LYDA Collective
LYDA Collective
Where: Nelson, BC
Year Established: 2018
Website: lydacollective.com
Owner: Jena Renwick
LYDA Collective creates versatile, durable and stylish cross-over adventure/streetwear for women and men who actively live their passions. LYDA stands for Live Your Dreams Always and to start off, the brand has specialized in a durable, stretch denim pant.
Give us a brief description of your manufacturing processes and philosophy.
For the first round of inventory (womens and mens denim and the unisex headwear), the brand got everything made overseas in Dongguan, China. I had a connection with a woman from my previous apparel industry experience. She acted as the middleman between myself and the factories. I do all the designs and technical drawings myself then I contract out the pattern making and prototype sewing. This all gets done in Nelson, BC. Once the designs and protos are finalized I shipped everything overseas to my friend in China and she communicated the patterns, protos and technical drawings to the factories. She also helped source the material for the first round of inventory.
Moving forward, LYDA is planning to keep the manufacturing within Canada and to do smaller inventory rounds, while offering more commodities. This way I’ll be able to be closer to production and actually be a part of it, which is crucial for getting the designs made on point and for maintaining a closer relationship with the factories. It’s also going to be less complicated with inventory shipments as I won’t be dealing with brokerage and duty costs.
How many employees and/or contractors do you work with?
It’s just me for now working on everything from designing to sales, but I contract out the pattern making, sewing, photography and videography as well as the bulk production.
What brought you to the Kootenays and how long have you been here?
I was born and raised in Nelson, BC. When I was 19, I moved to Vancouver to go to school and get professional work experience in my field of technical apparel design. I lived all around Vancouver for 6 years, but really missed the mountainous lifestyle. In 2014, I made my way back to Nelson, BC and have lived here since.
Tell us about the history and relative work experience of your founder(s).
Being a female involved in MTB, BMX, hiking, yoga and other adventure sports for the past 13 years, I’m extremely passionate about designing functional, practical and stylish products that people need to be empowered to partake in these sports! My Bachelor’s in Fashion, Design and Technology through Kwantlen University coupled with my sales and product development experience in the action sports apparel industry and my educational and professional experience in the human services field has given me the knowledge and insight to be a progressive visionary and leader for this brand.
Describe the mission, vision, goals, and aspirations of your company.
LYDA’s mission is to promote passion, determination and perseverance to live your dreams always, by creating inspiring marketing campaigns, while being inclusive and involved in the communities that we work and connect with. LYDA aims to support both women and men to be authentic, while focusing on their strengths and empowering themselves to lead happy, vibrant lives.
LYDA’s vision is to be present within a world of adventure and creativity with the freedom to be ourselves. A balanced mix of diverse ideas, strengths and experiences will push us forward to a more harmonized existence.
LYDA’s short term goal is to expand the denim market by offering 3 different styles and weights of denim for both women and men along with tees, hoodies and headwear.
LYDA’s long term goal is to expand the line into various areas of the mountainous and active, adventure lifestyle, by offering products such as: rain jackets, cross-over base layers, functional hoodies and functional headwear to complete the line.
