LIVSN Designs begins production

Fayetteville-based clothing startup LIVSN Designs has started to produce its wool fleece and canvas pants after 511 people supported a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign, netting $78,579 and exceeding the amount required for production to begin.

Seven days into the 30-day campaign, the company reached its $30,000 goal, and during the campaign, it started to source the raw materials for the clothing. The campaign allowed people to preorder 275 Hi-Wool Fleece and 475 Flex Canvas Pants, and a week after the campaign ended on Oct. 13, the fabric started to be milled and dyed, said Andrew Gibbs-Dabney, founder of LIVSN Designs.

As of mid-November, the fabric was on its way to the clothing factory in Vietnam. The fabric for the fleece was made in the United States, while the pants fabric was produced in Vietnam. Those who preordered the clothing will receive it by March 2019.

Gibbs-Dabney said he plans to visit the factory in January to see the products as they’re completed. LIVSN has worked with Colorado-based WERX Design, a design, sourcing and production management firm, to help bring the products to market.

“We’re designing and building products to be every bit as durable and high-quality and high-performance as Patagonia, Mountain Hardware, Arc’teryx, the top in the outdoor industry,” Gibbs-Dabney said. “We’re using similar materials, sometimes higher premium materials than what’s offered there because a lot of times they’re making clothes that are going to have more mass market appeal, where we can choose a little bit more premium sometimes.”

The success of the initial Kickstarter campaign has led Gibbs-Dabney to consider releasing unique clothing, such as overalls, this way. By September 2019, he expects to re-release the fleece and pants along with the overalls and two long-sleeve shirts. However, people can continue to purchase the fleece and pants on the company’s website. Gibbs-Dabney also looks to start selling LIVSN apparel at independent outdoor shops.