Help Wanted


Sales/Customer Care

Blackbird is a community based retailer that is looking to hire people excited to participate in our community. Our customers travel from their homes in Ballard, apartments in Tokyo and farms in Walla Walla Washington. We want to ensure that they feel at home, find what they were looking for and can't wait for their next trip back to Blackbird.

Primary Responsibilities:
* Use product knowledge and selection to provide exceptional service to customers
* Build relationships with customers, provide one-on-one personal shopping and wardrobe consultation
* Make direct contact with personal customers to suggest new merchandise, and remind them of upcoming events
* You will perform merchandising tasks, such as stock, re-merchandising, display, price markdowns and cleaning
* Work as a team to ensure a clean, pleasant and safe shopping environment for our customers

Qualifications:
* Self motivated to deliver superior service
* Demonstrated ability to develop relationships with customers and co-workers of diverse backgrounds
* Able to work well as a team player
* Proven ability to plan, set and achieve goals
* Strong organizational and follow-up skills
* Excellent verbal and interpersonal skills
* Presents a professional image in appearance, words and actions
* Be a self-starter and use good judgment in all situations

Candidates must be available to work a flexible schedule that includes daytime, evening, weekend, and holiday shifts. Blackbird offers assistance with medical insurance and a generous employee discount.

To apply, please send your resume to 2blackbirds@gmail.com or drop it off at Blackbird.

Modern Voltaire



On Tuesday, ProductDose.com covered our Voltaire sock ($20) from Modern Amusement. Here's what they said:

"In Defense of Socks as Style Accessories

I'm a bigger fan of socks than most people I know, and I think I'll always be a proponent of the idea that a nice pattern on a sock is a hidden weapon in terms of style details. It's unseen most of the time, but it expresses itself at strategic times, like when sitting down with someone, relaxing, and open to compliments on attire. A sock like this Modern Amusement Voltaire Sock can add character when paired with a conservative suit and shoe. Just make sure it doesn't get anywhere near another pattern.

By: cory o'malley"

Earnest Sewn - Institutionalized


Nobody tops Earnest Sewn when it comes to revolving in-store exhibitions. Here's their latest covered by The Daily and more from the Guild of Militant Rural Tailors Research Group in which the diarama-like space is based upon.

Headline - "Look cool but feel warm in hats and caps by Coal headwear"


Blackbird's FAVORITE hat line was covered this week on NWSource.com. Read it here.

We carry the hat shown above; the Nils 2 pc. hat shown in "Grass" (tan and some other color also available).

Trovata F/W 06 Runway



Cheap Monday - Buckle Up!



As we prepare for our inaugural shipment of Sweden's Cheap Monday jeans (Tight and Regular fits $65), visions of 1983 Cabbage Patch Kids style stampedes are giving the Blackbird stock guy an ulcer. Word has it that other retailers are selling out completely in a matter of just a few days.

It appears Cheap Monday is causing deeper pain to the denim industry than I had expected. More frequently these day I hear reports like this one in the The Daily (a.k.a. FashionWeekDaily.com) of the bigger brands squirming to hold their positions as lower priced denim options are infiltrating the market.



In my opinion, many companies want to ignore the fact that the majority of consumers are still deeply uncomfortable spending more than $100 on a pair of jeans. Especially with some brands, where excessive yet pretty processing has degraded the denim to the extent that they disintegrate well before their one year Birthday.



Now Cheap Mondays are not meant to last. They're "cheap" not only in price but quality too. What you really get from these jeans is a killer cut and style at $65. Most people buy 5 pair at a time. That's about the price of a pair of ACNE Jeans. Cool.



Blackbird is now taking preorders for Cheap Monday jeans ($65). Email or call your favorite sales person today.

Oliver Spencer Store NY,NY

Our Fall/Winter Oliver Spencer shipment has arrived in Ballard just in time for the big announcement. Our pal and bestselling designer Oliver Spencer has just opened his New York store in partnership with the owners of Odin. Congratulations Oli!


Oliver Spencer "Hoody" $492
100% pure new wool, hand knit by little ladies in Ireland
2-way zipper and wood toggle closures


Stolen from This Heart's On Fire:

"Super hot British designer Oliver Spencer is opening his first retail location with the aid of Eddie Chai & Paul Birardi, owners of New York hot spot Odin.
Checkout the piece about it online at Apparel Resources.

Currently, the designer to the stars (Paul McCartney, Liam Gallagher, Daniel Day Lewis, The Bravery, and Paul Weller, to name a few) is only sold in others stores in the UK, the US, and Japan. This will be his first foray into the retail trade, with plans to open this month in the West Village. The exact address is not yet known.

Future plans include opening another retail shop in Japan in the near future.

This one seems like a win/win, given the success of Odin and popularity of the Oliver Spencer line. More info to come as it's released."




Stolen from GQ's Men.Style.com:

"September 18, 2006—With his bespoke label Favourbrook and eponymous men's line, Oliver Spencer has been dressing British gents and their admirers for over a decade. This week Spencer opens his first U.S. store, in New York's West Village, and he thinks he may have a few sartorial lessons for his colonial cousins.

Why bother with a U.S. store?
The idea was to build it around my personal taste, which is pretty English and eclectic. And I wanted to help teach Americans how to be a little more adventurous when they dress.

Really, how's that?
I want them to understand that they don't have to shop at one place and that they can mix up labels. I don't get how people like Brad Pitt dress. To me he looks like he wears one label up and down. It's all too obvious.

Well, that's Brad Pitt. Lots of other American men take risks.
Definitely. Mos Def usually looks pretty sharp, and Johnny Depp always looks interesting. And though I don't personally like the way he dresses, Andre 3000 puts it together well in a Ralph Lauren kind of way.

So are British men just more stylish than Americans?
Very simply put: American style is cleaner. Americans like their clothes to be more utilitarian. English men have that dandy streak going through them and they love to show off to their mates or their girlfriends or wives.

Your clothes have been compared to Paul Smith's. Do you consider him a competitor?
I'm somewhere between Paul Smith and A.P.C. But I look at the competition as complementary, because I don't expect someone to go out dressed head to foot in Oliver Spencer. I see them in a pair of Rag & Bone jeans, a Steve Alan shirt, and one of my jackets.

Your new store is across the street from Mario Batali's gastro-pub, the Spotted Pig. Was that intentional?
Absolutely. I don't think I would have been so keen to open the store if it were across from some bookstore.

Oliver Spencer, 750 Greenwich St., NYC.

— Greg Williams"

Blackbird: GQ Top 100 Best Stores for Men (in America)



Blackbird was named one of GQ's Top 100 Best Stores for Men (in America)!!!

Everything I try to write about this sounds almost as lame as the interview. But mostly I want our Blackbird friends to know that I am really happy. All this and we're not even 2 years old.

Congratulations to the other Seattle stores on the list: Ian, Goods and Kuhlman. These are all fantastic stores that work hard to provide Seattle men with better shopping options just like us.

Barneys Relocating Seattle Store

I'd heard rumors of a Barneys closure/move for the past year but couldn't confirm the store's fate until today's report in DNR News.

"NEW YORK (September 21, 2006) - Barneys New York will relocate its downtown Seattle store to Pacific Place with next spring. The a late May/early June 2007 grand opening planned. Construction on the 16,448-square-foot, two-level store will begin in January 2007 at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine Street and is scheduled for a late May/early June opening. The existing store is located at 1420 Fifth Avenue at Union Street." -DNRNews.com

The little store was always the neglected stepchild of the cronicly chapter 11'd company and it's rotating cast of owners. This is fantastic news for the Seattle luxury shopper and Seattle menswear.

Trovata Fall 2nd Delivery

We received 7 boxes of new Trovata yesterday!


We're 100% sold out of 1st Delivery dress shirts but as you can see we are ready for round two!



These 100% wool cardigans are light weight and have an old-timey handmade look to them.

Here's a brief and general summary of the items:
Woven cotton dress shirts - French and regular cuff
Striped wool v-necked cardigans
One graphic t-shirt
Velvet pants
Wool coats
Wool blazers
Toggle sweater
Cotton twill pant


The weave on this wool blend jacket is an unusual mix of herringbone and small checks in a big checkerboard pattern. It's subtle enough to love for at least 25 years. Plus the buttons bear the signature Trovata griffen.

Our Pals in the New York Times Magazine

This week's New York Times Magazine did an article in the Style section about the "Street Scene" in NYC. It features Nom de Guerre and Opening Ceremony's stores. Currently Blackbird carries Nom de Guerre tees and we're expecting a shipment of apparel soon.

The Opening Ceremony store in SoHo. Nerdy/cool staff with an interior (and collections) inspired by the Olympics.

The Nom de Guerre family.

Jack Spade - Waxwear & Drill Nylon

Waxwear
Swiss Tote $350 (left)
Haversack $335 (right)

New Japanese Drill Nylon
Weekender $395 (left)
File Case $375 (right)

Fred Perry Arrival

New: Limited Edition Fred Perry Tailored Sportswear. This collection doesn't need much explanation except that we added the smart names.

"Arcada" 100% Italian Merino Wool $330


"Melvin" 100% Italian Merino Wool $330


"Georgie" 100% Lambswool $193


"Alvin" cotton/acrylic blend $182

Blackbird Store Bikes!

Check out these bikes by Paul Frank and Nirve that we got for the store. If you're in Ballard it's possible you'll see these babies cruisin' around...



Nom de Guerre

Nom de Guerre is a New York creative collective and store with a line of Japanese made apparel and accessories sold only in their own stores in New York and a handful of the best boutiques around the world. Their main store - a former meeting place of the Black Panthers - opened in downtown Manhattan in 2003. The location is literally underground on the corner of Bleeker and Broadway and has the feeling of bunkers, tunnels, and archelogical digs. Put best by their website: "Nom de Guerre has the look of a high-end Army/Navy outpost with a similar emphasis on utilitarian basics."

Our fist big shipment of sweaters, jackets, wovens, scarves and more with not arrive until November but for now we have two tee shirts available.


Nom de Guerre logo tee $50
(Corpus "Stick" suspender jean $176)


"Basquiat" tee $85

Sharps Back in Stock!

After much anticipation the Sharps Kid Glove Shave Gel (5oz.) is back in stock! The Mission: Control Guck-in-a-Puck HARD and Mission: Control Guck-in-a-Puck will both be here after 9/12.

We're excited as you are. And we will keep you updated on the rest of the arrivals.