14/04/2018
HebTroCo makes their Barlow pocket knife in the workshop of Michael May in Sheffield, and I found myself there by their invitation on a windy Tuesday in March. This is the second in a series of articles about the background and makers of the HebTroCo products. ALSO NOTE: Michael May is the guest of Season 2: Episode 2 of my Garmology…
11/04/2018
Yes, it’s out there, it’s well known, impossible to deny, I do like Gloverall. Their winter duffels are arguably the continuation of the original navy duffels, but in addition, they do other styles and even a summer collection. I’ve got a Gloverall Summer Monty duffle from two years ago, a lightweight cotton version of the classic duffle in a wonderful…
07/04/2018
HebTroCo makes their Moto and Chukka boots at William Lennon & Co in Stoney Middleton, Hope Valley, Derbyshire and I found myself there by their invitation on an overcast Wednesday in March. This is the first in a series of articles about the background and makers of the HebTroCo products. Stoney Middleton. It’s such a typically British name. Not uniquely so though, as…
03/03/2018
If you’d asked me a year ago how Harris Tweed was made, I’d have replied something close to this: The wool comes to the mill and is made into yarn. The yarn is transported to the weavers at their crofts and they weave it into tweed. The tweed is then transported and made into many wonderful things. Job done. Sounds…
23/02/2018
If you’d asked me a year ago how Harris Tweed was made, I’d have replied something close to this: The wool comes to the mill and is made into yarn. The yarn is transported to the weavers at their crofts and they weave it into tweed. The tweed is then transported and made into many wonderful things. Job done. Sounds…
16/02/2018
If you’d asked me a year ago how Harris Tweed was made, I’d have replied something close to this: The wool comes to the mill and is made into yarn. The yarn is transported to the weavers at their crofts and they weave it into tweed. The tweed is then transported and made into many wonderful things. Sounds pretty plausible,…
23/01/2018
When I first came across the Ebbelsen trekking jacket I was at a loss. I realised I had no idea what “trekking” meant, or what a “trekking jacket” was, yet it was supposedly a totally Scandinavian concept. It took a while before I realised that trekking is really what we call going for a walk in the woods, or somewhere else,…
22/01/2018
Many a moon has waxed and waned since I last touched upon the topic of bicycle helmets. This is not to imply that my quest for a helmet that didn’t make me look like a, well, helmet, ever stopped. Ever vigilant could be my superhero name, always with an eye open for the new and different, or old and different,…
01/12/2017
Sometimes really good things can come from places where you might not suspect they would come from. Take rugged leather boots, your mind probably goes to American made workwear makers like Red Wing or Thorogood. Or take quality Goodyear welted shoes and you might naturally think traditional makers in Northampton. If your thoughts then take a turn towards more reasonably…
30/11/2017
Another classic jacket on the review bench today, the Cordings x Grenfell Shooter, a design first available in the 1940’s. For reasons that will become clear, I have divided this post into 4 parts. Let us proceed. The history of Grenfell and Cordings There is a lot of history combined in one jacket here. The maker, Grenfell, has it’s…