Two months ago, the mention of Archival Clothing didn’t mean much. But the brand seems to have a growing popularity across campus.
Archival Clothing was founded in 2009 by Eugene natives and long-time friends Tom Bonamici and Lesli Larson. Since its founding, the company has been very successful and is widely recognized on campus.
In late 2009, a friend suggested the two start a company and so it began. They started by selling their designs off a blog that Larson already had. “It just kind of happened,” Bonamici said. ”One of the early designs got a lot of attention and helped us grow very quickly.”
The company’s success is visible on campus. Many acknowledge the fact that Archival Clothing is made and produced in the U.S. University of Oregon film history professor Michael Aronson mentioned Archival Clothing in a recent trend report, speaking highly of the fact that the company’s products are made and produced in the U.S. Aronson has a Twill Field Bag, one of their messenger-style bags.
“We never thought of ourselves as entrepreneurs,” Larson said. “We knew we had an immediate audience but did not expect this large of a response.”
The company’s success is somewhat unexpected and at points somewhat surreal. “Tom and I sometimes pinch ourselves,” Larson said.
Heritage Dry Goods is among the places that carry Archival product. Heritage Dry Goods employee Nicole Desch spoke to the brands success stating that people come in the store and seek out that brand.
“Archival does very well for us,” Desch said.
The philosophy behind the company is to create durable items made in the U.S. with as many domestically-sourced materials as possible.
“We wanted to create things that didn’t already exist, a sort of wishful shopping,” Larson said.
The team enjoys producing items locally. It has proved to be a great learning experience, one that would not have been possible overseas. “Many go overseas right away,” Bonamici said. “But we have found that through working with these local folks, we have been able to learn so much.”
As the primary designer, Bonamici calls his designing process play. The two then test it out, see if they like it and move on from there.
Creating designs based on personal style allows Bonamici to be the critic of his own designs. “I get feedback about a product from myself right away,” he said.
Bonamici says there are many perks to having your own brand: the ease of working at home, flexibility and no policies saying what can or can’t be kept in stock. “We get to make up the rules as we go,” he said.
As for the future of the brand?
“We’re not completely sure where we will go from here, but we hope to expand,” Bonamici said.