A photo from Matt's camera roll.
La Rosierè, 2016, where Bleubird was born.
From a small bedroom in the French Alps to Ireland's number one outdoor lifestyle brand. There's been quite a journey over the past few years... here's an overview.
Founder Matt, originally from Newtownabbey, N. Ireland had spent 6 winter seasons prior to this final one, in the French Alps. There was a brief hiatus in 2012 when Matt embarked on an 8000km bike-packing trip from Belfast to Vietnam, and it was on this trip that Matt had the realisation that travel, adventure and nature meant a great deal to him. The desire to create a business which would enable him to do this regularly was born.
Fast forward to to Winter 16/17, Bleubird was established. Matt spent the summer prior teaching himself how to screen print with dodgy DIY equipment and used this new skill to embellish plain white t-shirts with the 'Original Triangle' logo. A 'Rear Tag' was also offered as an option, for seasonaires to have the name of their ski resort on the back bottom right hand side.
For a bedroom side hustle, the first winter season went pretty well...
After the first winter season of Bleubird, Matt decided that there might be something here... so he left the Alps in 'Betty Blue' his self build transit campervan and headed for the west coast of France. The Ocean always calls.
For the next two months Matt vanned and surfed around France and Spain, using this downtime to come up with a plan on how to take Bleubird to the next level and make it into something more than après ski beer tokens!
The biggest hurdle was convincing his parents to let him move back into the family home and try to grow a ski brand - in Ireland!
Founder Matt, originally from Newtownabbey, N. Ireland had spent 6 winter seasons prior to this final one, in the French Alps. There was a brief hiatus in 2012 when Matt embarked on an 8000km bike-packing trip from Belfast to Vietnam, and it was on this trip that Matt had the realisation that travel, adventure and nature meant a great deal to him. The desire to create a business which would enable him to do this regularly was born.
Fast forward to to Winter 16/17, Bleubird was established. Matt spent the summer prior teaching himself how to screen print with dodgy DIY equipment and used this new skill to embellish plain white t-shirts with the 'Original Triangle' logo. A 'Rear Tag' was also offered as an option, for seasonaires to have the name of their ski resort on the back bottom right hand side.
For a bedroom side hustle, the first winter season went pretty well...
After the first winter season of Bleubird, Matt decided that there might be something here... so he left the Alps in 'Betty Blue' his self build transit campervan and headed for the west coast of France. The Ocean always calls.
For the next two months Matt vanned and surfed around France and Spain, using this downtime to come up with a plan on how to take Bleubird to the next level and make it into something more than après ski beer tokens!
The biggest hurdle was convincing his parents to let him move back into the family home and try to grow a ski brand - in Ireland!
So the folks let Matt move home and work on this little dream from their house and garden shed and this is when the brand started to develop.
The needed to be a shift away from 'snow', for obvious reasons, so another passion of Matt's crept in - the Ocean. A more in depth range was launched.
It became a family operation at times, with help roped in by younger brother James, and mum Paula, but as things began to grow, the DIY approach couldn't continue.
For the first 4 years, Matt ran Bleubird solo - yes dragging in help along the way and ultimately outsourcing garment print & production and order fulfilment, but there were no employed staff during this time.
Bleubird continued to developed as a small independent brand around the UK and Ireland largely in ski/surf/outdoor circles.
The focus on seasonality was strong, with specific technical ski/snowboard garments being produced for the winter and a more casual beach/surf lifestyle vibe going on in the summer months... until Covid hit, and that's when things changed.
So the folks let Matt move home and work on this little dream from their house and garden shed and this is when the brand started to develop.
The needed to be a shift away from 'snow', for obvious reasons, so another passion of Matt's crept in - the Ocean. A more in depth range was launched.
It became a family operation at times, with help roped in by younger brother James, and mum Paula, but as things began to grow, the DIY approach couldn't continue.
For the first 4 years, Matt ran Bleubird solo - yes dragging in help along the way and ultimately outsourcing garment print & production and order fulfilment, but there were no employed staff during this time.
Bleubird continued to developed as a small independent brand around the UK and Ireland largely in ski/surf/outdoor circles.
The focus on seasonality was strong, with specific technical ski/snowboard garments being produced for the winter and a more casual beach/surf lifestyle vibe going on in the summer months... until Covid hit, and that's when things changed.
Matt was looking for a reason to exit the ski game. Aside from the fact he managed to cock-up (yet again) by ordering 500 pairs of only size medium ski gloves, the ski game just felt a little too niche. Lockdowns therefore were the exit strategy and a shift towards 'general outdoor lifestyle'.
For the past few years Matt had been meeting up with an old childhood friend, Michael, for business chats and advice - being a solo entrepreneur can be lonely at times. Michael was running his own business in food, and knew a thing or two about the retail market.
In March 2020, Michael then came on board with Matt, joining forces as a business partner and new co-owner of Bleubird.
The direction and strategy of the brand shifted - away from ecommerce and focusing on traditional retail.
With a fresh game-plan in force, we needed to start winning the hearts of retailers and getting Bleubird listed in some stores!
Thanks to another monumental cock-up by Matt, we were somehow landed with a serious amount of sherpa fleece fabric - Matt's original intention was to use this to launch a fleece, however, the sherpa knit was too loose, meaning it would let wind straight through and heat straight out - useless for a fleece! But, we had a plan - this sherpa fabric would come in perfectly for a changing robe. Cosy, warm and fully recycled, so we got to designing our first Nordic Robe and this was the product which started grabbing the attention of retailers around Ireland and the UK. We weren't the first to market, but we were slightly ahead of the countless competitors who followed - and we've still got it...
New team members joined us in the form of Sam, Erin and Abigail and we all hit the road in the van, knocking on doors, selling the hard sell and getting Bleubird in stores up and down the country.
Matt was looking for a reason to exit the ski game. Aside from the fact he managed to cock-up (yet again) by ordering 500 pairs of only size medium ski gloves, the ski game just felt a little too niche. Lockdowns therefore were the exit strategy and a shift towards 'general outdoor lifestyle'.
For the past few years Matt had been meeting up with an old childhood friend, Michael, for business chats and advice - being a solo entrepreneur can be lonely at times. Michael was running his own business in food, and knew a thing or two about the retail market.
In March 2020, Michael then came on board with Matt, joining forces as a business partner and new co-owner of Bleubird.
The direction and strategy of the brand shifted - away from ecommerce and focusing on traditional retail.
With a fresh game-plan in force, we needed to start winning the hearts of retailers and getting Bleubird listed in some stores!
Thanks to another monumental cock-up by Matt, we were somehow landed with a serious amount of sherpa fleece fabric - Matt's original intention was to use this to launch a fleece, however, the sherpa knit was too loose, meaning it would let wind straight through and heat straight out - useless for a fleece! But, we had a plan - this sherpa fabric would come in perfectly for a changing robe. Cosy, warm and fully recycled, so we got to designing our first Nordic Robe and this was the product which started grabbing the attention of retailers around Ireland and the UK. We weren't the first to market, but we were slightly ahead of the countless competitors who followed - and we've still got it...
New team members joined us in the form of Sam, Erin and Abigail and we all hit the road in the van, knocking on doors, selling the hard sell and getting Bleubird in stores up and down the country.
So the new plan was working, B2B wholesale was the focus and Bleubird was becoming an established outdoor lifestyle brand. The product portfolio has grown, with multiple categories helping lead the way. Matt's original fleece dream eventually came to fruition, just in a much more successful way.
After the first successful year of wholesale trading, Ireland all of sudden became very small - there's not many outdoor, lifestyle or fashion stores in country who don't have Bleubird stocked. If you know of one, please let us know!! We realised that in order to continue to grow, we needed to pursue other markets. The UK is one which has been slowly growing from the start, however, France was calling loudly and so Alice was brought on as country manager partners were found in the form of Flo, Maire and Emilie and hard sell started in France.
France was closely followed by Germany, Rine came on board for the North after being a loyal customer and Marco joined us more recently for the south.
Vesa wasn't long after Germany and he is in charge of Bleubird operations in Finland.
International wholesale expansion is now high on our list of priorities, and we aren't slowing down anytime soon...
We also saw the need for some physical presence in certain areas... Bleubird Belfast was the first to open, alongside our showroom just East of the city.
We have opened several pop-ups in N.Ireland and Dublin over the summer months with another city centre Belfast pop-up store opening for Christmas 2025.
Helsinki is also home to a Bleubird pop-up for Christmas 2025 and...
Bleubird Annecy opened in March 2025 - a full circle moment, as the brand was founded just down the road.
So the new plan was working, B2B wholesale was the focus and Bleubird was becoming an established outdoor lifestyle brand. The product portfolio has grown, with multiple categories helping lead the way. Matt's original fleece dream eventually came to fruition, just in a much more successful way.
After the first successful year of wholesale trading, Ireland all of sudden became very small - there's not many outdoor, lifestyle or fashion stores in country who don't have Bleubird stocked. If you know of one, please let us know!! We realised that in order to continue to grow, we needed to pursue other markets. The UK is one which has been slowly growing from the start, however, France was calling loudly and so Alice was brought on as country manager partners were found in the form of Flo, Maire and Emilie and hard sell started in France.
France was closely followed by Germany, Rine came on board for the North after being a loyal customer and Marco joined us more recently for the south.
Vesa wasn't long after Germany and he is in charge of Bleubird operations in Finland.
International wholesale expansion is now high on our list of priorities, and we aren't slowing down anytime soon...
We also saw the need for some physical presence in certain areas... Bleubird Belfast was the first to open, alongside our showroom just East of the city.
We have opened several pop-ups in N.Ireland and Dublin over the summer months with another city centre Belfast pop-up store opening for Christmas 2025.
Helsinki is also home to a Bleubird pop-up for Christmas 2025 and...
Bleubird Annecy opened in March 2025 - a full circle moment, as the brand was founded just down the road.
So who are we?
We have come a long way since the early days of the dodgy screen printing in the French Alps.
But there is still a long way to go.
Matt & Michael are proudly still in full control of Bleubird - no external investors or big wigs telling them how to run the business.
The Bleubird Team is a tight knit bunch, passionate, ambitious bunch, all on the same page with the same goal in mind.
Running Bleubird the right way is vitally important to every member of the team. Our eco side comes first and our work in Malawi is not just something to be proud of, but it is making a tangible difference to local people and the environment.
Our teams internal mission statement is this:
A passionate and purpose driven team on a mission to make days that count.
And Days That Count is who we are. We're all about the good times, the little moments, the times spent outdoors, enjoying what nature has to offer, whether it's a 3-day hike or a simple morning beach walk, we are on a mission to promote this way of life far and wide and to encourage people to get out and do what makes them happy - and the products? They are simply a tool to get you there, protect you while you're out there, or remind you of what's important.
