our dream.

Harry and Ness

meet the founders

At the start of 2018 there were two of us, a dusty Subaru and a weekend away at Wombeyan Caves. Life back then was measured in road trips and nights under the stars, and neither of us was planning to start anything…

then came the campfire.

We'd spent the day hiking through the limestone, exploring as far in as we could get, and by sunset we were wiped. Fire going, fingers thawing out after a freezing dip in the river, a beer each. One of those nights where everything feels right.

Then the conversation turned, the way it does around a fire. The places we loved were worth looking after, and most of what we wore to get there wasn't made to come home twice. Some great brands had walked this path long before us, and they were a big part of why we thought it was worth a go.

So we started a list on a torn bit of paper. We called it the “it would be cool if” list.

The list

it would be cool if…

…your gear came with a promise to fix it.

It does now. That one became the Good Gear Guarantee™.

…old gear could come back instead of going to landfill.

That became Rewild™. Trade it in for credit, and it gets a second life with someone else.

…the wild came first in every decision.

Still the hardest one on the list. We're working on it, and we'd rather say so.

…lasting mattered more than selling more.

Which is why we'd rather make fewer things, properly.

By November 2018 the list had a name. Wolf Bear Collective.

the wolf and the bear

The name came from closer to home. Before there was a brand there were the tattoos, a wolf and a bear, one each. How they turned into the print on your tee is a story of its own.

Read the story in the design

Out on the road with Wolf Bear Collective

the backyard years

No investors and no shiny HQ. Just a second-hand screen-printing press, a stack of tees and an idea we couldn't quite let go of.

For the first couple of years the backyard was the print shop. We printed whenever we got the chance, got plenty wrong and learned most things the long way. Late nights, ink everywhere, our dog Koda curled up nearby. Some nights we honestly weren't sure if we were onto something or just completely mad.

Then came the markets. Bondi gave us our first real break, and slowly people started coming back for more.

the two of us

ness

Ness runs Wolf Bear Collective day to day, which these days means pretty much all of it. She heat-presses every printed piece herself in our Sydney studio, answers your emails, runs the market stall, packs the parcels and is the voice behind our socials. If you've ever written to us, you've met her.

harry

Harry is the one in the background, and still part of everything. He's in on every big decision and every design, and he keeps the financials in order so the rest of it can happen.

so far

Early 2018

The campfire at Wombeyan Caves, and the list.

November 2018

Wolf Bear Collective begins, in the backyard.

2019

Market days at Bondi, and our first real break.

2020

Lockdown, the dining table, and working out what we actually stand for.

Then

The Origin print. The wolf and the bear, facing each other.

Now

Rewild™, the Good Gear Guarantee™ and weekends at The Rocks.

highs, lows and the bits in between

Building something from scratch is never tidy. Designs that didn't come out right, orders that ran late, market tents taking off in the wind.

And then the good bits. The first time we spotted a stranger wearing one of our tees. Messages from people whose gear had been with them on long hikes, road trips and surf missions. Realising we weren't just making clothes, we were coming along for other people's stories.

You don't need all the answers to start. Take the first step.

Mistakes are part of it. Learn, move on, keep going.

Believe in what you're building. Other people will too.

the best gear is the kind you never have to replace.

We've built this the long way, with our own hands, and we're stoked to have you along for the ride.