Ask Giles Anything
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I'm a relative newcomer on here, although I have lurked for a while, so this has probably been answered somewhere else. Since you have said that you pretty much wear one pair for a year, what do you do with all of your old/retired pairs (since they all look pretty amazing once you are done with them)?
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They either go into the archives here, or we send them out to retailers for them to display….
Figured it was probably something like that…definitely display worthy. Mine just go in my closest, haha.
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Giles-
I've been curious but have had problems forming the question to go from my brain out my mouth hole.
What % of the factories time that Haraki uses are just spent making Iron Heart clothing? Do the factories make clothes for other brands too? If so, could we assume those other brands have the same quality construction as Iron Heart but without the proprietary materials that Haraki weaves? I can see another Japanese company boasting, "Sewn by the same people who make Iron Heart's famous 21 oz. jeans or western shirts)
I feel like i could ask a ton of supporting questions, but I think I have it laid out there.
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Jeff,
We use a number of factories, all of who make clothes for other brands. I do not know what percentage, but it is rising all the time as we grow and most other brands in our space are treading water at best. In fact, we had a Zoom with H on Tuesday and we discussed the fact that our single biggest constraint on growth was how much time we could/can get in the factories. Haraki has just started negotiating more time in each factory. I gave him his opening gambit "you want to back a winner or a loser?"…......Re: the quality, perhaps there are various "levels" and therefore price-points for making stuff. I do know that Haraki is an absolute sticker for quality, and if I know, you can bet your bottom Dollar that the factories know that too. Add to this, Haraki is extremely highly respected in the whole Amekaji space, would you want to irritae him?
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@Giles , filed under "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," I wonder whether there will ever be a situation where it makes sense for IH to vertically integrate some of their lines. I guess you really have to be at the right scale and rhythm to pull that off and perhaps companies like The Flat Head were more vulnerable if they were more integrated than IH. I could see the share of production for a factory trending up until it hits 100%, and then a "feck it, let's buy you out" thing happening, but it seems like the flexibility to source different factories works out awfully well for all of us and I don't understand how in-housing would impact internal costs, quality, and flexibility… but it intrigues me as a topic.
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What was wrong with the IHSH-102? I had the maroon and cream but sold it because the arms were too short for me. Otherwise I thought it was a good shirt.
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I should have been more specific, It was this one )post above edited for clarity):
Turquoise/Grey Ultra Heavy Buffalo Check Work Shirt
IHSH-102-TGTowards the end of the article.
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I seem to remember a release schedule posted but cannot find. Am i mistaken?
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Thanks
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Hi Giles hope you had a good fishing trip. I just moved into a house that needs work. Some parts of it might more reasonably be called a shit hole. For example, this 15cm bathroom scab was where the previous owner pulled a toilet roll holder out of the plaster and brick. But there are also cracks to the outside walls. Can you or Les recommend a good builder who can repair brickwork and do general repairs in Eastney?
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That is such an interesting read. And you are 100% right with your conclusion that people (me at least) don't buy for the weight, but for the quality.
I can imagine though, that customer get drawn in by the heavy, by that get to learn the quality and, finally, then opt for all the other amazing products, heavy or not. Am I right with that?
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That was my journey, @weftyarn , though I would add the level of service and ethics that the international team consistently demonstrates figures in as well.
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@mclaincausey Absolutely! The whole experience is unmatched.
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Man, @Haraki-san is such an honorable gentleman. Love hearing stories like this from Giles' interview:
He’s really honourable and fair when he comes up with something for us, or we come up with something like the 666 or the 555. He refuses to take it, even if I say he can…often for years, because it was our idea.
I feel like ethics are in decay everywhere I turn. I keep being disappointed by people not honoring their word or consistently living by a moral standard. I love supporting people who understand that morals and ethics matter.
Anyway, it's a great piece and everyone should read it.
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How old are you? You seem to be getting after it pretty well.
