SEED CAPITAL
An Impact Opportunity
“Wearing handspun and handwoven fabric has a different feeling than wearing industrially produced fabrics; handwoven fibres drape and breathe with a supple softness in a rhythm that can only be created by skilled human hands.
The feeling is truly luxurious.”
THE PERFECT STORM
The fashion industry has become the second most polluting industry globally.
Chemical runoff destroys water systems, synthetic materials create massive environmental damage, and fast fashion waste overwhelms our planet.
Industrial fabrics contain toxins, carcinogens, and microplastics that our bodies absorb.
Consumers increasingly reject opaque supply chains, exploitation, declining quality masked by brand premiums, and formulaic designs that prioritize profit over craft.
Mainstream brands are scrambling to greenwash and reformulate to accommodate imminent regulation.
OUR PRODUCTS
Artisanal, Vernacular Luxury.
Hartwick Atelier is an embodiment of the interconnectedness between natural systems and human creativity. We’ve entered the market with ease and honesty, and been met with awe and appreciation. The momentum is a thrill.
Our collections are limited by nature, made by hand in truly sustainable quantities, with zero waste practices.
Each collection is made using the natural cycles of the sun, wind, and rain at the pace and rhythm of master artisans.
Superior craftsmanship and fine french tailoring create heirloom pieces to be cherished and passed on, and when ultimately the lifecycle is complete the fabric will biodegrade and return to the soil.
GLOBAL TRACTION
Our launch events evolved from our wilderness homestead to global fashion capitals - Paris, New York, London, Dubai, Palma.
In London, our month-long boutique residency on prestigious Chiltern Street was hosted by Sunday Times fashion editor Tiffanie Darke, a leading voice in the fashion and sustainability movement.
In just 10 months with word of mouth growth (zero marketing spend and zero e-commerce) we've achieved $1,181 AOV (Average Order Value) which is 2.6x the luxury benchmark of $436 AOV.
Industry validation includes:
invitation from Printemps flagship in Paris to collaborate as an emerging luxury brand
positioning as a featured brand at the upcoming Coterie show in NYC Sept 2025
invitation as guest speaker on sustainability in fashion at FIT during the 25/26 academic year
Hartwick has already reached a demographic of leading edge women and men around the world - changemakers and tastemakers, journalists, authors and lawyers, entrepreneurs, academics and yogis and environmentalists – a global community that has demonstrated alignment with our vision and our exceptional market potential with an early repeat client rate and truly stellar AOV.
2003
In 2003, I became the lead costume designer for a French TV series.
It was a huge job and I loved it. We shot 8 episodes concurrently with 8 main characters and I loved the aspect of developing characters through wardrobe.
2009 - 2014
In 2009, we moved to Mumbai. India changes everything.
Our work as photographer/stylist took us all over India and across the region - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal.
I started to understand the depth of exquisite handcraft in South Asian cultures. Histories of families, communities, regions; the riches of empires and Gandhi’s movement for Independence — all stories held in handloom textile and jewellery designs, made as heirlooms to be handed down through generations.
2022
My love for textiles and design as a language played a central role as I became a film director, making culture films all over the world for commercial clients such as Christie’s, Condé Nast and The New York Times.
In 2022, we made a film in Ethiopia about women skateboarders, and shot some of the most compelling scenes of my career as they skated through the streets of Addis Ababa in traditional handwoven white dresses. The film premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2023, and I designed my dress for the opening with handspun silk and cotton (Hartwick Atelier’s Tribeca Skirt and Jodhpur Blouse).
2023
While researching our next film, on the subject of handwoven cloth, we spoke to monks and physicists about weaving as vibration and to curators and anthropologists about cloth as the basis of human civilization.
Captivated by the historical significance, sustainable techniques and exquisite feel of handloom fabrics, we put the film on ice and made a full women’s collection instead.
2024
Et voilà.
It has been a long and spectacular road to creating Hartwick Atelier, a truly sustainable fashion brand made by masters of refined handcraft.
Finely tailored with handspun and handwoven fabrics, using heritage techniques and natural dyes in tune with the rhythms of the sun, wind and rain, I can truly say this is an analogue love story that I am delighted and honoured to share with the world.
Our work and travels take us far and wide. We are curious and adventurous and never stop learning. I often buy local artisanal fabric and heritage/vintage pieces and over the years we’ve curated a beautiful collection of art, ephemera and imagery from cultures around the world.
These rich influences are the fabric of my being, the way I see the world and all of us in it.
Our experiences as travellers and filmmakers, homesteaders and designers inform everything we make. We are lovers of humanity, the planet, and all beings within and without.
