Author Archives: October Textiles Limited

About October Textiles Limited

October is a t shirt printing, screen printing, garment sourcing and embroidery supplier established in 1990. We source a wide range of clothing and accessories to fit the most demanding of specifications. Although we print and embroider for a variety of sectors, our speciality is fashion.

1. Universal Works, Birch, and Upcycled Clothing

   January 8, 2024 7:00 pm Comments Off on Universal Works, Birch, and Upcycled Clothing

   It’s always great to work with our Nottingham neighbours Universal Works, but this was our first upcycled clothing project for the award-winning Hotel and Members Club Birch.

   And what a brilliant idea it was (not ours), to delve into the Universal Works archives and select a wide range of high-quality pieces, that could be screen printed with the Birch logo.

   Is screen printing onto a wide variety of different garment styles and fabrics easy?

   Er, no, not really – every garment style was different, and every fabric was different, so screen printing under those circumstances can take a bit of doing.

   We were saved however by the trust of Universal Works Founder David Keyte, who very kindly put his faith in us and said ‘Just do what you do’.

   ‘Are you sure’? Is the obvious reply ‘And will Birch be ok with that?’

   ’Can we go mad Chef and screen print wherever we want, however we want, and just freestyle the whole thing?’

   The answer was that once we’d agreed on the five specific ink colours, yes, we could go for our life with a squeegee in hand – and we don’t need telling twice.

   It’s the dream job, where you can remind yourself why you got into all this in the first place, to be an eight year old cutting and sticking and creating good things. Making clothes for your Action Man in 1970 out of your Grandma’s off cuts.

   Before Upcycling was even a word.

   And we should say – picking up such a wide range of Universal Works products, handling each one, screen printing it and putting it through a big textile dryer, you start to get a wide-ranging feel for the quality of the pieces.

   And with my Grandma in mind, she is watching me and would never let me lie, the quality of the product is entirely bloody brilliant. The fabrics, the details, the ingenuity. Genuinely remarkable.

   What did Birch want?

   Through the magic of Universal Works and a little ink here and there, the creatives at Birch wanted workwear that unified the team with clothing people actually wanted to wear, while maintaining an eclectic and individual style.

   In their very own words,

   “Birch is more than a hotel, it’s an urban escape and an intervention from the daily grind. With this as our ethos, traditional staff uniforms would be totally out of step at Birch. We needed a contemporary play on the concept, working clothes that allowed us to celebrate the individuals of our team. Universal Works was the perfect partner for this, providing a common thread throughout the clothing whilst allowing our staff to pick different items based on their own styles and personalities.”

   Hopefully we’ll get to go one day and see all the Upcycled Universal Works pieces buzzing about doing a great job, and learn more about Birch’s exciting rewilding project to revive the land, and create a greener London.

   Birch x Universal Works – “Not a Uniform”⁠

   www.birchcommunity.com/selsdon/

   @birchcommunity

2. Printed T-shirts, mindfulness and good intention

   October 3, 2021 12:39 pm Comments Off on Printed T-shirts, mindfulness and good intention

   I’m not sure it’s anything new, and hope that during 32 years under a pile of printed T-shirts, we always tried to make our intention good, and alongside the ink be splattered with mindfulness.
   I hope so anyway, but it doesn’t hurt to come back to ‘what is it to have good intention, what is it to practice mindfulness?’ It sounds ridiculous to consider it in the context of printed T-shirts, but maybe to associate it with an every day task is not unhelpful?

   And it should be said, what follows may be utter nonsense….we are T shirt printers, not mindfulness gurus! If we were that clever we’d be on a boat somewhere, instead of covered in fluff under a screen printing machine.

   Good Intention or Set Intention?

   There is a distinction to be made here between having a good intention, and having set an intention. Good intention can include a negative element, and be used to say ‘I meant well’ as an excuse for a major balls up that we want to distance ourselves from.

   And yet to merely set an intention doesn’t feel altruistic enough to me, it might not be a good intention. Is setting an intention just a doorway to our values, and only good if they are good? Do we need to get those in place first, before we set our intention and keep returning to them, to thereby stay true to our good energy? A bit over cosmic there, soz.

   Perhaps the big value of considering intention is it makes us stop. Sit still, and listen out for the inner voice that says, ‘What are you up to, why are you doing this, will it benefit all concerned, is it true to your values, and are they good?’

   Tricky then perhaps to have good intention with a bundle of T-shirts under one arm, a pot of ink in hand, and with a phone under your chin like a hot violin. There is only one way we have discovered to work around that, and it is to stop; and moreover, to remind each other to stop. So I’m going to stop.

   Mindfulness

   Right, I’m back, everything ok with you? I only went and stood in the factory car park and breathed – nothing weird. Good. Right, what’s all this mindfulness waffle? Apparently, mindfulness is a….

   “mental state characterized by non-judgmental awareness of the present moment experience, including sensations, thoughts, bodily states, consciousness, and the environment, while encouraging openness, curiosity, and acceptance” (Hofmann 2010).

   Mindfulness then is being open to the external and internal world, and being more accepting of thoughts as they come in. We are noticing thoughts and feelings both good and bad without trying to escape them. It is in the desire to escape, that sadness and anxiety can make their home.

   And with mindfulness we consider how we frame the internal narrative as it wanders in, which it will. For example, ‘I feel guilty because these printed T shirts I’ve just made look rubbish’. And guilt is bad right? Or is guilt my friend, that will remind me to avoid this same mistake again? Rather than hide from guilt, can I welcome it in, watch it pass, and let it go? Until it arrives next time. I am only its conduit, not its place of residence and after all, it can be a helpful visitor.

   Printed T-shirts

   What’s all this got to do with printed T-shirts? Well nothing really, and yet in a funny old way everything.

   We have always felt like we are not in the business of selling printed T-shirts, but in the management of dreams. That sounds bloody pretentious, and maybe it is, but customers don’t come to us for T shirts, they come to us because they have, or want to have, a clothing brand.

   We’re paid to put ink on fabric, but it feels like we will not be maximising the customer’s chance of success unless we stop and say, ‘Why are we doing this, what is our intention, and is it good?’ This is our starting point, always, with a financial motive at the bottom of the list.

   And in the lunatic free fall of the factory day, we won’t be our best if we see too many negatives and hang on too tightly to the endless succession of manufacturing difficulties. We will try, and fail which is ok, to let adversity pass through us until next time.

   Maybe we don’t supply our best printed t-shirts, without mindfulness, and good intention?

3. REPRESENT X MACHINE GUN KELLY T SHIRTS AND HOODIES

   January 26, 2020 8:01 pm Comments Off on REPRESENT X MACHINE GUN KELLY T SHIRTS AND HOODIES

   Represent x MGK – All

   We’re always very happy to screen print for Represent, we’ve made no secret of that, but when we saw the image for the Machine Gun Kelly T shirts and hoodies collaboration, got to be honest, we were scared.

   Scared because the T shirts had a massive scary Cobra on the front? Don’t be ridiculous (Well maybe a bit)
   Scared because Represent T shirts and hoodies are really expensive to make, so if we screw up it’s a very bad day at the factory? Er, yes.
   Scared because it’s a Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) collaboration, and that’s a pretty big thing? Well you would be, wouldn’t you

   
   Represent x MGK and the real reason it was scary.

   Admit it, the above is all likely to make your back door bang a bit in a high wind, but the real reason it was scary for us was, they needed to be printed using discharge inks!

   Hopefully this means nothing to you, because you have a life, a proper job, and don’t live in a parallel universe – because you are not a screen printer and have nothing to do with the production of T shirts and hoodies. If you did go to the crossroads, do a deal with the Devil and take a wrong turn towards planet screen print however, you’ll understand that discharge inks, can be a bit of a bastard.

   That big beautiful Cobra there, courtesy of the highly talented Mr M.Heaton, is a 9 colour screen print. It needs to be layered….

   One…

   
   Colour….

   
   At a time….

   
   Only discharge inks will give us the vibrancy of colour and softness we want for these T shirts and hoodies, this vintage look and soft feel is so important. But discharge ink is water based and wants to dry up and block the screens at every moment. Its colours can shift shade at high temperature as they react with the garment dye, and it is also quite aggressive in attacking the screen emulsion. Essentially, the whole design can collapse in front of your very eyes, into a massive mess. More of a squashed snail than a mighty Cobra. Cripes!

   So you need to get all the separated artwork films bang on, spend hours making screens, spend hours lining all the screens up, hours mixing all the colours, and then, test one, pray that it looks amazing, and print them at a million miles an hour onto really expensive Represent T shirts and hoodies, and hope to God they’re perfect and that Machine Gun Kelly is happy.

   Phew. We think they look ok. Actually, pretty good. And breathe.

   It might seem strange then, but in a Screen Printer’s head it’s not the Represent x Machine Gun Kelly collaboration onto expensive T-shirts and hoodies that are the reasons for being scared, and it’s not a massive Cobra – it’s the ink!

4. CUSTOM WORK OUT T SHIRTS – COLE BUXTON

   November 14, 2019 10:12 am Comments Off on CUSTOM WORK OUT T SHIRTS – COLE BUXTON

   

   

   Well we say custom work out T shirts, but let’s be honest, Cole Buxton is one of the most desirable brands to be seen in right now, both in and out of the gym.
   Since 2014 when we first worked for the top man himself, Cole Buxton has understood the importance of adhering to core phrases and values. Yes it’s a great T-shirt, with the jersey knitted in Leicester using the finest cotton yarns, but it’s the mantras of ‘Mastering Simplicity’ and ‘Athletic Essentialism’ that we think give a real soul and direction to the brand.

   Cole Buxton feels to us like the very best, for the every day.

   Sustainability

   In a world full of work out T shirts, Cole Buxton also adds the morality of sustainable fashion. But not just physical sustainability because the garments last, what’s the use in that, if a brand can’t sustain your desire to continue wearing the product? Cole Buxton takes care of this with an aesthetic that in our view will stand the test of time. As you can see from T shirt graphics here and the silhouettes, you’ll be as happy in one of these this time next year and the year after, as your T shirt weathers into a loved and trusted piece.

   History

   This sustainability is further backed up with a little history, where Cole Buxton takes inspiration from 1960’s bodybuilding with three key features – the dropped shoulder, the fitted neck, and the slight crop on the overall length. The holy trinity of the custom work out T shirt. No need to make any changes there. When it’s right, it’s right.
   This sense of great things from the past is further communicated through the Cole Buxton signature wash. Each T shirt is pigment dyed to create a truly unique finished product. While other garment manufacturers and brands worry about exact replication, Cole Buxton is among the few who understand the value of individuality.

   Custom work out T-shirts from Cole Buxton, that’s how we began this brief story but we hope the above explains, it’s a little bit more than that!

5. October – Screen printing for Vetements

   May 17, 2019 9:23 pm Comments Off on October – Screen printing for Vetements

   October – Screen printing for Vetements, as part of their collaboration with Scottish heritage label Mackintosh.

   Well that’s nice for you October, you’ve done some screen printing for Vetements as part of a collaboration with Mackintosh, so what?
   Fair enough, we didn’t fix Brexit, or explain why there’s a large fruit cake on the loose in the White House; but still, we were pretty nervous. Screen printing for one of the most discussed fashion labels in the world right now, onto product that costs the equivalent of a small family car, can get the old back door banging in the wind.

   Screen printing aside, why are Vetements so à la mode, and de rigeur and all that?

   Since the design collective that is Vetements (French for clothing obviously) popped up in Paris in 2014, they have maintained an unorthodox approach that has tickled the fancy of editors, A-listers, bloggers, and most of the movers and shakers in the fashion department from day one.

   We say design collective, because it involves a few fashion types. The grand fromage is Demna Gvasalia, along with his brother Guram and five other chums…although Demna has also been the creative director at Balenciaga after the reign of Alexander Wang.

   Their mix of useful jeans, slogan screen printed T-shirts, sport based tackle and seriously oversized outerwear, has created a signature look that unlike many, is immediately recognizable. Hardly surprising then that they are rather popular with those who like to be immediately recognized, Rihanna, Selena, Kendall, and of course our old pal, Mr K.West.

   Kanye in particular has been associated with the Vetements team, even while he was head down and working hard on Yeezy 2 and Yeezy 3.

   The success of Vetements.

   Like the success of many brands, Vetements have employed the not making very many of anything approach, to keep product sell out and desirable. And they have quite rightly not discounted any prices. More specifically though, is it that they make unexpected items, like the part sock, part high heeled glamorous boot perhaps?

   Is it that which sets them apart?

   Who knows, all we do is the screen printing, but when we do it for Vetements it makes us feel a bit French, and European, whilst the Mackintosh connection looks back to our Scottish roots, which is all good in these divided times, like fashion hands across the sea.

6. October print for clothing brand Represent

   October 8, 2017 7:29 pm Comments Off on October print for clothing brand Represent

   October Textiles, UK screen printer for UK based clothing brand Represent, in the UK

   This piece is about October Textiles, because no matter how un-English it is we have to talk about ourselves sometimes, and it’s about Represent Clothing, because they’re bloody brilliant, but it’s also about making stuff here in the UK, because we’re still doing it. Still doing it despite the odds being against us, still doing it without any interest from any government, still doing it to keep a trade alive and real people in real jobs, making stuff in the UK.

   We couldn’t do that without the pride and passion of young men like George and Mike Heaton, standing up and committing to making clothing brands like Represent here in the UK, and as you can see from this film, taking it out there to show the world what we can do. And the world seems impressed once again, like it was back in the day.

   https://representclo.com/pages/the-new-breed-aw17-documentry 

   The UK Screen Prints.

   What do they look like? Well with the British spirit in mind, it makes total sense that the inspiration for the New Breed collection gets all Churchillian, and reminds us that ‘If you’re going through hell, keep going’, while proclaiming, ‘Long Live the British’, without any apology….

   

   …it also features great British victories, on land

   

   …and at sea

   

   And of course, it still includes that symbol of UK manufacturing, with a Represent Clothing New Breed twist, the British Flag.

   

   We might like to think here at October Textiles that we can still wear an oversized hood and bounce about in some Alpha Mid boots, but we’d quite rightly get arrested. As an old school UK screen printer, working with an old school UK garment manufacturer, it’s good news for the country that Represent are taking their bang on knowledge of the current market, and putting their faith in UK manufacturers to help deliver that vision. No doubt we’ll all be getting a phone call from the government any time now to thank us all for keeping the ship afloat. It’s OK lads, you can keep your knighthoods, we’ll be doing this anyway.

   Don’t take our word for it though, we’re just a bunch of back street UK screen printers…if you want to know how relevant Represent are, check out Hypebeast, Highsnobiety, Complex, or make yourself a big mug of English tea, toast a muffin and read this blog from The Hundreds: https://thehundreds.com/blogs/content/represent-interview

   So if you’re wondering why UK screen printer October Textiles is working with UK clothing brand Represent, making it all right here in the UK, it’s because we walked through hell and kept going…so stand up, and come with us.

   https://representclo.com/

7. WHO MAKES CAPS AND T SHIRTS FOR NOAH THOMAS?

   September 14, 2017 6:08 pm Comments Off on WHO MAKES CAPS AND T SHIRTS FOR NOAH THOMAS?

   And the answer is yes, but that really isn’t the important thing. There are plenty of standard adjectives used these days about upcoming new British fashion brands like Noah Thomas. Their caps are ‘Sick’, their T shirts are ‘Fresh’. Occasionally stuff might be ‘lit’, and we can get excited about a few flames flashing across the screen of our Instagram account. The caps and T shirts, and the hoodies are good, I think we dare say that without over blowing any trumpets, but there is an emotion behind the brand Noah Thomas that sets it apart and makes it special.

   It was several years ago now that the creator of Noah Thomas came to see us. On that particular day, Ben Chadwick was just another young lad walking in with a dream, with questions about t shirts and caps and screenprint and embroidery, labels, swing tickets – all the usual stuff. And as always, I told him that none of that shit is what really matters, that quality is a given, but the deal breakers are story, emotion, identity and connection. It was just another day, and he went away.

   

   I was surprised then when he called a year or so later to say he’d thought it through, listened to my usual story about story, and that he was ready to make those caps and t shirts. Because he was a Dad now and wanted to create a brand which is born out of the bond between a Father and his son. To build a fashion label over the twenty years it probably takes to build a fashion label, that his son could inherit if felt that was his future. I may be a miserable git, but I can’t argue with such a beautiful sentiment.

   When it stops being about caps and T shirts and starts being about Noah Thomas (who is a cracking little fella by the way) then of course I’m inspired. It’s a side issue, but I never knew my own Father, and so it seems to me that there are so many emotions to explore here within the brand. Emotions that are specific to us, but which I hope will connect with many Father’s or sons. Wherever I see a brand cocktail of the unique and the universal, I am always hopeful.

   If anyone asks who makes the caps and T shirts for Noah Thomas, that really isn’t the important thing.

   www.noah-thomas.co.uk

8. Barbour International motorcycle T-shirts printed by October

   July 11, 2017 7:17 pm Comments Off on Barbour International motorcycle T-shirts printed by October

   October screen print motorcycle inspired T shirts, for Barbour International at London Fashion Week

   
   We occasionally argue at October, about whether we’re Inspired by screen print and T shirts after 28 years, but we all agree that we’re inspired by the motorcycle, by Barbour International, and of course London Fashion Week.

   So what’s the Barbour International story – when did all that two wheeled, happily plastered in mud with a face full of flies thing roar into life? Wake up, you might get this in a pub quiz and win a bag of nuts – it is of course 1936. Anyone get that? (Anyone caught using Google will be disqualified)

   Yes, 1936, and the Barbour International jacket has protected the backs of every British motorcycle team from then until 1977. Almost everyone wore it in the 1965 TT race on the Isle of Mad, and it was Steve McQueen’s favourite the year before at the ISDT race.

   You probably all knew that, but for a free drink, where was it particularly favoured during the Second World War? No? Well we’ll tell you – when not being worn on European battlefields, the Barbour International jacket was the official Submarine Commanders coat!

   The motorcycle heritage remains unmistakable though, as seen its presentation at London Fashion week. The belt is such a key feature in the Barbour International jacket obviously, keeping everything gathered in at high speed, and making sure you don’t get an owl blowing up your shirt on those high speed night rides. The zip pull ring is nice and big, so you can still operate it in a Welder’s mitt. And we all love that angled left chest pocket, meaning in the good old days you could get your smokes out while still operating the clutch. (Don’t try that kids, unless you want a final fag before you go over a hedge).

   At London Fashion week, guests were taken on an 80 year motorcycle inspired journey at the Vinyl Factory, from the beginnings of Barbour International. And as always, a few faces turned up, like Johannes Heubel, spotted having a chin wag with Paul Sculfor, Craig McGinlay and Oliver Cheshire.

   Unsurprisingly we screen printed a big 36 on the front of some of the T shirts (using a nice soft discharge ink), as a nod to John Barbour’s grandson Duncan Barbour. He was the serious motorcyclist who slid a one-piece suit into the range, called the Barbour International. It was developed for the 1936 International Six Day Trials (you were wondering what the hell ISDT meant). And that’s where the ‘International’ bit came from – we get there in the end you see.

   Attendees were then catapulted through time to 1964, when all the American team wore the jacket at the Trials in Germany, including Steve McQueen. Not surprising then that Barbour International was inspired to create the Barbour International x Steve McQueen collection back in 2011.

   One could rattle on, but it’s a pleasant evening, so time to spark up the old Bonneville T100, go for a waft about, and be inspired by screen print, T shirts, the motorcycle, Barbour International, and London Fashion Week, you know, all the really important stuff.

9. Screenprints for Edwin and Goodhood’s Kyle Stewart

   April 23, 2017 8:55 pm Comments Off on Screenprints for Edwin and Goodhood’s Kyle Stewart

   October screenprints for Edwin and Goodhood’s Kyle Stewart go live, as featured by Highsnobiety

   It makes us happy enough to produce screenprints for Edwin, ices the cake when Kyle Stewart from Goodhood produces the B Movie inspired designs, and whacks a dirty great cherry on top when it gets featured by Highsnobiety.

   We mentioned these graphic screenprints in a previous blog as an early snifter, but now it’s all live we’d like to share the film with you too – because we thought you might like it.

   To recap, the screenprints are B movie based and hand drawn. For us, Kyle manages to give the designs a nice juxtaposition of humour, with a little darkness, which after all is what screen printing is all about.

   And with Edwin being a touch famous for their denim, it’ll come as no surprise that Mr. Stewart’s six illustrations are featured on a screen printed black denim jacket, as well as short, heavyweight cotton tees in either black or white, with punk pins, and our screen printed classic canvas totes. Obvious really.

   Edwin then asked Alex Flach of Berlin Mitte’s Civilist skate store (a bit of a streetwear institution) to test the product good and proper, on the streets where it belongs. The result is this featured film, nicely recorded in the heart of the German capital.

   The collection also debuted at a special event in London, with Flashback Records’ Andi Nixon providing a Lo-fi metal, B-movie horror soundtrack and DIY punk mix, to support the evening, while Gordon’s Gin, Guinness, and October Textiles customer MEATliquor took care of all other possible requirements.

    

   And why so happy to be covered by Highsnobiety? Well you know all this stuff, but it’s one of the main online publication covering trends and news in fashion, art, music, and culture, which all sit happily side by side in one place. There are tons of sites which get up to all this stuff, but somehow this one stays just ahead of the pack when it comes to figuring out what’s going to happen next. It’s like they’ve got a fashion crystal ball – weird.

   Screenprints, Edwin, Goodhood, Kyle Stewart, Highsnobiety and October in the same sentence is not an everyday, but it’s a happy day.

   

10. October screen print T-shirts for Edwin – MEATliquor

    December 5, 2016 7:56 pm Comments Off on October screen print T-shirts for Edwin – MEATliquor

    October screen print T-shirts for Edwin, in collaboration with MEATliquor

    We’re always more than happy to screen print for Edwin jeans, but when they collaborate the messy eaters’ favourite MEATliquor, it’s a win win

    Let’s see what they have to say….

    MESSY EATERS REJOICE!

    ‘We have teamed up with burger and cocktail fanatics, MEATliquor to produce the perfect apparel for gluttons and gourmands alike.

    Designed specifically to be customised with your personal choice of stain, be it mustard, ketchup or Dead Hippie sauce, the collection comprises of three T-Shirts and three pin-badges, based on a selection of the iconic MEATliquor imagery created by “I Love Dust” over the years.

    MEATliquor co-founders Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis have been directly involved in the project, with Mr Collins remarking, “I was wearing Buffalo sauce before it was cool” and Mr Papoutsis is known to be particularly fond of egg yolk detailing.

    The limited edition collection is exclusively available in Edwin stores in London and online with customisation options on offer at your local MEATliquor restaurant’

    COME TOGETHER, EAT TOGETHER.

    

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11. October screen print T-shirts for SIMPLY PRETTY

    November 21, 2016 6:18 pm Comments Off on October screen print T-shirts for SIMPLY PRETTY

    October screen print T-shirts for SIMPLY PRETTY, to highlight Sexual Harassment, Wage inequality, and Women in Business.

    WHY

    Men and women live very different lives. The status quo isn’t good for anyone. This campaign could be about statistics. We could list male suicide rates, instances of sexual assault, the wage gap and statistics on property ownership.

    Instead Simply Pretty is about change. That starts with people.

    Silence is easy. Let’s help people say something.

    Our clothing is high-quality and wearable. It also sparks a conversation. We are asking people to think, to talk about things and challenge them.

    Change is rarely quick and it isn’t easy. We need to start somewhere.

    Each t-shirt will fund a week of a girl’s education with wonderful charity The Campaign for Female Education (Camfed). By educating people, we change the future and create better leaders.

    Simply Pretty. Empowering t-shirts in more ways than one

    The shirts are ethically produced, 100% organic cotton and flattering. We worked with a young independent artist on these designs.

    There are two styles available:

    

    Three important topics inspired our designs:

    

    Sexual Harassment

    

    Wage Inequality

    

    Women in Business

    Our shirts are ethically produced in Germany and hand-printed by October Textiles  in the UK. They have a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of £35 – nearly double the price we are selling them for.

    Every shirt funds a week of a girl’s education.

    £4 ($5) from every t-shirt will go directly to Camfed – The Campaign for Female Education. Since 1993, they have directly helped 1.6m girls go to school in 5 countries in Africa. Their aim is to support marginalized girls to go to school, succeed, and empower young women to step up as leaders of change. Over 90% of students supported by Camfed complete education.

    We worked with Harry Wyld – a promising young artist from Bristol. He has a whole portfolio of other tremendous work that we recommend you to check out!

    https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/more-than-simply-pretty-art-design#/

12. October screen print for Kickstarter fashion brand, &Sons.

    September 17, 2016 7:36 pm Comments Off on October screen print for Kickstarter fashion brand, &Sons.

    Kickstarter fashion brand launch. Hopefully the good people of October understand the fashion screen print bit, and the &Sons 50’s inspired café racer story makes perfect sense, but Kickstarter, what the Devil’s trousers is that all about?

    We’ve never taken part in Kickstarter – when we started, around the time King John was getting jip from a supposed hard man in green tights, there was no such thing. You just saved all your pocket money, waited a for a good tip, and then shoved a bundle on Lucky Lad to romp home in the 3.30 at Nottingham. We’re told though, and it may be true, that things have moved on.
    Kickstarter involves no leather or motorbikes (actually in this case it does). It looks like you make a really nice video telling people how ace café you are, offer them some kind of incentive, like if you pledge 100 quid we’ll send you a box of clothes, and hey presto, you end up with a suitcase full of cash.

    Lovely. We’ll sort that this morning, and by this time next week, we’ll be fully funded, and launching our new fashion brand like a big shiny rocket. Stand back, in case you set fire to your tweed Baker Boy cap, and soil your Selvedge denims.

    &Sons, and the importance of a Kickstarter story

    Can it be that easy? Well yes and no. If you follow the link below and see how much money &Sons have already raised, in a short space of time, you will see that it can be done. Hurrah! If we ask ourselves how it’s done though, perhaps there are two key requirements.

    Firstly, research, and the identification of a recognized niche. Making something that people actually want. We could wave an irrelevant tattooed finger at the Hipster waffling up Brick Lane here, but &Sons are special in our view – non band wagon. They have their origins in a search for real work wear that does a real job, while staying on trend. We have to work, but we don’t have to look like a bag of spanners. They have a very targeted niche, a customer who they know will want what they make, but with the added twist of workwear relevance. It’s not Shoreditch for the sake of it.

    Secondly, and our favourite story – they have story. This is key, because unlike many who begin by telling us what they’re making, &Sons quite rightly begin with telling us why they are making it. In the words of author Simon Sinek,

    ‘People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it’

    So let us start to conclude, with the words of &Sons founder Phil James himself:

    “The idea for this project came about when I found myself trying to find clothes that were functional and hardwearing for my day job but also fashionable, comfortable and ultimately something I felt proud wearing. I also wanted a certain ‘look’ but found myself shopping around from several different websites. And so… &Sons was born, catering for a discerning customer looking for a classic, timeless style.

    “We loved the idea of a Kickstarter campaign to get us off the ground as the thought that people were voting with their own investment for what they wanted to see hanging in their wardrobe, really resonated with the team. We really hope fashionable folk far and wide will dig deep and back this exciting vision.”

    From head to toe or rather ‘cap to boot’, the &Sons range includes a Baker boy cap in tweed and leather, a Chambray work shirt, cotton waistcoat, Selvedge denim jeans and handmade leather work boots amongst other pieces. All garments feature only the finest natural materials combined with the greatest craftsmanship.

    All fingers crossed here at October, that thanks to the magic of Kickstarter and screen print, fashion brands like &Sons will have a properly funded launch.