Mississippi natives Nick Weaver and Josh West started Blue Delta jeans in 2011 in secret -- with their business plan written on a napkin. They had no garment or manufacturing experience between them. Friends since 8th grade, their idea to make bespoke jeans was inspired by the legacy of sewing in Tupelo.
They knew that many seamstresses had been displaced over the years by the decline of garment manufacturing in Tupelo. But West saw opportunity. With a background in local economic development, he based the Blue Delta business plan on their special skill set.
The seamstresses provided the entrepreneurs with a “garment education” and the pair found a factory space. They made rookie mistakes early on, but their fledgling business endured and they went from selling about 50 pairs of jeans a year to 50 pairs a day.
What hasn’t changed is the product. Every pair is made from an original pattern tailored for each customer. It starts with a fitting of eight points of measurement. Then buyers can choose from raw denim or a select group of other lighter weight fabrics. The denim is sourced almost entirely in the Southeast, but Weaver and West have found a few fabrics in Japan and Italy that meet their artisanal and aesthetic standards. A final step is to pick the “thread theory” or the colors for the stitching at the seams and pockets.
With a storefront in Oxford strategically located near the Lyric Theater, the jeans initially became popular with musicians. Their growth has occurred almost entirely by word of mouth. Everyone wears blue jeans. “Everybody from school teachers to steel mill workers to private jet company owners,” Weaver says. “Denim crosses a lot of boundaries.”
The latest interest is from athletes, who often have a hard time finding the right fit off the rack. “We now service almost every Major League Baseball team,” Weaver says.
While they both travel constantly (Weaver called from Major League Baseball spring training in Arizona), and business is growing (plans include two new retail stores, a collaboration with Tom James and corporate packages with Southern Glazers, Tito’s Vodka and Bacardi), Weaver says Oxford is home. “What I love about Oxford is the culture,” he says. “That’s from food to fashion to football.”
And no matter how big Blue Delta gets, Weaver and West put stock into working with other local brands that embrace their values. “We were excited about our collaboration with Splinter Creek because we feel like Splinter Creek shares a lot of the same qualities as Blue Delta,” Weaver says. “It is a luxury, it is unique, and it’s very Southern.”
