On Dec.31, Vicky Gerke – one half of Echoes in the Attic, a Bradford-based company dedicated to creating “Upcycled Eco-Handbags for Planet Lovers” – retired, leaving business partner Laura Langevin to carry on. It was the end of a nearly 17-year partnership.
When Gerke and Langevin first met in 2005, it was as teacher and student.
Gerke, a sewing enthusiast working at F.K. Textiles, was offering sewing lessons, initially just for kids but eventually for interested adults as well.
“I love sewing,” she says.
Langevin, a cancer survivor, was looking for a new hobby and new skill and thought sewing might fit the bill. She hired Gerke to teach her how to sew, at her home – and at the end of the lessons, she told Gerke, “I don’t think that you and I are through with each other.”
It was prophetic. By August of the following year, Langevin – inspired by recent articles on recycling – had a proposition: that they go into partnership to produce handbags and totes made from fabric remnants that otherwise would end up in landfills.
Langevin would be the designer. Gerke would provide the rock-solid base for the business – sourcing the materials that included not only fabrics but also hooks, buckles and zippers - and doing the cutting to bring the bags from design to reality.
Rather than sew herself, she helped line up a team of sewers, that at one point numbered as many as 11.
They came up with the name, “Echoes in the Attic”, because the initial supplies came from their own stashes of leftover fabric, stored away in closets and attics – and, says Gerke, “We didn’t want anything that said ‘handbags’. We wanted it to be open.”
That open-endedness allowed them to eventually branch out, producing not only handbags and totes, but also pillows, and even clothing.
Their private supplies eventually ran out, and Gerke worked to keep the fledgling company supplied with materials.
Both agree that the turning point came in 2008 when they got a call “out of the blue” from the plant manager of an international company, who was looking for an eco-friendly way to repurpose leftover fabric.
By that time, Echoes in the Attic was already making a name for itself, with its upcycled bags. Googling “eco-bags,” the plant manager found a Montreal firm that carried Echoes in the Attic products. He connected with Gerke and Langevin, and invited them to come and take what they wanted.
It still gives Gerke goosebumps.
“When we went for the first time, we were practically drooling,” she remembers. Given permission to pick through the bins, they found leftover designer fabrics and “vegan leather” remnants, beyond their dreams.
“That really got our business going,” Gerke says. “That was the highlight” – even better than being interviewed by CTV News, as “Canadian Originals.”
“We were just gobsmacked,” agrees Langevin.
As of 2022, Echoes in the Attic has diverted approximately 140 tonnes of fabric from landfill – that’s 140 tonnes that Gerke and Langevin “lifted, carted, toted” home, to be transformed into designer bags, and eventually sold coast to coast, through one-of-a-kind craft shows, retail outlets and an online store.
Echoes in the Attic had its online platform in place for nearly a decade before COVID hit, which meant it was well-positioned to weather the impact of the pandemic. It’s true that it is a pared-down, smaller operation than pre-pandemic, but that’s fine for Langevin, who plans to carry on by herself, with help from her husband - that very plant manager who called, out of the blue, nearly 14 years ago.
As for Gerke, she will be moving to Penetanguishene, where she has purchased a house with her son.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she says. She is as enthusiastic as ever about sewing and plans to get back to quilting as a possible retirement project – after taking a break.
On Friday, Gerke attended a farewell luncheon at the home of friend and customer, Lynda Usher – who contracted with Echoes in the Attic to produce upcycled tote bags for the Bond Head 175th Anniversary celebration back in 2012.
At lunch, Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Rob Keffer presented Gerke with four pewter ornaments of historic buildings in BWG, as a memento of her more than 28 years in the community, and a thank-you for helping to put Bradford on the map, with Echoes in the Attic.
The venture “ticked all the boxes,” Mayor Keffer said, with its focus on environmental awareness, recycling and design.
“It was lots of fun, lots of fun,” Gerke says, noting that she will be keeping in touch – especially with her former business partner.
“I’m always there if Laura needs help," she said.
Langevin calls the former partnership “one of the dearest friendships of my life. I’m going to miss her dearly,” noting that Gerke always “had my back,” even if there wasn’t always agreement on the pace of expansion.
“We never fought, we never argued… We had more than few laughs along the way,” says Langevin.
Langevin plans to keep Echoes in the Attic going, operating as a “100 percent online” store, with one high-end retail outlet in Gravenhurst, up in Muskoka. She is now working on items for the launch of the Spring Collection, in April – with plenty of “cool new things,” including sling bags, and silk scarves recycled into beach cover-ups.
For both Gerke and Langevin, it’s the end of an era but the start of a new adventure.
“We’re both ready for onward and upward,” says Langevin.
“I’m looking forward to it,” says Gerke, with a smile.
