A postcard from Harris
Up in Harris, or rather Lewis, this week at Breanish Tweed. More next week. Photo: Andy Barnham
A postcard from Harris
Match in comments:
Great Blog, somewhat relieved to have found you, plenty of posts to catch up on! Keep up the good work!...
Brooks saddles: Two different sides of construction
Last week saw a visit to the Brooks saddle factory in Smethwick, just outside Birmingham. A full report will appear in the end-of-year issue of The Rake, but in the meantime I thought I would take the opportunity to try posting a couple of videos fil...
Brooks saddles: Two different sides of construction
Last week saw a visit to the Brooks saddle factory in Smethwick, just outside Birmingham. A full report will appear in the end-of-year issue of The Rake, but in the meantime I thought I would take the opportunity to try ...
Naples, Kiton: shoes
In the UK, good shoes split into two very clean categories: benchmade and bespoke. With the former, workers use a series of hulking Victorian machines to make the shoes. Each applies force in a different way, whether stretching the upper over the las...
Naples, Kiton: shoes
Match in comments:
That's very kind Tim, thanks. I'm really pleased you get value from it Simon...
Naples, Kiton: shirts
I mentioned in my previous post on the Kiton factory outside Naples that the shirt manufacturing impressed me post. In fact, it wasn’t so much the manufacturing operation as the handwork that resulted – something you can see on any Kiton ...
Naples, Kiton: shirts
Match in comments:
Just plastic ones I have from other shirts - they're thicker than the Kiton ones though, I remember those from back when I used to have shirts made there. They were pretty flimsy. I used to use silver or mother of pearl ...
Naples, Kiton: suits
My most extensive visit while in Naples this week was around Kiton’s factory, which is just outside the city. It is a big, well-aired facility that serves a frankly cracking lunch. I’ve never had mozzarella like it. All of the hundreds of...
Naples, Kiton: suits
Match in comments:
No, I'd strongly disagree with that. Huntsman and all proper Savile Row tailors still have more handwork and attention to detail than Kiton, as well as bespoke cutting and fitting....
Dent’s gloves archive
Rummaging through the image archive this week, I stumbled across these pictures from my trip to the Dent’s gloves factory earlier in the year. They are from the Dent’s archive, and show five pairs of gloves – two for women and three...
Dent’s gloves archive
Match in comments:
Thanks for the pictures - very interesting indeed!...
Factory visit: Bill Amberg
Bill Amberg has recently moved to lovely new premises in Queen’s Park, north London. The landlord that owns most of the street apparently refuses to turn it into flats, renting the lot out to small businesses instead. This means that you wander...
Factory visit: Bill Amberg
Match in comments:
Interesting, thanks Peter. I was paraphrasing Bill there but I don't know if there's any debate on that point....
Factory visit: Tanner Krolle
Of course, this isn’t exactly Tanner Krolle‘s factory. The original TK operation was on Mildmay Avenue in Islington, but was sold to Dunhill in the nineties and then knocked down. Dunhill moved its operations to Walthamstow (see previ...
Factory visit: Tanner Krolle
Match in comments:
hello i worked at t.c. 1966-1969 i was a cutter employed by mr. krolle this was at whitfield place near warren st. station why no history of here...
Brooks benchmade saddles
Brooks leather saddles are next in our cycling series. Unsurprisingly, the construction has much in common with benchmade shoes. Old, iron machines, worked by hand and crucial details finished by hand at every point. The leather saddle is pressed by ...
Brooks benchmade saddles
Match in comments:
I have Brooks B.17 with copper rivets on my Randonneur bicycle. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more comfortable after 200km of cycling. It also has achieved a nice patina after many years of service. Use mudguards and a...
Factory visit: Dent’s gloves
I finally made it down to Dent’s heritage gloves factory in Warminster, and learnt a lot more about the traditional process behind English-made gloves. There were some interesting parallels with several other crafts, including tailoring, shoema...
Factory visit: Dent’s gloves
Match in comments:
That's what I need to know, thank you. What model or models would you recomend and in what leathers?...
Dent’s: How British gloves are made
There’s an odd little bit of Selfridge’s between Ralph Lauren and the Kurt Geiger shoe emporium. It contains general accessories – hats, scarves and gloves – and stands out because it is the one part of the menswear floor no...
Dent’s: How British gloves are made
Match in comments:
Thank you for your quick response and opinion....
Factory visit: Alfred Dunhill
There’s nothing like a factory you can get to on the Tube. So much less train time involved. The Alfred Dunhill leather factory and pipe workshop are up in Walthamstow; though it could be in Northampton for all the difference it makes to the at...
Factory visit: Alfred Dunhill
There’s nothing like a factory you can get to on the Tube. So much less train time involved. The Alfred Dunhill leather factory and pipe workshop are up in Walthamstow; though it could be in Northampton for all the dif...
Hand sewing at Edward Green
I was fortunate enough to be able to tour the Edward Green factory in Northampton last week. A new building (as they’ve moved around a few times since leaving what is now the John Lobb factory in the centre of town) it nonetheless has a lot of ...
Hand sewing at Edward Green
Match in comments:
I can't imagine that those shoes are hand made. Good post. Forzest| Generic Levitra...
Shirt facts upon request
Due to popular demand (well, three people) here are some more facts about how the Turnbull & Asser shirts are made up in Gloucester. I know how much you love those little details. – As with a suit, the sleevehead of the shirt is sl...
Shirt facts upon request
Match in comments:
I usually don't have them, as I don't use them functionally (ie sometimes wanting them done up, sometimes not) and they are a pain to do up every time otherwise...
Factory visit: Turnbull & Asser shirts
There are so many facts, figures and geeky points about the construction of Turnbull & Asser shirts that I could be writing about them for days. And you’d be reading for hours. I’ll try to keep the description of my visit brief a...
Factory visit: Turnbull & Asser shirts
Match in comments:
Hey, There won't be much in the making, no. It's largely down to quality of materials, branding as you say, and then perhaps some consistency of quality. Simon...
