BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Being a business owner and sewist is in Weston Persons’s blood. He grew up in Bozeman, Montana, where he watched his mother run a hat-making company.
From a young age, he knew he wanted to follow in her footsteps.
In his teens, Persons dabbled in sewing by picking up skills and knowledge from his mom and her friends. By 20, Persons says he was proficient in the craft.
When he moved to Bellingham, he worked as a ski tuner at a local sporting goods shop. He noticed customers would return with items that were broken or otherwise defunct, wanting them fixed or taken back.
The companies that produced the items wouldn’t accept them back after they had been sold, so the goods, which were often expensive and name-brand, would get sorted into a bin headed for the trash.
“So, I would just snag some of the items [and] fix them up. They still had the price tag on them and everything, and I would just quietly put them back on the floor,” Persons said. “And then I realized I shouldn’t do it for free.”
Persons applied for a business license in November 2020. By January 2021, the reclaimed clothing and gear business was up and running.
Madrona Wear started in Persons’s kitchen, where he crafted simple custom shorts and pants. He realized he needed more consistent money and that he could make it by mending.
“There’s a lot of gear in the community, like so much,” Persons said. “There’s these people who have 30 puffy jackets in their closet, and then there’s a lot of college kids that move here, kids in high school and folks traveling through that need a puffy jacket but don’t want to spend $340 or $600.”
In the first year, Madrona Wear served roughly 250 people. The next year, the customer base doubled. By the third year, that number was over 2,000.
“I quickly outgrew the kitchen, because my dog’s going crazy every 12 customers per day coming in, and my neighbors were not stoked at the constant people parking in front of their, or knocking on their door,” Persons said.
Madrona moved into a small shop by the Lakeway freeway entrance. They quickly outgrew the 600 square foot space, despite it being somewhat hidden.
Today, the outdoor outfitter sits at the corner of Ellis Street and Lakeway Drive in a space with high ceilings, abundant natural light and plenty of space for storage and repairing. Persons and his three employees moved into the new location just eight months ago.
With the new space, one of Persons new goals is to provide more education and knowledge to the community.
Sustainability is central to the ethos of Madrona Wear. Persons wants customers to think about who makes their clothes, where their clothing comes from and where it goes after they throw it away.
“When you fix it, instead of tossing it, it saves resources, like a crazy amount. And on top of that, it makes your clothes look cooler,” he said.
Producing a single pair of jeans can consume 1,800 gallons of water — the equivalent of 104 showers. Globally, garment workers, who are largely women of color, are underpaid and made to work in unsafe conditions.
“From having family that was in clothing production, like my mom, I was like, ‘Man we’ve got to show more respect to the people making these clothes and make them last longer,'” Persons said.
He’s excited to see that repairing and mending have caught on as a fashion trend in recent years. Especially in Bellingham, where he says the style and the scenery can get a little dark and gray.
“Hey, you have this shop up the street that is so down and stoked to put yellow and purple and gold patches on your puffy jacket. Just let us do it, like it’s so fun, it will really spice up your day,” Persons said.
In the future, Persons is hoping to include more Spanish signs and create a more inclusive environment for Spanish-speaking customers, because he says outdoor shops are oftentimes exclusive and catered to white English speakers.
Persons’s mom recently came up to visit and is proud of the expansion of his hustle.
“I think she’s super, super stoked. She likes to sit near the front when I’m talking to people. It’s really cute,” he said.
We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.
