Carbon2Cobalt, based in Santa Barbara, is a rising young fashion brand that’s quickly gaining attention due to a design ethos that combines effortless American-style confidence with a European craftsman’s polished attention to materials and detail.
Carbon2Cobalt founder Matt Cooper grew up in Santa Barbara and returned to find employment here after four years of college in Colorado. He connected with Bruce Willard, the founder of The Territory Ahead, just as he was starting the business in 1990, and remained for 18 years, working in various capacities from inventory planning to merchandise design and as co-president when Bruce left the business in 1999.
“About two years ago, I decided to design and launch a new brand with an eye on the details and craftsmanship of design. I also wanted to make clothing that was closer to my heart and that I would wear. The Carbon2Cobalt name actually came to me while on a hike in Rattlesnake Canyon. Seeing the amazing details of the plants, rocks, and trees around me, I wanted the name to be elemental and part of the natural environment” Matt explains.
“Growing up in Santa Barbara I was used to year-round views of the cobalt skies and ocean and being on a hike in the foothills put me right next to the solid nature of carbon in the rock formations. I also liked that carbon is the building block of life and I was yearning to build a men’s collection that utilized the building blocks of a good wardrobe by taking the staples and making them special through attention to fabric, cut and trims.”
The business was launched this spring, with a catalog, along with easy, online ordering available on the Carbon2Cobalt website. The fall, 2010 season catalog will be released at the end of August.
Visit the website for online ordering:
