The Name Was Waiting: Josh Sirlin on Bringing Back Black Bear Brand

A Seattle name from the turn of the twentieth century had gone quiet. Thirteen years ago Josh Sirlin brought it back. The story, the method, and the Original LOGO T.

Culture, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinOctober 2, 2026josh sirlin, black bear brand history, george g black, seattle brand, brand revival, black bear means long wear, american brand, black bear brand japan, original logo tComment

Black Bear Brand Opens in Tokyo: Our First Pop Up in Japan

Friday the doors open on the first Black Bear Brand pop up in Japan. Three days in Tokyo, the vintage engineer pant and coat in person for the first time, and a COMMANDER roughout jacket sold only in the room. Josh Sirlin on why it had to be Tokyo.

Culture, events, Heritage, JapanJosh SirlinOctober 1, 2026black bear brand pop up, tokyo pop up, ebisu, black bear brand japan, josh sirlin, vintage engineer pant, hunter green peacoat, commander jacket, roughout jacket, ichirotaComment

The Skills You Only Learn by Going

A cattle drive from a motorcycle seat, eight years with a Tokyo tattoo master, skydives in Panama. Josh Sirlin on men's lifestyle and the life skills you only learn by going.

Craft, menswear, Style, travelJosh SirlinSeptember 30, 2026life skills for men, mens lifestyle, adventure, cattle drive, motorcycle trip, horitoshi, harris tweed chore coat, josh sirlin, black bear brandComment

Denim and Long Curl Lambskin: The Coat for When Fall Turns

Indigo cloth, a wild curled collar, and two of the oldest materials in the wardrobe in one coat. Josh Sirlin on denim and sheepskin, long curl lambskin, and the botanical indigo denim winter coat.

Craft & Materials, Denim, design, Heritage, jacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 29, 2026denim and shearling, long curl lambskin, sheepskin coat, denim winter coat, fall jacket men, botanical indigo denim, northern dream jacket, lambskin jacket, black bear brandComment

Twice a Year in Okayama

Denim is decided in the room, with the cloth in your hands. Josh Sirlin on his twice yearly denim meetings in Okayama: the rope dye house, the shuttle looms, and the sewing room.

adventure, Culture, Denim, Japan, Japan & Culture, travelJosh SirlinSeptember 28, 2026okayama denim, josh sirlin, japanese selvedge denim, rope dyeing, shinpaku, shuttle loom, botanical indigo jeans, denim mill, black bear brandComment

The Fisherman Sweater: A True Story Better Than the Legend

The clan pattern legend is not true. What really happened is better. Josh Sirlin on the Aran sweater, why wool owns the cold, and a merino fisherman sweater knit in northern Japan.

Craft, Culture, Heritage, StyleJosh SirlinSeptember 27, 2026fisherman sweater, aran sweater history, cable knit sweater, merino wool sweater, winter fashion men, winter style, knit in japan, josh sirlin, black bear brandComment

Midnight Glen

The glen check came out of one Scottish valley in the 1840s and never left. Josh Sirlin on the pattern, and on the Midnight Glen Tartan Harris Tweed coming to Black Bear Brand.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, harris tweed, Heritage, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 26, 2026glen check, glen plaid, glenurquhart check, prince of wales check, midnight glen tartan, harris tweed, tweed pattern, black bear brandComment

Tokyo Gets It First / 東京が、いちばん先に

The first Black Bear Brand pop up in Japan is a week away. The vintage engineer pieces, the Hunter Green peacoat, a COMMANDER roughout jacket you can only get in the room, and everything made in Japan. 日本で初めての Black Bear Brand ポップアップまで、あと一週間。

Eight Years Without a Word

Eight years under the same master, and we have never shared a language. Josh Sirlin on going back to Tokyo in October, and on what tattooing taught him about making things.

adventure, Japan, Culture, artJosh SirlinSeptember 24, 2026japanese tattoo, tebori, horitoshi, irezumi tokyo, getting tattooed in japan, josh sirlin, japanese craft, black bear brandComment

The Engineer Stripe

A striped cloth that belonged to this company and to no one else, on a garment that is about a hundred and ten years old. Josh Sirlin on the archive, and on what is coming with TCB.

Craft, Heritage, Japan, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 23, 2026engineer stripe, hickory stripe, black bear brand history, vintage archive, 1917 catalog, tcb collaboration, seattle history, black bear brandComment

Twenty Hours of Thread

Four days of chain stitching, white cowhide sleeves, melton wool, and eight months of production. Josh Sirlin on the ART Edition varsity jacket, on display in Tokyo on October 2.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Culture, design, Heritage, jackets, JapanJosh SirlinSeptember 22, 2026varsity jacket, chain stitch varsity jacket, melton wool jacket, made in japan jacket, bespoke varsity, tokyo pop up, limited edition jacket, black bear brandComment

Woven at Home

The loom is pedalled like a bicycle, in the weaver's own house, on an island in the North Atlantic. Josh Sirlin on what hand woven actually means on a Harris Tweed.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric, Fabric Guide, harris tweed, Heritage, JacketsJosh SirlinSeptember 21, 2026harris tweed, hand woven tweed, outer hebrides, hattersley loom, orb mark, treadle loom, wool jacket, black bear brandComment

The Peacoat, and a Green I Made

A vintage coat worn for a decade, refined until there was nothing left to argue with. Josh Sirlin on the peacoat, on the custom hunter green, and on September 22.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, jackets, Heritage, outerwear, Style, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinSeptember 20, 2026peacoat, wool peacoat, hunter green peacoat, melton wool coat, made in japan coat, anchor buttons, mens outerwear, black bear brandComment

Black Bear Brand Tokyo: Ichirota, Josh, and a Painting Made for the Road

The artist Ichirota painted Josh Sirlin with the motorcycles that carried him across the American West. He is bringing the original to Tokyo and giving it to Josh at the Black Bear Brand pop up, where it hangs for all three days. 日本語は英文の下にあります。

One Pocket

The name is not a boast. It is a count. Josh Sirlin on the ONE Jean Jacket, on warp density, and on the years spent looking for denim worth cutting.

Denim, Jackets, materials, Craft, Heritage, CultureJosh SirlinSeptember 18, 2026jean jacket, denim jacket, selvedge jean jacket, one jean jacket, trucker jacket, made in japan denim, rope dyed, black bear brandComment

Midnight Glen, Wildflower, Moss Fire

Three new Harris Tweeds are woven for Black Bear Brand in Scotland every year, and Josh Sirlin makes three jackets from them. Here are this fall's three, starting with the Midnight Glen Tartan.

Craft, Craft & Materials, Fabric, harris tweed, Heritage, Jackets, made in usa, outerwearJosh SirlinSeptember 17, 2026harris tweed, midnight glen tartan, wildflower tartan, moss fire tartan, chore coat, zip coat, outer hebrides, made in seattle, black bear brandComment

The Jeans

Shuttle looms in Okayama, a family sewing room five generations deep, and an inseam that is long on purpose. Josh Sirlin on the Black Bear Brand jeans.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Fabric Guide, Japan, Japan & Culture, DenimJosh SirlinSeptember 17, 2026selvedge jeans, japanese selvedge denim, okayama denim, black bear brand jeans, shuttle loom denim, raw denim, triple needle, black bear brandComment

The Art of Chainstitching

One thread, one needle, one hand turning a crank under the table. Josh Sirlin on the 1865 machine that still cannot be improved on, and on four days of stitching one jacket.

Craft & Materials, Culture, Heritage, Jackets, Japan & Culture, StyleJosh SirlinSeptember 16, 2026chain stitch embroidery, chainstitch, cornely machine, moss stitch, chenille, varsity jacket embroidery, hand guided embroidery, black bear brandComment

Seven Colors of 30oz Terry

Color that goes on after a sweatshirt is sewn behaves differently forever. Josh Sirlin on garment dyeing and the Black Bear Brand 30oz terry hoody, crew, pants and shorts.

sweats, Style & Heritage, made in usa, materials, Fabric Guide, Craft & MaterialsJosh SirlinSeptember 15, 2026garment dyed sweatshirt, 30oz terry, heavyweight hoody, made in usa sweats, sweatpants, black bear brand sweatsComment

What Makes a Flannel a Flannel

Flannel is a finish, and the word is Welsh. Josh Sirlin on how flannel is actually made and the Black Bear Brand flannels woven and sewn in Japan.

Craft & Materials, Fabric, Fabric Guide, shirts, Style & HeritageJosh SirlinSeptember 15, 2026flannel shirt, what is flannel, flannel fabric, made in japan shirt, mens flannel, black bear brand shirtsComment