Alberton clothing designer 'inspired by nature'

Inspired by her love for the outdoors, Alberton resident Yana Robertson has created a growing businesses selling outdoor apparel, specializing in leggings and yoga pants. The name of her business represents her passion, called Pure Venatic. Venatic meaning in part, “people engaged in, or given to, hunting.” But, she says, the meaning goes beyond the traditional hunt, and expands into hunting for things like mushrooms, berries and other wildlife.

Robertson introduced her original designs to the Alberton community during Railroad Day in July. Inside her booth were T-shirts, leggings and headwear with design names like “Wapiti Walk;” “Topo Contours;” and “Mountain Mist.” Leggings draped in rich natural hues show designs of pine trees, starry skies and wildlife.

With long, dark hair and a slight, athletic build, Robertson has enjoyed hunting and the outdoors ever since she was a little girl. Now, that love inspires her work. For example, “Turkey Trot” was created by turkeys found right outside the door of her small home she shares with her boyfriend near the Natural Pier Bridge.

The feathers in the design were from a turkey she had harvested, and the tracks were from a photo she had taken in the mud. She digitized the photos into her computer and sent it to her business partner located in California. It is then printed onto a large roll of white fabric, cut and sewn.

ALL OF her designs have a symbolic meaning or there’s a story behind them. An eagle flying overhead, or a moose she came across in Wyoming, she felt “spoke to her.” Robertson also created a line dedicated to service members for law enforcement, fire and rescue, and dispatch workers. Inspired by her sister who works in dispatch in Alaska.

Her first creation was a morel mushroom with an arrow going through it.

“I’ve always had that design stuck in my head, so I made it,” she stated in a blog post. She put it on a T-shirt and found others liked it as well, and she started to receive orders just by walking around Missoula wearing it.

The couple bought their Alberton property four years ago and started to build a home in October 2017. Originally from Grass Range, Mont., Robertson likes the feel and connection found in a small community like Alberton. She studied business management, marketing, graphic design and communications in college, and managed a marketing team for a business in Missoula before starting her own a year-and-a-half ago.

Now she mostly get orders online from her website at purevenatic.com and also attends outdoor events. She takes custom orders and collaborates with different outdoor and recreational groups, including school teams that may want leggings, T-shirts or shorts.

By next year, Robertson hopes to expand into men’s swim trunks, sweats and summer dresses. Currently, she has a line of head bands or “infinity rags;” T-shirts; leggings; and yoga pants.

“We are a growing tribe and lifestyle brand,” Robertson writes in her blog. “Catalysts between spirit and Earth, passionate about hunting, fishing, and foraging. Expressing what we see and feel when we let our wild out. We are Pure Venatics.”