Honeybea is the Toronto-based clothing brand turning heirloom textiles into statement pieces | CBC Life

Textile artist Rebecca Caulford, founder of the Toronto-based clothing company Honeybea, grew up surrounded by women sewing. 

Her mother and grandmother were cross-stitchers and embroiderers, and the sights and sounds of their handiwork were a comforting part of her childhood. “I can still hear the sound of that crisp embroidery thread pulling through the cloth, and it’s very grounding,” she said. 

“I’ve always been really, really drawn to old textiles and old things…. There’s just a feeling of home that I get from old, hand-stitched textiles.”

Honeybea’s patchworked, resewn and recrocheted sweaters, jackets and dresses are captivating the public and fashion editors alike. Her Appalachian knit jacket was spotlighted in British Vogue‘s October issue, and her quilt coat gained acclaim in a 2020 trend feature in the New York Times. 

Caulford’s pieces are thoughtfully crafted from reclaimed quilts, blankets and tablecloths, blending sustainability with design. Her colourful and cosy clothing resonates at a time when unique, soulful fashion feels more important than ever.

Caulford has always had a soft spot for damaged heirloom textiles, the “scrappy” ones in need of rescue. “This has never been about taking a quilt that’s pristine and beautiful and turning it into something else,” she said. “For me, this is about salvaging and rescuing the love and the legacy of somebody’s life’s work.” 

As such, she takes choosing fabrics very seriously. “It’s a very spiritual process, actually…. These are very difficult to find. It is in my very firm belief they are meant to find me.” 

She looks everywhere, from thrift stores to antique markets, and has sources that aren’t open to the public. “They’re sort of like waste-processing centres, where discarded objects move through, and I’ve built some really beautiful relationships with the owners of those places.”

Before she launched her brand in 2003, she pursued a fashion communications degree from Toronto Metropolitan (formerly Ryerson University), but she ultimately felt compelled to explore her passion for more hands-on work. 

Caulford began selling her handsewn accessories at a Toronto artisan market after bringing a small collection “made out of old curtains and old tablecloths and things” to the market director and asking if she could sell them. 

“I’ll never forget her,” said Caulford. “She said, ‘Oh my god, this is recycled.’ And I hadn’t even really thought of that, like, this has never been from an environmental perspective…. [But] I think it’s wonderful.” 

Regardless of the initial intent, with textile waste from fast fashion being a significant challenge worldwide, Honeybea’s sustainability is part of its appeal. Caulford went on to join the One of a Kind Show for 13 years and sell her pieces at markets and online out of her sunny studio near Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Business has ebbed and flowed over the past 21 years, but her work speaks to an audience — when a Honeybea collection drops, it sells out fast. 

Signature pieces include the Traveller’s Coat, a piece that’s like “draping yourself in an actual blanket,” she said. “Then there was, of course, the Appalachian knit jacket, which has the heavy brass zipper in the front that I think really changed the game.”

“Everything I make, and I’ve ever made, is completely original,” Caulford said when asked why she thinks people connect with her clothing so strongly. “I would call it innovative.” One of the most common questions she gets from customers about her reworked knit and crocheted pieces is whether they unravel when cut. “We’ve pioneered and engineered processes [that] kind of defy all odds,” she explained. 

After the birth of her second child, Caulford took out a loan and increased Honeybea’s scale of production, creating more pieces to keep up with demand.  She hired more people and invested in new machines. “I got state-of-the-art equipment. It was incredible — but I didn’t like it,” she said. 

“In the end, I felt too far from my work. I felt too unable to let go of certain details, and so I retreated back to the cosy cocoon.”

This past September, Caulford opened a storefront in Toronto’s historic Kensington Market. Her entire team is made up of women, from the operations manager to the photographer. 

As for what’s next in 2025, Caulford said she always likes to take some “creative repose” at the start of a new year. “We normally have an Aquarius launch,” she said. “I’m an Aquarius … so there’ll be something really special coming.” 

For Caulford, there are always new treasures to unearth and make new — all while staying connected to the past and the women who instilled a love of textiles in a little girl. 

“I think that the thing I really love the most about [textiles and handiwork] is that, you know, without sounding too cliché, it’s a common thread amongst all of us,” she said. “We all feel that [comfort] from it, and it does bring us together in that way.”