Poppy Barley is Designing the Leather Goods of the Future
Travel can be a life-altering experience. Edmonton-based sisters Kendall and Justine Barber know this especially well. The two were travelling in Indonesia when they had a custom-footwear experience in Bali that inspired them to start Poppy Barley, a made-to-measure-boots operation, in 2012. A shortage of formal design training didn’t keep this direct-to-consumer brand from becoming a cult favourite. Fans loved the fit of the leather boots and the comfort of the designed-in-Canada shoes.
The customizable boots are still offered, but the two have expanded their line to deliver ready-to-wear footwear collections as well as handbags, small leather goods and men’s shoes. This year, the brand had retail pop-ups in Toronto, Saskatoon and Calgary and a shop-in-shop in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood. It also opened its first stand-alone boutique at Edmonton’s Southgate Centre. Gone are the days of selling shoes from its office.
All of Poppy Barley’s designs are handcrafted at four small locally owned factories in León, Mexico, and the sisters have also prioritized a commitment to ethical manufacturing. Inspired by the efforts of outdoor apparel businesses such as MEC and Patagonia, Poppy Barley created its first annual sustainability report in April. “It will really push us in the direction of improving our social and environmental impact every year,” says Justine. “If you’re actually setting goals, tracking goals and then being transparent about both the goals and the results, I think it sets your company down the right path.”
Beyond making sure that factory workers receive a living wage (about six times the regional minimum) and benefits, such as sick leave and health care, there are other published goals: enforcing water cleaning and proper chemical-waste disposal procedures for tanneries and using packaging that is reusable or made from recycled materials. Setting those targets has meant paying more for materials and being reluctant to try new, untested factories. But the sisters take this in stride. “It’s something that’s important to us and [something] that we think is really the future of fashion,” says Justine.
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Photography Courtesy of Poppy Barley
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