Pragmatism, utility & style...
The tools... the curation of style through craftsmanship.
Where materials, people and their stories drive the end product.
The Black Bear Brand - Horween Leather - Dayton Boots... coming in 2016
In dedicated support of photographers, artists, builders, musicians, riders… and more - cultural diversity and creativity.
In dedicated support of artists, builders, musicians, riders… and more - cultural diversity and creativity.
Time-honored style bred from quality and heritage... Black Bear Brand collaborating with Crescent Down Works and producing it all in a small Seattle factory. A Union Of Makers.
Outsiders are a symbol of doing things differently. You cannot disrupt the status quo without them. But those outsiders and their wild ideas need support. They need a place to feel like an insider.
Union Of Makers - a union of persons sharing a vision…
Photos by Chad Lyons
Pictorial tour of Cartagena Colombia
The people; the expressions of the trials and tribulations along with political satire, injustices… and more.
Art - Murals - A Historical Icon
Black Bear Brand's Union Of Makers - Rob Gallaher
Tear Sheet GQ Germany.
Tilley Surfboards - Union Of Makers
A collaboration bred from quality and heritage. The recipe for a true Union of makers: Black Bear Brand x Tilley Surfboards.
By Stephanie Smith-Strickland
Black Bear Brand originated from a label of the same name that had been part of the American clothing landscape for almost 100 years. Desiring to carry on the heritage of its forbearer, the rebooted Black Bear Brand takes reinterpreting classics very seriously.
In anticipation of the inevitable cold months, Black Bear turned to fellow maker Crescent Down Works to collaborate on a small capsule of outerwear. Crescent, for its part, has been churning out completely custom down jackets since 1974. That said, it only makes sense that the collection should include down shirts, a down parka, and a down vest.
Working out of a small factory in Seattle, the duo combined patterns that have been popular in the Northwest for decades with high-quality fabrics, and 700-fill white goose down. These items are all about warmth, durability and optimal performance.
The down shirts are retailing for $410 while the vest goes for $265, and the parka $495.
View Source - http://www.selectism.com/2015/12/04/black-bear-brand-crescent-down-works-present-a-cozy-winter-capsule/
Serving those who serve us… Build & Ride.
Bikes Over Baghdad is a team of professional action sports athletes who have traveled to the Middle East in support of the troops since 2009. Here’s a look at the recent November trip to a lot of undisclosed locations in the Middle East.
Nate Wessel - Union Of Makers
Winter Collection
Black Bear Brand x Crescent Down Works
Down Shirt - Down Vest - Montagne Parka
Made in USA, 100% Manufactured in-house in the Crescent Down Seattle factory.
Greenwich Vintage and Black Bear Brand take pride in the fact that the ‘Triple Black’ moc-toe boots are made and cobbled in the USA. Quantities are extremely limited.
Greenwich Vintage and Black Bear Brand have partnered for the first time to release the ‘Triple Black’ moc-toe boots. The ‘Triple Black’ boots began as brand new oro-colorway Red Wing #875s. From within Greenwich Vintage’s workshop, Master Cobbler Tamas ‘Zen’ Pomazi has transformed them by hand-dying the base boots black, to create an over-dyed patina, as well as by adding black six iron midsoles using Greenwich Vintage’s in-house Landis K curve stitcher. In addition, the ‘Triple Black’ boots have been outfitted with brand new black chrome eyelets, which have been hammered in by-hand. Finally, Greenwich Vintage has added its signature black Bricklayer out-soles.
Shop the Black Bear Brand Factory-Store
More on Greenwich Vintage Co.
My experience on the morning September 25th was surreal. While it was calm and peaceful, it was an absolute sensory overload at the same time. I was paddling out with Jason Tilley of Tilley Surfboards for our first session on a collaboration board we created, and the marine layer was thick and the ocean and sky were separated only by their slight variation of grey, blurring the boundary between the two. The morning was cool and the water was still warm enough that wearing a hood was a preference and not a necessity. We paddled out into chest high rollers.
Anticipating the next wave with such reduced visibility required focus, and had I missed the full meaning of something Tilley said to me while we were waiting for the next set. He wanted me to look at something off to my right, but I didn’t see much.
I’ve heard stories about how one sense is enhanced by a deficit in another, and maybe it was the uniformity of the environment that deprived me of crisp vision, but either way the first I caught of it was the smell. It was overwhelming. It was as if the ordinary smell of the ocean had intensified a hundred fold. Not rotten—just the smell of bait fish, maybe shrimps, and salt air. And then I saw it: the top of a massive whale. I’m unsure what kind it was, but I was close enough to feel the pressure of the water it parted as it moved by. I’m unsure why it came so close to shore. Perhaps it was curious about what we were doing.
“I was paddling out with Jason Tilley of Tilley Surfboards for our first session on a collaboration board we created.”
Since Black Bear Brand and Tilley Surfboards have common interests–aesthetic taste and values, for the most part–the obvious step forward was a collaboration board. But not just any surfboard.
Jason Tilley of Tilley Surfboards has an interesting story. “Building wood surfboards the way I do is a product of everything I have done and have been into since I was a kid,” he said. “Much of that was passed on by my father. Tilley does more than build surfboards. He’s a vast well of knowledge in all things wood and ocean.
“Windsurfing, surfing, sailing, working on wood boats, living and traveling on a small wooden cutter, all these are part of who I am and create the context for my experience and work,” remembered. “Being deeply immersed in the wooden boat scene, especially the working trollers, longliners, packers, gillnetters, and seiners of SE Alaska, gave me an intense appreciation and understanding for how well beauty and function can complement one another. Beauty enhancing function and function enhancing beauty. Most important is how much each adds deeply to the lives of the designers, builders, and users who get to partake in the art and craft. A beautiful soulful object is such a pleasure to use. At every turn it adds to your experience. It promotes proper care and recycling. Beautiful functional craft are restored, resurrected, used and coveted. These boards aren’t meant to be set against the wall and admired as art, because there is also beauty in their use. I like to think that each one of my boards walks that line: were the joy of using it and the joy of looking at it are hand in hand. It has to look stunning. It has to perform well. It has to be made to last.”
Jason and I met and quickly realized that where we really saw eye to eye when it comes to board design was the traditional fish. “With the fish design, we are able to draw something cool from the past and twist it a little with updated concepts,” Tilley said.
“It has to look stunning. It has to perform well. It has to be made to last.”
We wanted to respect the tradition of board building, but at the same time be creative and build our own new thing, and the fish template was the perfect way to do it. “The template of the collaboration fish draws on the long linage of fish designs, and is my go-to template for traditional fishes, Tilley explained. “It is a little drawn out and longer than the norm.”
So what’s different with our collaboration from a normal fish? Tilley designed a template that’s slightly different than average. And of course, as with all board design, small changes make a big difference, and not just aesthetically. “With this board I focused on the rails, bottom contours and fin template and set-up,” Tilley explained. “The rails lean towards the fuller round rails of a typical modern board. They are about halfway between the low thin rails often seen on traditional fish and a medium full rail. The deck is rolled more than normal, something that I think looks good. The bottom starts with a mellow single concave in the nose, to flat in the middle, and transitions to a vee shape with double concave. I pulled my normal twin fin template a little more upright, which actually is a step back towards the originals. The fins are set with a very slight toe (pointing towards the nose) and cantilever (tips pointing outboard), which is not a true keel fin set up (no toe and no cant). This aspect would make a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist moan, though the numbers are so small they would need a good eye to determine this is not a straight keel. Tints, wood selection and logos were very much Josh’s game with much back and forth and adjustments to pull off the look. I like the Yin and Yang balance, it fits with the idea of new and old, past and present.”
The board itself truly was a labor of love. To sum it up in one small paragraph doesn’t do the amount of work justice, but Tilley kept the build’s explanation short and sweet. “The basic build is my standard wood railed construction: a cut and hand-shaped foam blank, select lumber, and milled up deck and bottom skins,” he said. “The deck is just shy of 1/8″ and the bottom just shy of 1/16″. These were vacuum bagged onto the blank with a layer of glass and epoxy between the skins and foam. I then cut a little more than 3/8″ from the perimeter of the board and laminate the rails on. Instead of the usual nose block I steamed and bent the rails all the way to the nose, doing one side first, trimming and then overlapping the other side on top. I was striving for clean lines and a clean wood canvas to show off the color design and logos. Next, I glued the tail block on. I got into sculpting the tail block, indulging in a little hand tool carving while thinking of wooden boat stems. After shaping down the rails and fairing everything together was logo and color work, followed by a layer 4oz glass in epoxy. Then fill, sand, gloss and polish. This sounds quick in one paragraph, but is no small amount of labor.”
View Source - http://www.theinertia.com/surf/this-is-one-of-the-most-beautiful-collaboration-surfboards-youve-ever-seen/
The Making of the Black Bear Brand x Greenwich Vintage Co. Collaboration Boots
Union Of Makers - What was once a brand new Oro colorway Red Wing #875 boot has now been transformed by Greenwich Vintage’s Master Cobbler, Tamas “Zen” Pomazi. "We dyed the boots black by hand, to have an overdyed patina and we re-midsoled and corked the inside with a black 6 iron midsole sewn on a landis k curve stitcher. These one-of-kind moc-toe boots have been outfitted with brand new black chrome eyelets hand hammered in shop. Last but not least we made our own Black Bricklayer wedge out soles.” - Zen
The delivery date is set for November 20th at www.blackbearunion.com
Crescent Down Works x Black Bear Brand
Union Of Makers - Collaboration
Making custom down garments since 1974.
Patterns based on long-established northwest outerwear designs.
"We use high quality and time-tested fabrics and construction methods, stuffed with 700 fill white goose down selected for the best combination of durability, feel and performance.” - CDW
Time-honored style provide a sought-after product proudly made in America with care.
Located in Seattle, 100% of our manufacturing is done in-house in our factory in Pioneer Square.
"We love doing custom work for our partners, especially locally…” - CDW
Limited collection coming soon.
Photos by Chad Lyons
the hunt…
British Columbia, Canada
Union of Makers - Justin Ormiston
"After three days in the field following fresh tracks, finding warm beds and hearing the sound of hooves moving through the soil, along bounces the biggest four point buck I've ever seen. Locked and loaded I waited patiently for a clean shot; sure enough the buck stopped just before entering the dense forest. One long exhale I squeezed a standing shot from about 140 yards out. The click of my 7mm mag firing pin was all I heard... no bang."
"The round misfired due to a faulty primer. I quickly cycled another round into the chamber, ready to pull, but there was no deer left to shoot."
"I never did find that four point again, but the three days of grizzly bear prints, coyotes howling, cold nights and warm scotch, it's the journey that counts."
I’ve been trying to articulate my experience on the morning Sept. 25; it was surreal / calm and peaceful / absolute sensory overload.
The marine layer was thick and the ocean and sky were separated only by their slight variation of grey, blurring the boundary between the two. The morning was cool and the water was still warm enough that wearing a hood was a preference and not a necessity. We paddled out into chest high rollers.
Anticipating the next wave with such reduced visibility required focus, and had I missed the full meaning of something [Tilley] said to me while we were waiting for the next set. He wanted me to look at something off to my right, but I didn’t see much.
I’ve heard stories about how one sense is enhanced by a deficit in another, and maybe it was the uniformity of the environment that deprived me of crisp vision, but either way the first I caught of it was the smell. It was overwhelming. The smell was as if the ordinary smell of the ocean had intensified a hundred fold. Not rotten—just the smell of bait fish, maybe shrimps, and salt air. And then I saw it, the top of a massive whale. I’m unsure what kind it was, but I was close enough to feel the pressure of the water it parted as it moved by. I’m unsure why it came so close to shore, perhaps it was curious about what we were doing.
Chop Shop Garage
Union Of Makers - Rob Gallaher
A Bear For Wear
Tune - Wrench - Build - Repair
Kamloops B.C.
Photos by Chris Rollett
By Stephanie Smith-Strickland
There’s something about the idea of a road trip that triggers our sense of wonder and romance. In popular culture, road trips are often the catalyst for coming-of-age tales or experiences in which a person emerges changed and more wise. In many ways they symbolize the great unknown, and with the unknown comes boundless possibilities for coincidence, and chances to create adventure.
In the narrative of Black Bear Brand and Tilley Surfboards a road trip symbolizes the joining of two labels obsessed with quality and heritage. The partners, driving a ’66 Lincoln, struck out from Seattle and ended Port Orford, a small town on Oregon’s coast that also happens to be home to Tilley. There they indulged in a much-deserved surf break using a board that came about as a joint collaboration.
The board is crafted from solid wood and features a custom milled deck, bottom, rails and fins. It also boasts a hand-shaped EPS core which allows for precision control. These features were important Tilley Surfboard owner Jason Tilley, who states, “Building wood surfboards the way I do is a product of everything I have done and have been into since I was a kid. Much of that was passed on by my father. Windsurfing, surfing, sailing, working on wood boats, living and traveling on a small wooden cutter, all these are part of who I am and create the context for my experience and work.”
Similarly, Black Bear, which describes itself as a brand interested in heritage revival, values the artistry connected to building things the old-fashioned way. It’s a collaboration that makes sense, and it’s yielded some very beautiful photos. Take a look through our gallery and see for yourself.
View Source - http://www.selectism.com/2015/10/02/black-bear-brand-tilley-surfboards-roadtrip/
The Project
An undisclosed surf break, a’66 Lincoln, and a collaboration bred from quality and heritage. The recipe for a true Union of makers: Black Bear Brand x Tilley Surfboards.
The Trip
Seattle to Port Orford, a scenic town on the Oregon coast and home to Tilley Surfboards. Jason Tilley, Master Maker and undisputed surfboard craftsman.
The Result
An ominous day reminiscent of Tilley’s SE Alaskan fishing heritage amid a coveted location veiled in fog. And a beautifully handcrafted fish design set atop a perfect right.
Why
"Building wood surfboards the way I do is a product of everything I have done and have been into since I was a kid. Much of that was passed on by my father. Windsurfing, surfing, sailing, working on wood boats, living and traveling on a small wooden cutter, all these are part of who I am and create the context for my experience and work. Being deeply immersed in the wooden boat scene, especially the working trollers, longliners, packers, gillnetters, and seiners of SE Alaska, gave me an intense appreciation and understanding for how well beauty and function can complement one another. Beauty enhancing function and function enhancing beauty. Most important is how much each adds deeply to the lives of the designers, builders, and users who get to partake in the art and craft. A beautiful soulful object is such a pleasure to use. At every turn it adds to your experience. It promotes proper care and recycling. Beautiful functional craft are restored, resurrected, used and coveted. These boards aren’t meant to be set against the wall and admired as art, because there is also beauty in their use. I like to think that each one of my boards walks that line: were the joy of using it and the joy of looking at it are hand in hand. It has to look stunning. It has to perform well. It has to be made to last." - Jason Tilley
Design
"Once I had met Josh from Black Bear Brand and had determined that we had common interests, aesthetic taste, and values, the obvious step forward was a collaboration board. The traditional fish quickly became our direction because it is able to embody many of those values that we see eye to eye on. With the fish design, we are able to draw something cool from the past and twist it a little with updated concepts. It was an opportunity to build on what has been hard earned—respecting traditions while being creative and forging our own new thing. The template of the collaboration fish draws on the long linage of fish designs, and is my go-to template for traditional fishes. It is a little drawn out and longer than the norm. With this board I focused on the rails, bottom contours and fin template and set-up. The rails lean towards the fuller round rails of a typical modern board. They are about halfway between the low thin rails often seen on traditional fish and a medium full rail. The deck is rolled more than normal, something that I think looks good. The bottom starts with a mellow single concave in the nose, to flat in the middle, and transitions to a vee shape with double concave. I pulled my normal twin fin template a little more upright, which actually is a step back towards the originals. The fins are set with a very slight toe (pointing towards the nose) and cantilever (tips pointing outboard), which is not a true keel fin set up (no toe and no cant). This aspect would make a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist moan, though the numbers are so small they would need a good eye to determine this is not a straight keel. Tints, wood selection and logos were very much Josh's game with much back and forth and adjustments to pull off the look. I like the Yin and Yang balance, it fits with the idea of new and old, past and present." - Jason Tilley
Build
"The basic build is my standard wood railed construction: a cut and hand-shaped foam blank, select lumber, and milled up deck and bottom skins. The deck is just shy of 1/8" and the bottom just shy of 1/16". These were vacuum bagged onto the blank with a layer of glass and epoxy between the skins and foam. I then cut a little more than 3/8" from the perimeter of the board and laminate the rails on. Instead of the usual nose block I steamed and bent the rails all the way to the nose, doing one side first, trimming and then overlapping the other side on top. I was striving for clean lines and a clean wood canvas to show off the color design and logos. Next, I glued the tail block on. I got into sculpting the tail block, indulging in a little hand tool carving while thinking of wooden boat stems. After shaping down the rails and fairing everything together was logo and color work, followed by a layer 4oz glass in epoxy. Then fill, sand, gloss and polish. This sounds quick in one paragraph, but is no small amount of labor." - Jason Tilley
Photo Credit | Chad Michael Lyons