Integrity for people and the environment is the basis of my moral fiber, pun intended. Over the past few years, RevivALL business has grown, thanks to the support of women who share the desire for a simpler time and quality clothing. With this growth, comes the challenge of keeping core values, one of which is the process of making the garments (the other primary value is using up cycled or reclaimed materials).
As I write this, RevivALL overalls are being cut and sewn in Eugene, Oregon (my previous home). Addy and Monica are two beautiful Guatemalan women who I’ve known and worked with for about 10 years. They even came to my wedding with their family and I cherish our connection. The overalls keep them busy, so as more prairie clothing styles are developed, the need for clothing production has grown.
Pinafores, prairie dresses, skirts, crop tops…everything besides overalls, is being made in my studio in Bozeman, Montana. There are two gorgeous women who help with the sewing-Sunny and Sophie…but I want to give you more. I want to have all sizes in stock for you when you order and I want to keep offering you more styles in more fabric combinations. Before moving to Montana, two friends and I had a small clothing manufacturing house, so I know first hand the challenges of this business. As I have been searching for American clothing manufacturing, it is clear that the industry is almost dried up on the West Coast. While living in New York City in the early 2000s, the fashion district started to disintegrate. Developers were fighting to transform production houses into “cool loft spaces” and the garment manufacturing was all heading overseas. Cut to 2019 and there are two large sewing houses in Seattle (that I found)-they both only do bags, luggage, or government contracts. There is one in Portland that was so busy, they never even returned my messages or responded to the form I filled out on their website. LA was my last option…follow along with what I found out there in the next installment of the blog!
Thank you for doing all you can to keep manufacturing in America. I’m sad to hear it’s so hard to do these days.