Hayley is the designer and owner of Canadian clothing brand, Birds of North America.   She designs a lot of really cute dresses!  Check out the online shop and my interview with Hayley:

What was the final motivation that got you to start Birds of North America?

I had really come to the end of the line with career options that interested me!  I had originally worked in costume and realized it was not quite the dream job that I had anticipated.  After that I worked as an assistant to a woman who did high end custom-made clothing for about a year after which time I started my own business doing custom-made.  I operated that business for about two years and there was a lot I enjoyed about the work, but I found it to be more service oriented than clothing/design oriented.  Strangely, a friend of mine wanted to start a line of clothing around that time and asked me if I wanted to be involved.  I had never thought I would want to start a line of clothing, having always been more costume and vintage oriented than fashion oriented, but it seemed like a strange and wonderful adventure!  After a few months my friend sort of bailed on the project but by that time I had realized that this new kind of work fit what I was looking for perfectly, and the rest is history!  Even now, after five years, and even though it can be incredibly challenging and stressful, I still feel like this is my dream job.

It’s great that all of your clothing is produced in manufactured in Montreal.  Producing/manufacturing local isn’t always easy for a new brand.  Are you happy with this decision?  What recommendations do you have for other new brands who want to stay local?

In my case, I didn’t go into this field with the intention of producing/manufacturing local.  It has really been a function of finances and a practical long term plan that has kept Birds of North America manufactured and produced in Montreal.   Having said that, I am very happy with the direction the line has gone and I wholeheartedly embrace the “made in Canada” aspect of the line!  I am very fortunate to live in a city like Montreal that has such a rich, deep pool of skilled garment industry workers.  My advice to new brands who want to stay local is to be sure to make people aware that the brand is produced locally and make sure you are charging enough!  I really don’t believe there is a quick solution to succeeding with a new locally-produced brand.  You just have to stick it out for the first few years while people figure out that your brand is worth the additional expense that producing/buying locally requires.  I think people are slowly becoming more aware of the unacceptable conditions that many (if not most) garment workers endure in other countries and are starting to understand that a well cut, ethically made dress costs more than $50!

What should we expect in the spring 2012 collection?   What were your inspirations for it?