This is the third interview in our Garage Brands series. In this series, we interview the owners of key Australian brands in the snowboard industry, stocked and supported by us here at The Mountain Garage.
Since being dragged over to the Blak Apparel stand by a mutual friend at the annual SIA trade show in Canberra a few years ago, Blak has become a staple in our headwear range. The quality of the beanies & hats they produce surpasses many other brands, and their designs are always on point.
Here's what the boys had to share about their brand, and the Aussie scene:
BRAND: Blak Apparel (Blak Headwear)
OWNER: Andrew Buchan & Kane Lowen
LOCATION: Melbourne
YEARS ESTABLISHED: 3 years
Describe your brand in 3 words:
Quality,Simple,Headwear
Give us a brief background on why you started the brand, and what products you currently manufacture:
After
falling in love with snowboarding and the whole snow “scene” in 2009 and
spending all our cash chasing winters and on snowboarding trips, it was time to
figure out how to cement ourselves in the snow industry in Australia. The idea
of Blak Apparel was born whilst standing in the Mt Buller pub after a few
alcoholic beverages and noticing that almost everyone in there was wearing a
beanie or hat, I (Andrew) grabbed Kane and said “I have figured it out, we are
going to start a headwear company” From then on Kane and myself have been
business partners and I couldn’t have asked for a bigger legend to share this
crazy ride with.
Some of Blak's eclectic hat offerings (L - R): Slash N Dash Legionnaires Hat, Slash N Dash Bucket, No Shanks Hat
What are you most proud of achieving in your business to date?
We’re most proud of the quality products that we have been able to manufacture to date and also the awesome friends that we have been able to make along the way, the Australian Snowboarding scene is a tight nit crew and we are stoked to have been accepted into it.
If you could have any snowboarder wearing or using your products, who would it be?
We get huge kicks out of seeing anyone wearing our gear, Kane still loses his shit rolling up the mountain to see crew in the latest Blak gear.
Is it hard to keep up with trends?
Yeah it’s hard, you have to have your finger on the pulse and the snow scene is a fickle little game. We try to keep it simple, its seems to be working so far. Kane also has a serious online shopping addiction which he claims to be market research.
Have you been inspired by any other brands, past or present?
We have been inspired by all the brands before us that have paved the way for Australian brands like us to be able to have a presence in the Industry. Brands like Yuki Threads and Rad Gloves have been a big inspiration to us, its bloody great to be able to call Jez and Luke good mates. The way we work together instead of seeing each other as competition is the whole reason why I love the snow industry.
Why do you think people connect with your brand?
We think, or hope that people connect with Blak as they want to support an Australian owned company that are working there asses off to create trendy yet quality headwear and apparel for our fellow shredders to enjoy as much as we enjoy creating it.
Everyone is always saying how hard it is for Australian brands in the snow industry. Do you agree with this?
It is definitely not easy, it takes lots of work and the return (money) does not come quickly or easily, it is a super short selling period (Australian winter) and there is plenty of competition from guys with far bigger wallets than us. The joy we get out of seeing people rocking the gear on the hill or in the pub that we have slaved away designing, sampling, sampling again a little better, sampling again a lot better and finally manufacturing is like nothing else in the world, so thanks legends!!
L - R Classic Beanie Blue, Classic Beanie Pink, Emanual Beanie, Leather Patch Adams Beanie
What do you personally wear the most from your product line?
The ninja mask, the perfect accessory for keeping dry Japanese pow off your face and equally at home whilst wearing a helmet to keep that Aussie sun from turning you into a Racoon. Also our new hat range is our best yet and the favourite amongst the crew has been the Benson.
Tell us what’s in store for the future:
Some exciting things instore for us over the next twelve months, currently a re brand is happening the Apparel being dropped off the name in replacement of “Headwear” we has always created Blak as a headwear company and somehow the word “Apparel” got slipped into the name. We are using this as a time to get back to basics and remember why Blak was created in the first place.
We are also super stoked to have teamed up with Rad Gloves for our first collaboration together and the end product is legit! But we will let you decide.
Blak HQ has a new home, 98 Surfcoast Hwy Torquay. “Eddy St Common” is the latest news from us, the new home of Blak, Yuki Threads, Positive Two and Retreat Yourself the space consists of a shared workspace, retail front and an awesome courtyard for throwing nice little shindigs, keep your eyes and ears peeled for up coming events and launch parties.
The new home/HQ of Blak, Yuki, Positive Two & Retreat Yourself down in Torquay, VIC. Photo: @eddystcommon
Thanks to Andrew & Kane (who sent in his responses from Mexico!). You can browse all the Blak hats, beanies & apparel HERE.