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June 14, 2006

off to america...

[My dear old MG, enjoying the early summer blooms at Warwick Hall.]

I'm down on Savile Row today, then Lucy and I are flying out to Chicago tomorrow. Then San Francisco, Atlanta and New York after that. Back home in just over two weeks.

I'm sorry that I've not been writing much lately, but I've been working very long hours during the last few weeks, getting all ready for this American trip.

Hopefully as summer comes along and things quieten down, I'll have more opportunities to write about tailoring. In the meantime, wish me Godspeed abroad, and I hope to see you when I get back. Thank you.

[P.S.] When I'm in the U.S., it's always far easier to reach me via telephone:

+44 (0) 7811 388 536

Or, even better, phone me at my hotel. Thanks Again.

[Quick Update:] I was recently interviewed by BBC Radio 4's "In Business", where they talk about the internet and "Web 2.0", as the cognoscenti like too call it. You can listen to it here on their webpage for the next week or so, or you can simply download the podcast here. I appear quite late in the show, about 22 minutes into it.

Posted by tom at 11:31 AM | Comments (1)

June 9, 2006

shears and beers...

[Martin and Jonathan on the Row]

It's always nice to meet other people in the trade, both old friends and new. You've probably gathered by now, that generally if we can help one another out, we will. And here is a classic example:

The photograph above is of Martin Stall and Jonathan Quearney. Jonathan you may be already familiar with, but Martin I only met recently in Belgium. Martin has trained and is currently based in the Netherlands, and by the sound of it he's had his education in the old school. He literally got in touch with me and explained that the weren't many real bespoke tailors in Holland, and when I was over he'd like to get me a beer and compare our work, and see if we could learn a little from each other.

Needless to say, the usual connection which seems to bond all tailors was prevalent again, namely, alcohol. Even though I was in a bar with a relative stranger in Brussels, I could have easily been with a friend on Savile Row in Mulligan's.

I wont bore you with the usual tailors' pub talk, but one thing did come up which I thought was fantastic: Martin has a good friend, only 25 years old, who has just qualified as a Master Blacksmith. Now I knew we tailors were rare, but blacksmiths...

Anyway, Martin had commissioned his friend to make him a pair of shears, something he'd never made before. As you can see, they're pretty impressive, which is what you'd expect for the 600 Euros asking price. My camera phone really doesn't do them justice- you can see all the working marks when you hold them. I'd love a pair of bespoke shears myself, but I think Old Man Sheppard would turn in his grave.

Finding the blacksmith was especially good news for Jonathan, who's a left-hooker. And even though we've hunted high and low, we've never been able to find him a large enough quality left-handed pair. Until now.

So there you have it. Its always good to be nice to folk, you never know who you might end up helping.

[Serious cutlery.]

You should check out Martin's blog. He's got some pretty forthright views on bespoke. It's an interesting read.

Also, Jonathan is on his way to New York and San Francisco this weekend. He offers super bespoke and shirts. Also a serious, quality made to measure from around £700. This will be encouraging to people whose budget doesn't quite stretch to bespoke. If you get to see him whilst he's in America, tell him "Hi" from me.

At least you know he's got a decent set of shears...

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Posted by tom at 6:38 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack