Earlier this week, an enterprising reporter with the Boston Globe brought the nation onto the factory floor of an upstart clothing line in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Called Mother Freedom, the company has a new line of fashionable garments ready for this fall, and it hopes to drum up some press with a launch that will include “placement in the Orvis fall catalog, as well as in Fred Segal in Los Angeles and Freemans Sporting Club in Manhattan.”
Oh, and it also has a big-name investor behind it: Maury Povich.
Yes, that Maury.
Mr. Maury Povich, Undisputed King of the Daytime Dial, has had enough success with his television show that he can dabble in other pursuits. When his financial adviser suggested investing in an American-made clothing line, he was all in. As he told the Globe:
We have to take back what we are so good at and demonstrate that our products — like our country — are number one. Let’s bring back the American know-how. Why can’t we make a go of it?
In the last two years, Povich has put $2 million into Mother Freedom, a small outfit that employs 20 workers. But while small, it’s potentially mighty; Mother Freedom’s garments are beautifully complex and intricately designed, with dozens of separate pieces going into a single article of clothing.
But when it came down to selecting a physical location for this manufacturing venture … well, why did the money behind Mother Freedom select New Bedford? Says the company:
New Bedford is home to generations of skilled textile artisans. Not only do we have great reverence for our craftspeople, but our location in New England – the birthplace of American freedom – gives us extra pride in our effort to support American manufacturing. We want New Bedford to once again be seen as one of the best apparel manufacturing cities in the United States.
We dig it. We dig it a lot. And we dig Maury too. Well done, Mr. Povich. We’ll be keeping an eye out for Mother Freedom’s first fall line, and more retailers who will carry it.
Read the Globe story here, and make sure to visit Mother Freedom's website.
Mother Freedom image courtesy the company website, and all of the excellent Maury gifs courtesy this most excellent blog.