Step through the iconic red door of Private White V.C. and into one of Britain’s last surviving coat factories—an atmospheric 150-year-old Manchester mill where history hums through every floorboard and modern craftsmanship thrives against all odds. In this immersive tour, Nick walks the labyrinthine factory with CEO James Eden, great-grandson of the decorated WWI hero who inspired the brand’s name.…
08/07/2022
The magic school bus of Garmology stops today in rainy Manchester to take onboard Joe Schindler for a salty chat about denim, small-scale production, making in the UK, how to stumble and keep going in business, how being your own boss means working all hours and the value in making only stuff you really like yourself. You can find Joe…
29/04/2022
After graduating with a Masters’s Degree in Fashion and Business, Niamh wanted to start her own company, based on her own principles, values and way of doing things. We talk about studying fashion, how the obvious path goes into fast fashion, the difference between making things quick and easy versus taking your time to do it properly, how a career…
12/03/2016
Following on from my previous belt review, here are another couple of choice leather belts for your kind consideration. These are also low-volume, artisan crafted pieces, made to order to requested spec, in Britain. What this means is that if you know the various elements that go into them, you’ll have an idea what you might appreciate in a belt.…
30/11/2014
The first part of my grand holiday recollections left us at a grand old Bed & Breakfast in the quite insignificant village of Pickmere (it has a village pond), near Knutsford in Cheshire, just south of Manchester. Nearby Knutsford is a historic old village, very much trading on it’s viking links from way back, and named after the viking king Knut.…
29/11/2014
I love London. And every time I see the logo above, this song starts looping in my mind. It never fails. The people, the history, the culture, and the Underground. I adore the Underground, and just looking at the map and reading the names of the stations can make me all misty-eyed. The big old city with so much content…
08/07/2014
Welcome to the absolutely final review of this round of Trouser Tuesdays. Rounding off a full bakers dozen of reviews we today arrive at Scottish brand Common People. Common People is the brainchild of Kestin Hare and is only some 4 years old. Still fairly small and under the radar, there is a single shop in Edinburgh and it’s available…
10/03/2013
With issue 13 of Proper now available and dropping into mailboxes all over, I thought it might be a fine time to give the magazine a mention here on the blog. Proper is the love-child of it’s two editors, Neil and Mark, and very much the product of their shared experiences and interests. Definitely a work in progress, each issue…