New York for few days to see The Liberty Fairs Trade Show and got to meet many great artists and brands who were participating. This year, 'The General Store' was curated by Travis Weaver of Manready Mercantile, introducing both old and new brands specializing in small batch goods. Everyone was welcoming and proud to present their work. We would love to join and be a part of it one day.
"Deconstruction", whether it be denim, vintage, or Boro, is definitely popular right now. There were many vendors with rough patchwork, and everyone had a very distinct style.
Indigo-dyed clothing from Koromo Kyoto. We were able to see some of the great detail work found in Japanese brands who came overseas to showcase their products. It is always great seeing what other brands do and hear their story. It is such an inspiration for us to become more creative and brave in our designs too.
Later, we walked around the city, visiting some of our favorite stores and partner shops that we wanted to meet in person.
Showcasing beautiful jewelry, and a great lover for vintage goods and Japanese art, Love Adorned was one of our favorite stores to see.
We visited Brooklyn Denim Co., and saw some great examples of denim repairs and reinforcements they have done with vintage pieces. Each piece had unique repairs and a lot of character. There was so much denim for both men and women, and it was an amazing experience for us to see what they do in their space.
We visited some local fabrics stores to see their collections of different fabrics, and we were lucky to find some really great Japanese fabrics samples to bring back and share with our team.
We had a chance to visit some of our retailers, including TM1985, a Brooklyn-based, American-made accessories and artisan goods company, who does some amazing leather work. The shop held their studio in the back, where they design their products. We don't usually get a chance to meet many of our stockists in person, so it was really great to see their store and to talk with them in New York.
In Brooklyn, we got acquainted with some old friends at women's apparel brand, In God We Trust. We were excited to learn that they will be opening up a shop in Portland, so we'll hopefully be getting closer, and seeing more from them soon!
It was a great experience to go out to a new city, and see so many other shops. It was refreshing getting out of the studio for a bit. After seeing so many interesting stores and things, we have so many ideas that we'll be able to take back and try to work into our own shop. We're excited for the year to come!