We’re constantly on the hunt for products that allow us to have our cake and eat it, too. No, I’m not actually talking about food here. I’m talking about a pack you can take to work and bike with through the city on your way home, or a hat you can wear to a street festival and then take on a sunset hike. I’m talking about products that are versatile in function and cater to a busy, adventurous lifestyle. I’m talking about active lifestyle brands like Blue Bear Outside.
Technically still the “new kid” on the block, Blue Bear Outside’s primary goal is to create apparel and accessories that encourage outdoor enthusiasts to get creative with their wears, without sacrificing a sense of utility. The Salt Lake City-based brand offers original tees, sweatshirts, hats, walking sticks and mugs, all designed to travel and explore with you, wherever you may go. We were very fortunate to connect with Tom and Jessica Bender, Blue Bear Outside’s founders, to learn more about the BBO story and current Fall 2014 collection of products.
Q. How and when did Blue Bear Outside begin?
A. Blue Bear Outside came out of a frustrating time for Tom, professionally speaking. He had been working for an industrial design consultancy where he was involved with designing many outdoor products, but few with the kind of range and style he wanted to work in. Tom was craving a project that he had more control of with no clients to dictate the work, and he began talking about what a dream it would be to work on his own line of products. My reaction was, “Well, what’s holding you back? Let’s do it!”
Q. Could you explain Blue Bear Outside’s #mtstyle? What is mountain style to BBO? How would you define it, wear it, and live it on a daily basis?
A. Mountain style is a phrase that Tom and I came up with when we were first developing products and trying to explain where we aimed to go with our line. We would find ourselves saying things like, “It’s kind of like a street style brand with a mountain-esque vibe mixed in,” and soon enough, we were just explaining the whole line as having “Mt. Style” (#mtstyle), as it seemed to simplify what we were trying to describe.
To us, mountain style is using fabrics and functionality adopted from our favorite aspects of outdoor apparel, both old and new, while mixing in our own personal take on what Mt. Style can be. Tom comes from more of an urban background, growing up between Chicago and Milwaukee, and his base of reference comes from a mix-up of brands like Nike ACG, early skate and snowboard brands like Volcom and Foursquare, and other outside influences from the design community. I, on the other hand, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up spending a lot of time in the mountains with people like my dad, who had been a mountaineer and worked as a professional guide in the mountains not far from my home. When I began backpacking and camping on my own in my teens, I used a lot of his classic equipment. I was drawn to the heritage aspects of outdoor apparel. These influences give Blue Bear Outside products a unique mash-up of styles.
BBO embodies mountain style by adopting fabrics, as well as cuts and fits, found all over the lifestyle industry and spinning them into functional, fun products that are adventure-ready. Everything we design is meant to be street-ready AND mountain-ready — no exceptions. We don’t see any need for separation between products that you use everyday and ones you use while chasing adventures, so why not have mountain style all the time?
Q. How do you see people wearing and using Blue Bear Outside products?
A. We want Blue Bear Outside items to seem as comfortable on a trail as they are mixed with fashion-centric items you can buy in any major city. Our favorite interpretations of how to wear Blue Bear Outside are usually images posted by our customers and friends using our products in their own way. A few months back, our friend brought our True Camp Hat along for summiting the Grand Teton in Wyoming, which is the ultimate compliment and brought a big smile to our faces.
Q. What does being based in SLC contribute to Blue Bear’s design and brand image?
A. Salt Lake City has fostered Blue Bear Outside with its duality of mountain and city lifestyle so closely intertwined because it’s what we are most inspired by. We love that the same people we are running into at concerts and art shows downtown are often the same people we see on the trails the next day, and that lifestyle is what we design gear for. Salt Lake is a cool city because it is also really low-key. It’s easy to stand out here and we’re not afraid of that. This gives Blue Bear Outside the platform to be unique and stand out in a crowd, which resonates with the community of fun-loving adventure seekers that are attracted to our products.
Q. Your look books are named after some beautiful outdoor destinations. How do worldwide adventure destinations influence or inspire BBO?
A. Although we love Salt Lake City, we recognize the need to see what is going on outside of our little mountain home. In the beginning, one of the biggest inspirations for Blue Bear Outside was the many unique brands we discovered coming out of Japan, so we made the trip there to see it for ourselves. The artful mix of street and mountain style there blew us away. It seemed to infiltrate all levels of style and ways of dressing. We loved it there, and even dragged our skis all of the way across the Pacific to ski in the storied Japanese Alps. In one word: epic.
Our look books are also themed by different destinations such as Little Sahara. For these we have to credit Dustin Butcher, our creative partner, who we collaborate with on all aspects of the look books, photography and marketing. Dustin shares our passion for the outdoors, travel and fashion, so he has been the ideal partner for getting our designs “out there” with his extensive marketing experience.
Q. We love the walking stick! Could you tell us a little more about Ben, the man who inspired you all to add this to the Fall 2014 product collection?
A. Ben is a friend we met early on when we moved to the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City. He’s a unique guy who sets up a little makeshift shop on the street and works on his walking sticks by hand, selling them to passersby. We were so thrilled to come across Ben and his work that we asked if he would be willing to collaborate on a collection of sticks for Blue Bear Outside. We loved the unique mix that the sticks gave to our overall collection, and combining that with finding the sticks locally was a win-win. We also love being able to hang out with Ben while he works. He has the most amazing stories!
Q. How are the walking sticks chosen and crafted to perfection?
A. We don’t like to dictate too much how the sticks are cut because that’s what Ben does, but we are picky about which ones we use. Once Ben has cut and finished each stick, we do the dip painting, which is a process that only a perfectionist like Tom could handle! These sticks are a metaphor for how we want all of our products to be used. It’s a beautifully finished product, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want you to use the hell out of it! These sticks are made to be used, even if that means the paint gets chipped or they get a little roughed up. It only adds to the character of the piece.
Q. Is there a design story behind the “Into the Cosmos” printed hat?
A. The COSMOS print came about fairly organically. Our line had a solid base of items that coordinated closely, but we wanted to add something with a little more personality. A church down the road from our home has a beautiful mosaic pattern adorning it that caught Tom’s eye, so he took some cues from it for the main pattern, and then added splattered colors that would tie it together with our other pieces. We were happy to have an item join the line up that stands out while still tying in with the rest of the line.
Q. Would you like to share anything else about the Blue Bear Outside brand and its unique products?
A. It’s been a fun and challenging road to get Blue Bear Outside to this point, and we look forward to growing it to its full potential. We have big ideas and no intention of slowing down any time soon, so stay tuned!
All photos from Blue Bear Outside look books, coordinated by Dustin Butcher.
XX SYDNEY