Step through the doors of Blackbird Studios and the first thing you’ll probably do is reach out and touch something. It’s the urge to run your hands over sumptuous fabrics that grace artfully stitched dresses, coats and, yes, pants by a team led by Kerry Wade and Lynn Bebee — two women intent on transforming Hamilton’s fashion scene. And they are doing a pretty good job of it.
Both are perched on the edge of a settee in the centre of their shop, draped head to toe in black and not an inch of it boring. The colour is a nod to who they were then and who they are now: music scene survivors who merged their love of goth, rock and fashion with an instinct for business and a lifelong dedication to learn, grow, evolve.
Speak with any emerging clothing designer in Hamilton these days, and at some point they will likely mention Blackbird Studios. Perhaps they worked for Wade and Bebee, were mentored by them, supported by them in some way. And while the duo behind the now-iconic brand enjoy supporting designers who are passionate about their craft, they are also savvy enough to know it makes good business sense to help the competition grow.
“We want to develop an industry here in Hamilton and you know, if we’re all working very independently and exclusive from each other, that’s not going to happen,” Bebee says of Hamilton’s fashion industry — recently ranked as the fifth largest in Canada, behind Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa.
“Fast fashion is just not what we’re about. It’s about sustainability. It’s about keeping local, buying local.”
Kerry Wade
“When we started, we were just trying to keep up with production because our volume is crazy. Hamilton is very supportive of its own.”
Lynn Bebee
When they started out, Wade and Bebee just wanted to make clothing for women like them — smart, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, great fit but covering parts of the body that a 20-year-old might not consider covering.
“We wanted to be sure that a woman stayed a little edgy,” says Bebee.
Celebrating their 10th year in business, the pair met back in the ’90s when Wade owned a boutique in Hess Village called Desire, which she filled with her own goth-inspired designs. Bebee, who had a background in theatre, performed with a band called The Poisoned Aeros and was always hunting for campy, glammy stagewear for Alice Cooper-esque performances that often involved masks and costumes. They knew from the get-go that they would partner up somehow, but Bebee had to return to school to catch up to Wade in the areas of sewing and pattern-making.
“We had a lot in common,” recalls Wade. “I’ve been in bands and Lynn’s been in bands her whole life and I’ve been in fashion my whole life and Lynn’s a creative person. So, she created a lot of her own stagewear. Our kids were the same age and our husbands were best friends.”
Ten years ago, few would have imagined that a James Street North boutique selling high-end garments would become such a big a hit. (They actually started in the Sonic Unyon building, just off James North on Wilson.) But there’s been high demand for quality fabrics, and designs with coverage and functionality (dresses are created with pockets). And there’s no sign of slowing down.
“When we started, we were just trying to keep up with production because our volume is crazy,” says Bebee, who recalls the mobs that showed up for their fashion shows in the first two years of Supercrawl. “Hamilton is very supportive of its own.”