Bleubird came about from my passion of the outdoors and adventure. I’m Matt Creighton, originally from Belfast, NI. I spent 6 years bouncing around the French Alps, working throughout the winter as a ski technician and spending summers by the running tides of western Europe, searching for waves in my little camper, Betty Blue.
Our Story
and Raison D'être...
Founder, Matt & Betty Blue. La Rosière, France, 2015.
I’ve been fortunate to have skied from an early age. The mountains are like a second home to me. As soon as I graduated from uni, I headed out there for a few years and began my journey as a seasonaire. The original idea of Bleubird came about after I took a break from season life for a year and embarked on an 8000KM journey by bicycle from Belfast to Vietnam. I had a lot of time to think about life whilst on the saddle, however, although I was on an epic adventure, crossing continents, my passion for the mountains still ran through me.
After the cycle, I went back to the Alps for 3 more years. The idea of Bleubird slowly burned away inside me until I committed to going for it in 2016. I taught myself how to screen print. I made old dodgy printing equipment in my ski workshop out of broken picture frames and I started printing t-shirts in my bedroom. The main idea behind Bleubird was allowing seasonaires to ‘mark their territory’ with what I called, ‘The Rear Tag’. This was a print on the bottom right hand side of the t-shirts or hoodies with a ski resort name. Seasonaires liked the idea of this as everybody was proud of their little home for the Winter.
Self-taught production process from the bedroom. La Rosière, France, 2016.
It was a busy season, trying to juggle my actual job and keep up with the orders from around the Tarentaise valley. There was definitely something here, people liked it. I decided that I needed to move back home to pursue Bleubird full time. After a bit of persuading and reassuring my parents that I did in fact know how to run a business, they came round to the idea.
It’s been a long road ever since. Things have grown a lot since the bedroom and picture frame days. Bleubird has evolved with my passion and life. As I am now based in NI, I’ve focused a lot of time on surfing and exploring the outdoors. Bleubird seems to follow this path with me. We have become an outdoor and adventure brand for all types of people. We’re inspired by nature, with the Ocean and Mountains at our core, and this passion will only grow stronger.
White Rocks, Portrush, NI.
Matt's local surf spot, where new Bleubird plans are born.
We now have an extensive supply chain, a large warehouse and a team who focus on creating environmentally conscious products that connect with our customers. Nature is at the heart of our inspiration and drive and we feel a responsibility to build an authentic business and recognise our environmental and social impact.
It’s evident how badly climate change is impacting our planet which gives us so much. From the mountains to the oceans and everywhere in between. We don’t think it’s possible to run a ‘sustainable’ fashion brand, but we are striving to do as much as we can to limit the negative impact we have on our planet and protect what it is we love.
Every Order Plants a Tree
Every Order Plants a Tree
If you’re reading this, I imagine you are one of us. Bleubird is more than just a brand. There is a story and a person at the heart of it. There is passion running through it, like-minded, earth-friendly passion. Whether you’re a swell chaser or powder hound or simply love getting into nature, you’re part of our community. I hope you stick around for this journey…
Much love,
Matt Creighton.