Helping to keep the aquarium afloat
Herschel Supply aims to boost revenue of Vancouver ‘staple’ one recycled sailboat sail at a time
The ocean has always played a key role in Jamie Cormack’s life.
A longtime Vancouver resident, currently living in the community of Deep Cove, the co-founder of Herschel Supply says he has a long-standing love for and connection to the sea.
“Any days I’m not in the office, and it’s nice weather, I’m usually on a boat and in the water in Deep Cove. That’s the same with my brother (and Herschel co-founder, Lyndon),” Cormack says. “We’ve built our lives around spending time in the water.”
Much of that appreciation, he says, is thanks to the Vancouver Aquarium.
“Most people just see a beach when they see the ocean. Most people don’t understand the amount of vegetation and wildlife inside of it. The amount of respect that you get from going to the aquarium and seeing what’s there and understanding the ocean more — that’s huge,” Cormack says.
So, it’s fitting that, when it came time for the Herschel Supply team to find a partner for its first upcycled collection, that they would settle on the local oceanic institution as a beneficiary and partner.
“When we had the chance to go and support them through this, it was something I wanted to jump on right away. I didn’t even have to think twice. I’m such a fan of what these guys do, and the level that they do it at,” Cormack says. “It plays such a huge role, for anyone who has grown up in Vancouver or is part of Vancouver. It’s just such a staple in the area.”
In partnership with the Ocean Wise Conservation Association, the full proceeds from the sale of the limited-edition Herschel Supply Re-Sail Program products will go toward supporting the Vancouver Aquarium. The establishment, which reopened Friday after closing to the public on March 17 in order to comply with COVID-19 regulations, has reportedly felt the squeeze of lost revenue. Its estimated monthly operation costs exceed $1 million, according to a news release.
“To me, I know there are multiple different ways to look at everything, but the education component of it, for the youth, I think we need to have that for our oceans. I think you’re given a lot of that at our aquarium. And, to me, I really hope that it’s around forever,” Cormack explains of his interest in lending support.
In addition to offering assistance to the aquarium, the Re-Sail collection also provides an outlet for the local sailing community to recycle their used sailboat sails rather than seeing them end up in a landfill.
The products are made at the company’s Vancouver workshop from approximately 15 sails. While the idea of recycling these types of materials is unique for use in Herschel Supply, for Cormack and his brother’s other business, it’s not exactly new.
“The backstory of it is that I actually buy a lot of the sails from the Vancouver Sailing Club,” Cormack says. “My brother and I, who I own Herschel with, we have a small store out in Deep Cove called A’hoy, and we have a program there where we actually build a lot of products out of wellused sails.
“We’re just trying to keep the sails out of the landfills because they’re such a nuisance. They’re so large. And they just kind of play havoc on the garbage dumps. So, anything we can keep out of the landfill, we’re trying to do that.”
That experience with sourcing the used sails helped to speed up the production process for the local project, which Cormack says took less than 45 days to come to fruition, “from ideation right through to completion.”
“It was fast,” he says. “One of the biggest components was sourcing the fabric. And when we called out to the sailing clubs, they had fabric. So, that part was actually done in two days. We had loads of sails to pick from.”
Launching June 23, the collection features five items designed for people’s homes rather than the accessories, outerwear and luggage that many may have expected to come from a new Herschel release.
“Really, Herschel is a company built around supporting people’s journeys. People on the move. And, as people are more at home, we pivoted to five items for their houses. That was kind of the key starter,” Cormack explains of the designs.
The collection includes a pen case, wall organizer, two sizes of buckets and a utility apron, priced from $24.99 to $79.99. “It’s all one-off, which is really fun, that you could buy a unique piece,” Cormack says of the multi-use products. “They’re a unique look and feel.”
While the collection represents the company’s first foray into recycled materials, Cormack says it won’t be their last.
“I think it’s on the minds of everybody,” Cormack says of the introduction of recycled materials. “Upcycling, reducing, and reusing are just so key. I think it’s the way that society is moving. It’s always been a conversation, we’ve just never been able to implement it. This was a time when we were able to step back and implement it.
“There’s a lot of pride in it. The project just feels right. And, I don’t think you can feel that and leave that at just a one-off. Maybe I’m stepping off because we don’t have a script for what’s next. But, I know there is going to be something that comes from this. It felt too right to not continue down that road.”
Why isn’t clothing for boys more colourful?
It’s a question sisters Stéphanie and Caroline Lévesque wondered as they looked to find fun, cheerful garments for their sons that was as bright and bubbly as those on offer to little girls.
Not finding anything, they started Birdz, a Quebec-based clothing line that offers fun fashion pieces for women and kids.
We caught up with Stéphanie, the chief executive officer of the company, to learn more.
Q For those who aren’t familiar, what is Birdz?
A Birdz is a vibrant fashion brand for children and women — but truly, it is a family story before anything else.
We’re two sisters hailing from Montreal and three years ago with big corporate jobs, husbands and, at that time three kids among us, we realized we wanted to change the trajectory of our lives and the lives of our children. So we made a big pivot, and started Birdz.
Q When and why did it first start?
A Our adventure began in 2017, with the mission to breathe vibrant colour into boys, girls and women’s fashion alike.
We were tired of seeing so few brands carrying bright, joyful colour/prints when shopping for our own children — particularly for our boys. “Why can’t our boys wear bright purple and florals?” we thought. That was the spark. Today, we believe in building a brand that brings bold, bright and vibrant colour to all. We created Birdz to dress happy and offer collections that are in full living colour.
Q Is there a story behind the name?
A Yes! Birdz are the children, growing up in a protective nest, which is the family. We are not raising our little Birdz, we are helping them rise.
We believe in the bright potential of our children and our future. We champion them to grow confident and to take their flight out of the nest to live their most vibrant, bubbly happy life, which also gave way to our hero hashtag: #BIRDZdresshappy.
Q What makes it unique from other brands?
A For girls and boys to be able to wear vibrant colour and prints that bring smiles and laughter was a point of differentiation from the more minimal or adult-looking clothing in the kids market. Our approach with Birdz stems truly from the “dress happy’’ concept — seeing that colour was getting lost in kids clothing. When we had our own boys, we found it hard to find bright and colourful options. We wanted to breathe life into boys’ clothing, an area of kids fashion, which had become less vibrant or happy.
Q Is there a ‘hero’ piece in the collection? If so, which one and what makes it so popular?
A The sweats series is definitely our most-beloved pieces of the line. The concept is quite simple — anchoring a collection with one word that evokes excitement of adventure with family. This is core to the brand — celebrating family, experiences and memories. Past collections included words like Apres-Ski, Ski Bum, Chalet. Coming soon are Vacances and Mom of Boys/Mom of Girls. Each is meant to symbolize happy times with family, extended family and making memories in special places.
Q What is the price range for Birdz pieces?
A Birdz ranges from $30 to $200. Our caps are the most inclusive piece, priced at $30, a kid’s sweater is $45, a woman’s sweater is $70 and our snowsuits are $200.
Q And where can people check it out?
A Online at birdzchildren.com and on Facebook and Instagram @birdz.children. Our collection is also available in 100 retailers across Canada.
Q Lastly, what’s next for the brand?
A We are currently cherishing the 25,000 moms in our happy community, with the hopes of growing that number across Canada.
We are aiming to reach four million Canadian moms in the next five years. We truly believe that we have the power to democratize gender fashion in patterns and colours for the next BIRDZ generation.