A lot has changed since Kate Fisher locked eyes with Henry Schwab at a Phish concert in 1997. She was a Deadhead peddling Indian textiles; he was a Greenpeace activist touring with Phish’s nonprofit arm the Waterwheel Foundation. And yeah, yeah—they grew up, got married and had kids, but Fisher’s clothing line Synergy grew up with them, culminating with her new downtown Santa Cruz storefront, Synergy Clothing, which opened in January. “We started in our 20s and now we’re in our mid, late 30s. We’re young families and young adults wanting to be eco-minded. People who are more willing to shop at Whole Foods or Staff of Life,” she says. “We’re growing up in that whole demographic that’s been developing over the last 10 years.”
Fisher got her start at 21 on a vacation to India and Nepal in 1993, when she came back with a suitcase full of recycled silk saris, brocades and other textiles. Once she realized there was a market for the look, the native New Yorker designed contemporary, Western-style clothing, like spaghetti strap dresses, and had them sewn from the traditional cloth. “An Indian woman would wear it in a marriage ceremony, then it came to a woman here in the States living her life. I liked that idea of the cultural history of the fabric,” she says.
Synergy (named for the marriage of Eastern cloth and Western style) started in 1995 and rode the wave of bohemian chic that crested when the likes of Madonna and Gwen Stefani stuck bindis to their foreheads in the late ’90s. By then Fisher and Schwab were married and living in Santa Cruz, selling clothing at trade shows and concerts. The line hit a commercial high note with an order from Urban Outfitters.
“Then it started to die out,” says Fisher. “There was less demand in the marketplace and I was starting to get bored with that motif.”
As she began exploring new ways to work with recycled materials, she learned more about organic cotton being grown in India. The concept meshed well with the couple’s hippie roots. “Coming from the world of environment nonprofits, working so long for Greenpeace, it was natural,” says Schwab. “Our business is an extension of who we are.”
The shift really took place after the birth of baby number one in 2006, when Schwab stepped up full-time to handle the business side of Synergy. The line split into three parts: Synergy, which still makes some items from recycled silks; Synergy Organic, a youthful line that includes T-shirts, screen prints and hand appliqués; and Kate Organic, a more upscale line of organic cotton dresses, pants and tops all sewn in the Bay Area. Everything is made with organic cotton, hemp and low-impact dyes in hues of slate, brown, pink and beige. While Synergy Organic has a more junior vibe with birds, clouds and flowers screenprinted on swingy, soft cotton garments, Kate Organic has a more classic essentials look. But they all share Fisher’s basic inspiration and commitment to environmental ethics.
“I guess what inspires me are clothes that look good and are functional, that make a woman feel feminine but are easy to wear,” she says. “I want someone to be able to throw on a dress and know she looks good. Puts on her shoes and is out the door.”
Fisher and Schwab opened their storefront on Walnut Street in the old Bay Photo location at what many might have considered an odd time economically. But the company is very healthy, says Schwab, despite the economic downturn, having done about $1 million in sales in the last year. Synergy clothes are selling in 300 stores in 45 states. “We’ll ship to yoga studios, spas, health food stores, mom and pop boutiques,” says Schwab—and they now look forward to expanding their retail location. “The store is another avenue to grow,” he says. “It also allows Santa Cruz residents to get our clothing at a really good price, with no middle man.”
Between the addition of an accessories line, the couple’s frequent trips to trade shows all over the country and the line’s growing popularity in places like Belgium and Japan, it’s a wonder they find the time to come home to sleepy Santa Cruz. “I like the pulse of urban life,” explains Fisher. “But Santa Cruz has an easy life. I like the lifestyle.” And that jetset mindset in a soft gauzy body (imbued with a clean conscience) comes through in the clothes—another type of synergy.
Synergy is located at 119 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz.
