In the Making: The Makers Behind LYFER, Part 1

Since launching LYFER in January 2025, we have learnt two big lessons. You are only as good as the makers you work with. And second, creating a product is a game of patience and understanding, but boy is it worth it!

Every LYFER product begins with an idea, but the real work starts with finding the right people to help bring it to life. Before design concepts, material research, sampling, prototyping and production decisions, we spend months looking for makers who understand what we are building, believe in where LYFER is heading, and share our values around quality, ethics and how things should be made.

For us, making is not just a transaction. It is a relationship. The product has to feel right, function properly, and carry the LYFER point of view, but it also has to be created with people who care about the process as much as the final result.

That approach shapes everything we make. LYFER is creating products for a lifestyle that has rarely been represented this way before. Birding has always had passionate people behind it, but not always birdwatching apparel and accessories that reflect how modern, varied and design-conscious that community really is. 

We create birding apparel and accessories for people who care about birds, the outdoors, good design and thoughtful production. The shared passion for birds is the starting point. The values around it are what make the work feel bigger.

In this first edition of In the Making: The Makers Behind LYFER we are introducing two makers connected to the products people use most often, Lyons Apparel, our Peruvian textile partner behind the LYFER T-shirt range, and Known Supply, the maker behind our Field Tote Bag.

Different products. Different countries. Same reason for working together.

Skill, passion, care, ethics and shared values.

Known Supply, The Makers Behind The Field Tote

LYFER first came across Known Supply through a TEDx talk by co-founder Kohl Crecelius, titled The Power of Knowing Who Made Your Clothes. The idea stayed with us. Clothing and accessories are often treated as finished objects, but Known Supply asks people to look further, to recognise the hands, skill and human story behind what they wear and carry.

From A Big Idea To A Better Way Of Making

Known Supply was created from a long-running commitment to ethical fashion. Their story began with the social impact business Krochet Kids in 2007, before evolving into Known Supply in 2017 as a wider platform focused on connecting customers with garment makers.

Today, their work centres on ethical production, collaboration and maker recognition. Known Supply describes its role as helping reimagine fashion in a way that puts people first, celebrating the makers responsible for crafting garments and using clothing as a connection point across the globe.

Why Known Supply Felt Right For LYFER

We had always known ‘Known Supply’ as a garment maker, but when the Field Tote idea came to mind, we decided to reach out and see whether they would consider working with us. Known Supply’s philosophy is built around recognising the people behind what we wear, and we felt that same principle could carry through beautifully into a product people take with them every day.

Anonymous production isn’t our thing, and neither is simply selecting finished products from a catalogue. We are always involved at every stage of the making process, from early design concepts and material research to prototyping, production decisions and final product details.

Known Supply’s Meet the Maker approach does exactly that. The tag inside the LYFER Field Tote includes a QR code that connects customers to the maker behind the bag, turning a simple product detail into something more personal.

The Field Tote, Think Of It As Your Travel Buddy

The Field Tote was created as a practical carry-all for everyday living, whether that means a day out birdwatching, a weekend away, a market run or time in the city. We wanted it to have a sense of tradition about it, using materials that felt real, tactile and grounded.

It also gave us the chance to carry LYFER’s “It’s All About The Birds” graphic into the world in a way that felt natural. Like everything we create, the Field Tote celebrates birding as part of everyday life, while sparking curiosity from anyone who notices it.

The design needed to feel simple, useful and easy to carry. Something you could take birdwatching, to the markets, on a weekend away or into the city without thinking too hard about it. That was important to us because LYFER products are connected to birding, but also to the everyday life that surrounds it.

We chose organic cotton canvas to give the bag a sturdy, natural feel, while keeping the design easy without overcomplicating it.

Lyons Apparel, The Makers Behind the T-Shirts

The T-shirt range is made in Lima, Peru with Lyons Apparel, a family-owned garment manufacturer based in Lima. Lyons Apparel describes itself as having more than 45 years of experience in apparel manufacturing and circular knitting of Pima cotton textiles, with its newer factory opening in Lima in 2015.

For LYFER, working with Lyons Apparel was about finding a textile partner with deep knowledge of cotton, garment construction and production detail. Our tees are made from 100% Peruvian jersey cotton, chosen for its soft feel, lightweight structure and everyday wearability. The Birdmark T-Shirt also includes LYFER’s signature microfibre lens cleaner patch, water-based print, woven sleeve tag and relaxed all-gender fit.

That combination is important. LYFER tees are designed in Melbourne, Australia, but they come to life through the skill of makers who understand fabric, fit, print, finishing and consistency. We are involved in the process from design concept through to material selection, product detail and final decisions, but the making itself relies on specialist knowledge. Working with our team lead Marla has also created a great bond and friendship.

And that is what we value.

Behind that simplicity is a lot of decision-making. The weight of the cotton. The way the print sits on the fabric. The placement of a patch. The feel of the neck. The way the garment holds its shape. These details are easy to miss, but they are exactly what make a product feel considered.

For LYFER, the T-shirt range is not about producing another printed tee. It is about creating birding apparel that feels modern and relaxed, with branding that sparks curiosity and gives people a way to express their passion for birds, however they define that connection.

What We Look For In A Maker

Every LYFER product comes from a series of choices.

Who makes it. What it is made from. How it feels. How it functions. What values sit behind it. Whether the maker brings something specialist to the process.

We work with makers who align with our standards, wherever they are in the world. Not because of location alone, but because of skill, ethics, transparency, material knowledge and shared care for the final product.

For us, good making comes down to five things:

• Quality

• Expertise

• Ethical production

• Shared value

• Celebrating small-batch makers

Lyons Apparel brings textile knowledge, cotton expertise and garment-making experience to our T-shirt range. Known Supply brings ethical production, transparency and maker connection to the Field Tote.

Together, they reflect the kind of production we believe in.