On the 29th of April 2023, after 4 years, 3 months and 6 days of development, our first jacket went on sale.

It took just 34 hours, 24 minutes and 16 seconds to sell out.

Given that each jacket is hand crafted in limited numbers, the process of getting from order through to delivery isn’t always plain sailing. That said, it’s incredibly important to me that our customers are kept fully informed and up to date throughout production.

Rather than keep everything behind closed doors, what follows is the ninth full production update email that was sent out to our first customers.

We're on the home stretch!

I know I always say this but I really am going to keep this one short(ish). 

I collected all the jackets from Bolton on Friday and dropped them off at the studio in Leicester first thing Saturday morning.

Right now, each of them are at various stages of completion. A handful of them just need the buttons sewing on, some need the lining stitching in and others need the fronts attaching to the backs and the sleeves to be connected.

Although I could start sending them out one by one as they're completed, I'm aware of how unfair that could feel to whoever gets theirs last.

That said, the weather's decidedly Autumnal and the people need their jackets! 

Having promised delivery dates before, I'd understand if you took this with a pinch of salt but I've put in a hard deadline of the 5th of October at the studio.

I'll then need two days to collect everything, do a final quality check across all of the jackets before packing them up and organising the courier collection. 

That means you should get your jacket towards the week beginning October the 9th. You'll get an email with tracking details as soon as it's collected so you can follow its journey.

The devil's in the detail.

As I drove the return leg of the 5 hour round trip to Bolton for the third time in two weeks, I felt lighter than I have in months. 

There have been so many actual delays and just as many near misses since you secured your jacket in May.

There were the customs issues with the lining and then I had to reorder it when the quilters missed the layer of Dypril. The studio in Leicester relocated in June and as you know, Meredith (the tailor who was originally set up to stitch the keyhole button holes) retired the week before the jackets were supposed to be dropped off with him.

If I've ever given the impression that I've taken each of these delays in my stride, I'm pretty sure my wife would argue otherwise!

So I'll admit, there was a part of me that was questioning whether the keyhole button holes were as important as I felt they were. Were they really worth the anxiety and the effort?

Now that they're done, I can 100% say yes. 

Especially when I compared them to an earlier prototype that I'd had made with standard button holes.  

It's incredible how such a seemingly small detail can make all the difference to the overall jacket. 

So, this may very well be the penultimate production update. 

I'll be in touch again just before your jacket's collected but in the meantime, I'll be constructing boxes and finalising details to get it safely delivered to you.

That said, if you need to change your address for any reason, please let me know asap so that I can update it in the system.

Nearly there!

Thanks,

Mark Warman
Founder

P.S. The photo at the top of this entry was taken by my good friend Neil Kates who kept me company on this latest trip. On the way back, he spotted that we were passing through the very northern point of the Peak District and set us off on a detour. 

If ever you need a commercial photographer (in the UK or otherwise), please do get in touch. You can check out his work on Instagram.