Luvmother, a Montreal-based company that designs soft, high quality, durable children’s Merino Wool clothing, has partnered with New York-based textile studio Oliver Yaphe. Luvmother donates cuttings from its factory as a part of an upcycle program that aims to produce Zerowaste in the manufacturing process. The end result are hand crafted designer textiles (pillows, rugs, runners) that Oliver Yaphe sells online and at esteemed New York outlets.
“We all have it happen so many times, where a great idea starts at a meeting of like minds, it has excitement and possibilities, and then time passes and it ends up in a great ‘folder of good intentions,’” explains Luvmother co-founder Kevin Peacock. “But this idea had too much potential to be ignored. After a lot of legwork from Katherine Yaphe, founder of Oliver Yaphe, to define the designs and line up the right artisans, Luvmother’s first batch of cuttings has been received by Yaphe’s facility and the new upcycled products are in the final stages.”
“The collaboration between two companies that share a brand (and life) philosophy and the initiative to turn ‘waste into want’ felt right from the start,” adds Luvmother partner Giselle Murphy.
For the Zerowaste initiative, Oliver Yaphe manufactures one-of-a-kind rugs and pillows made by hand with unused fabric scraps from the most beautiful fabrics they can source. Driven by a love of color and texture, Katherine Yaphe designs her goods for the long haul – which is in sync with Luvmother’s mission to produce boutique quality clothing that can be handed down from generation to generation.
“My kids adore Luvmother’s clothing and I have fallen for the company’s attention to detail and authentic care for craft. Luvmother’s mission is very much in line with our own. We strive to produce thoughtfully made, handcrafted textiles that stand the test of time – both in terms of design and how they are produced,” remarks Yaphe.
Sustainability and durability have always been at the heart of Luvmother’s mission. The company uses fair trade labor, offsets its carbon footprint from shipments from its factory, and delivers its products in biodegradable bags. It is a small initiative that Luvmother hopes will lead to bigger outcomes for the future.
For Yaphe, the Zerowaste initiative has been an eye-opening experience.
“What I hadn’t thought about to the extent that I do now is that even the most sustainable manufacturing has environmental costs,” she says. “But, there are ways to minimize and manage our impact, which is what we’ve tapped in to. It feels great to be able to take unused remnants and turn them into something beautiful and desirable to buyers. Luvmother goes to great lengths to source the most gorgeous Merino wool fabric and to be a truly conscious manufacturer. When you start with amazing materials and an authentic desire to do good in the world, we know that we can produce pieces that will be special and meaningful and have purpose beyond our initial idea.”
