Working Hands

There is something special and comforting about knowing where our things come from and supporting the people who make them. It's what has us all buying sweet potatoes from the same stand every week at the farmers market and what keeps us each loyal to our favorite coffee shop and the baristas there. (The latter might be a very real caffeine addiction, but I'm not here to kiss and tell.) There's something so wholesome about meeting the person who toiled in the dirt to grow your vegetables or shaking the hand that knit the hat that keeps you warm.

Living in a world of disposable fashion, hastily made and quickly discarded, it's easy never to wonder about the item's origin. However, when we are confronted with the knowledge of where and how our clothes are made, choosing pieces is much more personal and important. Hopefully, we are all learning the importance of buying well, buying things we absolutely love, and then caring for them to make them last. I'll add "putting a person with a product" to that list. When we have the opportunity to support someone tangible, wouldn't that be the obvious choice? Isn't that the reason to try to shop small as much as possible?

Questions like these are at the core of brands like Stella Pardo and Frank & Eileen; their respective business structures are how they answer those questions. They're not alone in this; brands like Mother Denim and Hunter Bell have built their businesses around a community mindset also. Local production is something that these four brands have in common. They've each prioritized sourcing the highest quality materials and manufacturing their product either close to their headquarters or in the locale from which the textiles were produced.

Stella Pardo

This luxury knitwear brand was founded in 2009 by Cinthya Guerrero with her mother and aunt. The brand was built upon three pillars: creating jobs for those in developing countries, empowering women and providing them with their own income, and respecting the traditions of a country and its people. Keeping Cinthya's grandmother, the brand's namesake, in mind, they assessed her struggles many years before and how they could create positive change for women in the same position. The way Stella provided for her ten children solely through her hard work and perseverance inspired Ciynthia to create a business model with people at its core. All the garments offered by the brand are made by communities in the textile's country of origin. Each piece of knitwear is made from alpaca wool and Pima cotton from Peru and skillfully knit using ancestral techniques of the region. The brand's embroidered pieces and dyed textiles are made in India, where the techniques being used originated and have been perfected by local artisans. All wools and cottons used in Stella Pardo's garments are spun by responsible suppliers who meet Oeko-Tex sustainability requirements of 100 percent absence of harmful chemicals. To say that these pieces are works of art would be an understatement and can be punctuated by the fact that they truly speak of the hands that make them. If clothes could tell stories, these would share the vast tales of community and ancestral heritage.                         

Frank & Eileen

Those who love the reinvention of a classic need look no further than Frank & Eileen. The company's founder, Audrey McLoghlin, sought to marry the versatility of men's shirting with the old-world goodness of the textiles from her grandparent's generation. The luxury Italian cotton used in all of Frank & Eileen's shirting is made by the family-owned Albini mill, just an hour outside of Milan. Every fabric produced can be traced directly back to the field where its fibers were grown. This mill meets the Oeko-Tex global standard of 100 percent absence of harmful chemicals. Using a fabric mill of such renown in the industry has been instrumental in the brand's achievement of B Corp Certification. If this were not enough to boast, Frank & Eileen has the highest B Corp Certification score of any woman-owned-and-led brand in the United States. For a B Corp Certification to be met, a company must demonstrate high verifiable social and environmental performance and maintain transparency about employee benefits and working conditions. Corporate governance must also be held accountable to all stakeholders, not only shareholders. Simply put, if you'd like the softest, ethically made button-down, Frank & Eileen is for you. Their quality quite literally stands the test of time.

Mother

"The name MOTHER plays off the idea of duality - it can be nurturing or a cuss. It evokes unconditional love and teenage rebellion all at the same time," said Lela Becker and Tim Kaeding of their California brand. Unparalleled in softness and coolness factor, Mother has gained a well-deserved cult following. Becker and Kaeding set out to create a brand that would appeal to a wide audience as well as maintain a low environmental footprint. With 95 percent of overall manufacturing done in Los Angeles and 100 percent of denim products made within a 14-mile radius of their design studio, they can keep a close eye on both production quality and working conditions. Season after season, we see new styles and silhouettes from Mother, but the brand's brazen, irreverent identity is never lost. Not many pairs of jeans have made me want to jump on a motorcycle like these do, and I think that's the point.  

Hunter Bell

There's something so nostalgic about The Garment District in New York. It always makes me think of toting around forty yards of pink tulle while trying not to spill a coffee. Anyone who has toted around forty yards of pink tulle knows that I am undoubtedly reminiscing about fabric through rose-colored glasses because it is not a glamorous task. Among the people carrying bolts of fabric across the street and moving racks of dresses down the sidewalk, you can find the makers of the brand Hunter Bell. Founded in 2006, Hunter Bell created her eponymous brand to encompass a southern sensibility and the maturity of New York. Each collection is modern and sophisticated without compromising fun-loving femininity. While always providing us with fashion-forward pieces, the brand does not lose sight of timeless elements, right down to production. Each Hunter Bell piece is made in the heart of New York's garment district. Consistently beautiful fashion creations aside, this is enough to put one's mind on investing in "that great dress" that they know they'll wear for years to come.

When trying to measure cost versus worth in my wardrobe, I think of the things that have been passed down to me by my mother and grandmother. Not only are they sentimental pieces, but they're all made with longevity in mind and have stood the test of time. Something all of these pieces have in common is that I know who made them and the town in which they were manufactured. It's taught me to spend wisely on things that I know I will keep and to support brands that are helping people. So many things are lost to time and economics; people and their crafts should not be one of them. We are proud to offer these brands and many others at The Hive. The support of the local community is an obvious necessity for small businesses, so we try to offer as many brands as possible that allow us to match a pair of hands with a product. We're all excited to show you the new spring items from these brands and many others and share their individual stories with you. I like to think this all gives new meaning to "handmade."