A sign that it has been a very long week... I find myself fixated on my little red coffee cup.

[deep sigh] A little bit shattered and glad today is Friday.. I feel very fortunate. My project has grown into a pretty cool little business... and I am so incredibly grateful to be ‘making in New Zealand’.

When planning my very first collection to be made way back in 2018 there were articles being published in the news forecasting the demise of garment manufacturing in New Zealand. The last factory producing NZ milled fabric moved its production offshore in 2017... the same year that one of my favorite NZ made brands decided to call it quits. The world was a little bit different then. Times were moving fast, the world seemed small and demand for quality was becoming watered down. Underlying tones suggesting the end was nigh.

Queue the entrance of Covid19

We are quickly approaching the 1 year anniversary of NZ’s nation wide lock down, the birth of the ‘Team of 5million’... not to mention tremendous ground swell of support for NZ made products, and NZ owned businesses.

Today I look back at all of the unknowns and uncertainties which I chose to push through to make a start... and perspective now turns them to be granular in size considering the world’s uncertainties navigating a global pandemic.

I would like to shout out a huge ‘Thank You!’ to everyone in NZ (and around the world!) who has chosen to support Yank over the past 12 months.. You have made it possible for me to pay all of the skilled hands that I contract to keep the magic happening. They all have been very grateful for the work... and it has been really incredible to maintain even the tiniest amount of momentum in such questionable times.

My next two collections are being started as of yesterday.

All of the fabrics inked, spreadsheets finalized and patterns sorted.

Watch this space for updates as things start to clear the machines over the coming weeks. There are a few bits of colour being made for the fellas as well.

Designed, printed, cut and sewn right here in New Zealand.