Collaboration Case Study: Milworks
MILWORKS
Sometime in mid-2025 we connected with a retail operation called Milworks with stores in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Portland, Oregon. With deep personal connections to both towns, we were excited to work with them. But even more so, we were excited to share our line of USA-Made sweaters with a store that really understood the value of the differentiation of a brand like Whalerknits.
BUILT IN-HOUSE
It's something we think about a lot, trying to find ways to share the stoke of building our products ourselves. We love discovering shops that get excited about brands that take the challenging road to make things in the US, and those like us that also make their products in house.
From design to final outbound shipment, our production process is managed right here in a 150 year old granite textile mill building in the heart of Fall River, Massachusetts. We knit, cut, sew, press and ship from our HQ. Our factory is one among many other buildings like it in the area. The others like ours that remain, have mostly become condos, gym equipment liquidators, or converted offices as US production has waned, if not outright disappeared from most towns in America.
Today, we continue the tradition so innate to Fall River to build our sweaters In a place that has been producing apparel and textiles in its entire 150 year history. And partners like Milworks understand this, and share that excitement with their customers.
EFFORTLESS COOL
As a brick and mortar retail store, Milworks has curated a collection of brands and top-notch products that helps them stand out. They provide a unique value proposition to their clientele and it's based on their unique eye for design, quality, and effortless cool that makes them a cultural touchpoint in their homes in the Pacific Northwest and Southeastern Wisconsin.
Check them out on Instagram
They mostly post things like cool vintage Porsches, Broncos, and vibe defining portraits of Steve McQueen. All of this we like, but even more so it's their unique eye for apparel that draws us to them.
We're clearly not the only ones that recognize their excellence as Gear Patrol cited them as one of the top 50 menswear stores in the US a few years ago. So to have Whalerknits in such good hands, we feel immensely lucky.
PROCESS OF COLLABORATION
Our collaboration discussion was pretty simple. We wanted to include iconography that captured a spirit of cooperation, collaboration, shared vision and respect for the process of manufacturing products in the US. We aligned on some simple ideas that played on Portland and Milwaukee's shared history as port towns, with maritime connections that unified coastal New England, the Upper Midwest Great Lakes, and the Pacific Northwest.
A few conversations back and forth brought the following label to life. In no time we had these adhered to the inside neck of some of our best performing products as a unique offering from Milworks.
We're very proud of our partnerships with stores like Milworks and believe that in cooperation we are able to achieve and produce something unique and cooler than on our own. Check them out in person if you are able, and in the meantime hop online and find something special at Milworks.co.
