We strive to be the best, not the biggest!

Our Purpose

Performance

We are driven to make the best outdoor performance clothing. Years of experience enable us to source fabrics from the finest fabric mills in the world. During the design process we attend to every detail to determine comfort, style, fit and performance, so that your investment in quality clothing will be rewarded.

Design

We use our own outdoor and travel experience to create Earth Sea Sky designs and have you covered from your daily commute, to multi-sport races, intrepid travels, mountain adventures, and beyond. Our products are designed to match the environment they are worn in.

100% New Zealand Made

Earth Sea Sky - rock climbing in Queenstown

For us it’s about local talent creating and making specialised garments here in our own back yard. We are committed to keeping production in New Zealand with our factories based in Dunedin, Christchurch, Hastings and Nelson. We believe this gives us a real advantage in terms of unique design and consistent quality.

Sustainability

We strive to be the best, not the biggest. Our production runs are small and sustainable and are aligned to our market demand. Our garments use fabrics and construction techniques that increase their life beyond expectation.

People

We value our customers, and make an effort to keep in touch with them. We love to hear from anyone using our gear. Currently this includes photographers, artists, kiwi-catchers, guides, mountaineers, scientists, through to fly fishing fabric suppliers, and some of New Zealand’s most accomplished outdoors people.

Values

We are a family owned and operated business. Earth Sea Sky was established in 1990 but our family have been in the forefront of New Zealand made outdoor clothing and equipment for the past 86 years. We maintain a hands on approach in all aspects of our business.

Our Team

David Ellis – Head Honcho

Recognising a gap in the market for outdoor clothing functional and stylish enough to wear on a mountain top as well as in the city led to David founding Earth Sea Sky in 1990. David has over thirty years of experience designing and selling outdoor clothing and equipment. He is involved in every aspect of Earth Sea Sky from sourcing fabrics, designs, sales and marketing. David has climbed and tramped over most of New Zealand. His favourite mountain is Mt Aspiring – a mountain climbed by both his grandfather and father. He has a special connection with the Solu Khumbu region in Nepal where he first visited in 1972.

Jane Ellis – Operations / Multi Tasker

Running the annual sales programme in Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington keeps Jane closely engaged with our end users. Jane manages all the people part of Earth Sea Sky, works with corporate customers, oversees two factories, is reception back up and ensures the morning coffee is strong. Co-ordinating with Earth Sea Sky’s ambassadors is a favourite part of her work. She is a keen back country skier and tramper when time and weather line allow.

Libby Flamank – Production Manager / Juggler of Resources

Libby manages everything to do with production. Master of efficiency she balances cutting demands, factory commitments and tight deadlines and still manages to smile. Her training in design, graphics and fabrics, and an eye for detail ensure the best results for corporate customers wanting clothing branded. Away from the office Libby has her own clothing label and pursues her love of art and caring for young children.

Michael Ellis – Web Sales / Store Manager / Despatch

Michael is our office whirlwind. He is chief telephone answerer and order taker, store manager, stock organiser and despatcher, assists the many office visitors and looks after the web, site and sales. He has inherited the family passion for the outdoor industry working in a local outdoor retail shop before joining Earth Sea Sky.

Our Heritage

The Ellis families’ involvement in manufacturing outdoor products began in the 1920’s when Roland Ellis combined his love of mountaineering with the manufacture of his company’s bedding products. Roland developed and made the first down-filled sleeping bags in the Southern Hemisphere. From the 1930’s the company’s sleeping bags became essential equipment for all New Zealand outdoor enthusiasts. The wide recognition of their excellence was endorsed on the international stage when Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgay used them during their first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953.

Photo: Ellis Family Archives

Roland Ellis, Mount Aspiring Station before the first guideless ascent of Mt Aspiring. December 1927

Roland Ellis’s homemade mountain tent design. Copyright: New Zealand Alpine Club, 1935 Journal.

Roland’s son, Murray, joined the family business in 1948. A keen tramper, mountaineer, and qualified engineer, he was a member of Sir Edmund Hillary’s New Zealand team of the 1957-58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Murray helped to establish the original Scott Base and was one of the two engineers who kept the three Ferguson farm tractors going during the depot laying expedition to the South Pole. Their five-man team (the “Old Firm”) was the first to reach the pole overland since Amundsen and Scott in 1911-12. Murray continued his father’s work, developing down-filled clothing and manufacturing New Zealand’s first synthetic fibre filled sleeping bags.

Photo: Murray Ellis

Fergusson tractor in a crevasse on the Polar Plateau, December 1958. Left to right: Ed Hillary, Jim Bates, Peter Mulgrew, Derek Wright, Doug McKenzie (press correspondent).

Photo: Murray Ellis Collection

The “Old Firm” arriving at the South Pole, January 4th 1958 Left to Right: Jim Bates (mechanic), Peter Mulgrew (radio operator) Ed Hillary (leader and navigator), Murray Ellis (engineer), Derek Wright (cameraman)

Keeping the family tradition alive, Murray’s son David joined Arthur Ellis & Co in 1980. As an active climber, tramper and ski mountaineer he spent nine years developing and selling a range of packs, tents and outdoor clothing to complement the company’s sleeping bags. He was the first to develop and introduce an adjustable pack harness for internal frame packs in New Zealand.

Photo: David Ellis Collection

David’s early climbing years. The first ascent of the Donne Face of Mt Underwood 1974. Left to right: David Ellis, Mark Easton, Al Soon, Colin Strang – Donne Valley, Fiordland.

Photo: David Ellis Collection

Earth Sea Sky started in 1990 when David teamed up with clothing designer Sydney Mulligan.

Earth Sea Sky was formed in December 1990 when David teamed up with clothing designer, Sydney Mulligan. Between them they had more than 25 years experience in New Zealand’s outdoor clothing industry. This experience in design, production and sales was used to fill a growing need in the market for outdoor clothing that combined comfort, style and performance. David and Sydney introduced designs and colours that linked function and performance with great fit, attention to detail and fashion. Their first range of 20 garments included tramping jackets, oilskins, waterproof ski wear, 60/40 anorak windshells and Polartec thermal fleeces.

Since then, most of New Zealand’s outdoor clothing brands have taken their production offshore. Earth Sea Sky is committed to remaining New Zealand made. The Ellis family believes this is vital in maintaining the brand’s consistent quality and uniqueness.

Photo: David Ellis

The Ellis family on the high peak of Mt Rolleston, Arthur’s Pass, January 2006. Left to Right: Mark, Jane, Michael, Ben.

We strive to be the best, not the biggest!