Designer dreams
Summerside couple growing clothing line from home-based shop
Have you ever imagined a clothing company that is made just for you. Size, fit, colour and sometimes material, all at your discretion. Well, now you can. Summerside couple, Amanda Dawe and Emily McBride, have created just such a line in Ureshii Design.
Sun fills the open workspace as steam from a hot cup of tea wafts up into the air.
Dozens of spools of colourful thread line shelves and rolls of fabric and piles of designs are stored near by.
Emily McBride sits at her industrial sewing machine working on what will become a red dress while her partner, Amanda Dawe, cuts fabric on the table beside.
The duo are the founders of Ureshii Design.
“It means ‘I’m glad’ in Japanese. It’s like an exclamation,” McBride said.
Dawe added, “we want our customers to feel good when they put on their clothes in the morning. They’re glad to start another day.”
The couple moved to Prince Edward Island five years ago from B.C., and shortly after began working full-time on their clothing line. “Emily has always loved clothing and making clothes. For a long time we were making clothing and running that business while working multiple other jobs at the same time. “Eventually we became bored of working for other people and decided to fully focus on our business. Gradually we left our other jobs and got to where we are now,” said Dawe.
The pair gets their fabric from a company in Vancouver, who in turn get the fabric from China.
“It’s certainly not as local as we want it to be. Our clothing is made from natural fibres such as bamboo, which we use a lot of, but there isn’t a viable way to produce that here. “However, we are hoping to explore more designs with linen, and there are places in Canada that are trying to produce the fibre which is neat,” Dawe explained. McBride makes the design drafts and sews the pieces, while Dawe cuts the fabrics from the patterns.
“My favourite part is probably the drafting and finding a way to put it all together to make it functional and something someone would want to wear at the same time. You know those kids that take apart technology and try to put it back together? That’s me but with clothing,” said McBride.
Dawe followed, “we’re not fashion designers, so we come from a completely different place when designing and making the clothing. Of course we want it to look good but we also want people to want to wear it and be comfortable at the same time.”
One of the positive things to come out of owning a small business was the ability to be available to their kids.
“We have three kids and having our own business, working from home, has allowed us to really be able to be there and around for anything,” said Dawe.
McBride continued, “It’s something that’s been really impactful. I think it’s a terrific option for people to run a small business while parenting.” McBride’s favourite design from the nine-year-old business is her pencil skirt.
“I really love it. It just gives such a clean look. It was probably the first product we sold, and one of these days I’m going to convince people that it’s better than leggings.”
The business’ clothing is made to measure, so customers can order a design they want, pick the colour and submit their measurements, said McBride. “It allows us to make sure we are creating something for the person the way they want it,” Dawe said.
“People can order in person when we set up shop at the Summerside Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, or they can order from our online catalogue. “Production time is about two weeks and then we ship it to customers around the world.”
The most satisfying thing has been seeing people wear the clothes, said Dawe.
“It’s so rewarding when we see someone wearing something of ours. It also gives us the opportunity to see what worked and what didn’t with certain fabrics or prototypes.”