What started as a 'seed' has blossomed into something amazing for a Cochrane couple.

While many of us may have thought or attempted to fill a niche missing in the marketplace, one Cochrane couple has not only succeeded but is taking their business to the next level.

Blake Ward and his wife Corey-Jo, Co-Owners of the clothing company 'Seed' cut the ribbon on Cochrane's first industrial sewing centre located at the Corner Coworking space on Friday evening (July 19).

Ward says Seed was virtually created seven years ago at his kitchen table when he decided he wanted to create the world's coolest clothing brand. Sitting in front of a sewing machine he didn't know how to use, Blake quickly got to work. "Slowly...I learned sewing and how to thread the machine, and then I realized I had to put myself in community sewing classes and then design school." 

Once he grasped the concept, Seed literally took off and sprouted. Starting to sell his clothing designs at the Cochrane Farmers' Market and Market Collective in Calgary, Ward shares people were excited about the gap he was filling. "People loved the clothing I was designing. We started using professional sewers and always kept it local, sewing in Calgary, Alberta. Now we have this international brand where we sell to hikers, yogis, rock climbers, natural movement practitioners, anybody who is being active and wants to wear natural clothing doing it."

Rapidly growing from our local market to selling Seed brand clothing worldwide, Ward says the next step he envisioned was opening the sewing facility. "We are based in Cochrane, it was started in Cochrane, and so we are literally opening the doors to Seed's first official sewing facility."

While Seed consists of eight to ten team members who handle tasks such as marketing, events, and online ordering, Blake is excited to add a few more bodies. "Our sewing team has yet to be created. I honestly expect two to three people; we won't need a lot of people if they are sewing every day to make our clothing."

When it comes down to his real why, Blake a practicing yogi for over twenty years, shares not only was he often the only male in class in those early days but clothes for practicing men were almost non-existent. "It was one of the reasons I bought my own sewing machine. A) I couldn't find natural clothing to do yoga in... there was only polyester, and B) I didn't like the designs of the only brand that was making yoga clothing, so I started my own."

Seeds active clothing line is made from only the best quality natural fibers from around the world, shares Blake, hemp and organic cotton. Creating a comfy clothing line that is chemically intensive free and not mass-produced in a third world country, is part of Seed's story.

 "We are transforming the whole fashion industry by opening our own facility, which is a huge monumental step. This is a step in the staircase of where we are going, which is crop to top clothing from our community."

While the Seed industrial sewing facility will not be retailing merchandise at this time, it is something the Seed team is looking to expand on. 

Seed clothing now joins the likes of other 'Made in Cochrane' products that are locally designed, made, and produced right here, in our own community. If you would like to view Seed's clothing line or learn more, go HERE.