How I Started Black Bear Brand
How I Started Black Bear Brand
People assume Black Bear Brand is a new company. It is not. It is a resurrection.
The name is more than a hundred years old. It begins at the turn of the twentieth century, when Americans streamed west and a few tough souls set out for the Pacific Northwest. One was George G. Black. He started a company at First and Jackson Street in Seattle in a small room, with five sewing machines and a handful of operators, making blue denim. He built it by giving working men purpose built clothing made to endure.
Then it went quiet
Like so many great old American makers, it faded. The name went dormant and unowned, a piece of Seattle history sitting quietly in the past, waiting. When I understood what it had been, and that no one held it any longer, I knew exactly what I had to do.
Brought back in 2014
I revived Black Bear Brand in 2014, and I have designed our pieces from the beginning. I did not want to imitate the past, I wanted to carry its spirit forward, that same commitment to clothing crafted to last. That meant doing it the hard way. Denim from the finest mills in Okayama, leather from Horween hides, select pieces made here in Seattle where the story began.
A hundred more years
The first thing most people reach for is our Original Logo Tee, made in the USA. It is simple on purpose. It carries the mark of a brand that was born in Seattle, went quiet for generations, and came back to life. This is proof that the old way, quality over quantity, still has a place. It is A Way Of Life.
A Way Of Life.
Shop the Story
The Original Logo Tee · https://blackbearbrand.com/black-bear-brand-factory-store/black-bear-brand-work-tee
Read the full History and Resurrection · https://blackbearbrand.com/about
All Products · https://blackbearbrand.com/black-bear-brand-factory-store?category=All%20Products
Related Reading
Black Bear Means Long Wear: The 1914 Factory · https://blackbearbrand.com/blog-1/black-bear-means-long-wear
Made in Seattle, Made in Japan · https://blackbearbrand.com/blog-1/made-in-seattle-made-in-japan
How to Build a Wardrobe That Lasts a Lifetime · https://blackbearbrand.com/blog-1/wardrobe-that-lasts