“Why aren’t you writing a blog?”

And so it begins. Our first blog post. We’ve taken the first step to having somewhere to provide updates, share experiences and ramble on. (hopefully keeping rambling to a minimum)

A quick introduction, we’re inspired by nature to create and make both practical and beautiful clothing  and accessories, and wooden Sunglasses sparked it all. When we first got a pair in 2014 and felt the subtle grain on such an iconic fashion item, we fell in love. Seasons passed as we developed the nature inspired wayfarer and sought after new renewable woods to use. For summer 2016 we will have our full range available.

Alongside the shades; hats, coats and T-shirts are all being designed and we’ve kept that natural feel throughout. We didn’t want to just be another run of the mill ‘independent UK fashion name’, it’s not really what we’re about. That’s why we painstaking create all our products to match what we envisaged, which does mean a lot of trial and error. The most time consuming project has been to create our own hand printed wooden badges, literally made from slices of wood. They’re pretty original to be honest and you can see them on our beanie hats.

We also spoke to local clothing manufacturer Supersport, who mainly specialize in sports and work wear but have the tools and experience to create a massive variety of textile goods. We had them create some cotton embroidered patches but before getting them made we had a tour around their factory. We were amazed to see a workforce of local women manufacturing textile goods. We had to support them so you can expect to see their work on our ‘Gradbach’ photography rucksacks.

Wool hats? A must in the winter. We wanted wool from down the road, spun for us and knitted together locally.  So that’s what we got. After spending some time with the spinning group of the Staffordshire Rare Breeds Survival Trust we had found the perfect wool. The ladies have their own flocks of rare breed sheep which they will spin for us so we can make some truly one of a kind beanie hats. One of the ladies does have a mill where she can fully process the fleece to any specification. Speaking to groups like this lets us can get more environmentally friendly materials that really are locally made by local sheep (with the help from some farmers wife’s).

So some exciting times, and hopefully, posts ahead. We’ll keep you informed while we continue to speak to local producers and play around with materials so we can create new clobber that lets you Wear Nature.