If you are in NYC this coming Saturday or East Hampton the following Saturday drop bySteven Alan and pick up something hand-crafted in the USA for dear old dad. We will be on hand customizing card-cases, wrist wear, key chains, etc. with initials, names and dates. You can choose leather colors, waxed cording and snaps to make your dad something truly unique. Each item will come with a gift bag.
June 12, 12pm – 6pm
Tribeca
103 Franklin Street
212 343 0692
June 19, 12pm – 6pm
East Hampton
52 Newton Lane
631 604 1726
My Red Wing Pecos boots next to a Revolutionary War Cannonball that was unearthed in my Jersey City backyard last summer.
Dan Dahl, the Senior Director of Red Wing Lifestyle, emailed us a while back to say that he liked what we were up to at Billykirk and if we would be be interested in a trade. “Does a bear shit in the woods?” is what I was thinking, so we soon worked out a nice trade including Black Beckman Boots, Copper Engineer Boots and some Hawthorne Muleskinner 8181’s. In our emails I had also mentioned that I had an old pair of Red Wing Pecos Boots that needed re-soling and was hoping to have them replaced with crepe soles like the ones on a pair of 875’s. Dan said that wasn’t an issue. Finally, I asked if it were possible to get a photo-montage of the boots’ transformation. Done and done. Needless to say, I am very pleased with how my refurbished Peco’s turned out.
Making quality boots and shoes is an art and to continue to do it day in and day out for over 100 years is a testament to Red Wings unyielding commitment to their customer. They are also one of the last remaining shoe and boot manufacturers in the USA.
The slide-show below from Dave Hill, Red Wing’s Design Director, shows you the re-soling process including cork-filler paste! Place your cursor over an image for a brief description and use the + symbol to speed it up.
Growing up in Minnesota, like I did, one basically has an obligation to support Red-Wing Boots of Red Wing, MN - It’s sort of like a right of passage when you get your first pair as kid. And why not? The price is right, they are built to last using top notch materials, they look great and wear-in perfectly. Back in the day, everyone who worked in the building trade, hunted, or was in farming had a pair of Red Wing boots. That hasn’t changed one lick, except that in the last 20+ years the brand has captured a completely new urban audience and one that is as passionate about their boots as a big game hunter. So, I posed a few questions to Dan:
1) Describe a typical day for the Senior Director of Lifestyle at Red Wing and what does your job entail?
I oversee the brand managers in three markets, Japan, North America and Europe. This included budgets, design etc., pretty much anything it takes to help the brand succeed. Not too exciting really but a lot of fun. I get to meet and work with a lot of great, interesting people. Travel quite a bit which is both good and bad as I have a family with 4 busy kids.
2) How, when and who got the Red Wing Japan movement started and can you elaborate on what that relationship means to Red Wing? Is it considered successful or wildly successful to the bottom line?
Japan really looked to the US for fashion inspiration in the 70’s. In the US during the 70’s, wearing overalls with work boots was popular. This trend carried to Japan and then during the 80’s expanded exponentially. Kimuya Takuya, a famous movie star, wore Red Wings in his role as a character in a popular TV series and Red Wing sales exploded. Since then, boot sales have fluctuated but the “realness” and authenticity of Red Wing resonates with the Japanese like no other boot. Red Wing is very successful in Japan thanks to a great Red Wing Japan office who love the brand and take wonderful care of our customers. The “Americana” trend is big in Japan and we are lucky to be the boot pared with authentic American and American inspired clothing.
3) Who decides on what boot or shoe to re-visit for the Heritage line or who to collaborate with? How much time and money goes into bringing back these old Heritage items? In other words, do you have a vault of old lasts you can utilize so there really is not a great deal of investment?
Aki Iwasaki is our creative lead. We have on archive all the catalogs from 1905 forward. Aki spent several weeks and scanned all the catalogs so we now have a disk with all this information. Aki has a long term plan of looks he likes and wants to bring back. His latest is the 101 Postman shoe and Postman Chukka. I can send pics if you want. We do have some old lasts and lots of old machinery to help make the old styles authentic. Some of the machines we use come from the early 1900s. Beckman is another Aki design. As the generation of fans in Japan from the 1980 matures, he wanted to offer something more formal to this 40 to 50 year old group. Beckman started Red Wing and owned a high end shoe store so a Beckman collection just made sense. Dave Hill is our design director and product lead in the US. He is the narrator of the latest Complex Magazine video. Dave is a 35 year veteran of SB Foot, the tannery owned by Red Wing. His knowledge of leather is unmatched and he helps Aki come up with authentic leathers to match with Aki’s style designs.
4) Where does the Beckman Boot and other Heritage styles fit in % wise to the overall sales at Red Wing?
Heritage styles make up about 15% of sales at Red Wing. The rest is either Red Wing work which includes some heritage styles or Vasque or Irish Setter.
5) I assume the bread and butter of the Red Wing collection is still blue collar working guys and hunters so when the powers that be see Red-Wing mentioned on all these fashion blogs and the GQ’s of the world, do they truly embrace this new demographic or see it as a passing fad?
I think they worry it is a passing fad but we have been selling strong in Japan for 20 years so I think they are starting to embrace the Heritage division. Also, we are dedicated to US made which makes us popular at the factory. Bill Sweasy is the owner of Red Wing and he is certainly a fan.
6) Are there any interesting, obscure stories at Red Wing from the past that might be interesting to the Selectism readers?
Cool story about Eric Clapton who insisted on having the clutch pedal on a new Ferrari re-worked so he could wear his 875’s. He refused to wear the driving shoes recommended by Ferrari and would only take delivery if they would change the pedal so he could drive with 875’s on. They quickly cut off the pedal and re-welded to accommodate. There are tons of stories but I am probably too new to offer the best ones. I will try to dig some up and get more to you.
7) What does the future hold for Red Wing? Any glimpses you can share on what you guys are working on would be great.
I mentioned the postman shoe and chukka above. New for Fall 2010 is also a Beckman Chukka.
The creatives over at llot have an iPhone art photography contest going until the end of June. Free to enter. The top 100 photos will be published and printed in the iPhone art photography book.
If you don’t have the ShakeItPhoto app for your iPhone you are missing out. It gives your photos a Polaroid effect. A few recent shots from the Billykirk studio using the ShakeItPhoto app.
Years ago scores of US pencil manufacturers were competing for your business. The big four were: Dixon Crucible Co., Eagle Pencil Co., Eberhard Faber and the American Lead Pencil Co. Beneath these Goliath’s of the pencil industry were a lot of smaller firms trying to get some of the market share. One of those smaller outfits was Musgrave Pencil Co. whose operation was nestled amongst the red cedars of Shelbyville, TN. Musgrave Pencil Co. was founded by Colonel James Musgrave in 1905. Mr. Musgrave was in the sawmill business and when a huge lot of old, weathered red cedar fencing came available he snapped it up with the idea of turning it all into pencils. So, off to the sawmill the fencing went and out of that spawned his pencil making empire that has now stretched past 100 years. Shelbyville would eventually be declared “Pencil City, U.S.A.” At one point there were 6 pencil manufacturers just in Bedford County, TN alone. Besides the old machinery that Musgrave uses to churn out their pencils they also continue to make their own pencil boxes next door to their pencil factory. They are also one of two US pencil manufacturers with production history pre-dating 1920 who still trace current ownership to descendants of company founders. General Pencil Co. in NJ is the other one.
When we were developing our new, smaller hand-stitched journal we designed it with “locking loops” so you could slide a pencil or pen through the loops to hold it shut. We do a lot of sketching so we felt a pencil was appropriate. After some research Musgrave proved to have all the elements we were after. They offer silver ferrules when most pencil companies only offer gold, they could print on hex shaped pencils, and, more importantly, they are one of the last pencil companies in the US that offer old style line-type embossed foil printing (not just flat printing.) This gives the pencil a vintage look.
Study avintage pencil sometime and you will notice line-type embossed foil printing in multiple fonts and type sizes + unique ferrules and erasers. Many of these older pencils are little works of art and like Bullet Pencils, lunch boxes, match books and tape measures of the past, pencils represent yet another basic commodity that used to be made with pride and have amazing detail. Sadly, there are very few pencil makers in the USA, like Musgrave, who are still willing to take the time to make something the customer wants and takes great pride in doing it. Dont’ take my word for it, give Robin, in their art dept, a call. She will make sure you get what you are after and not nail you on high minimums + her Southern hospitality is refreshing. If you are in the market for your own custom pencils be sure to get her to send you a catalog and some samples because their web-site does not show their complete range.
During the production process I had the nice people of Musgrave take some shots of our pencils being produced which you can see below.
Our new No. 231 Hand-Stitched Journal with 3.5″ x 5″ Moleskine & Billykirk Pencil being assembled in our Jersey City studio.
Brand Name Pencils has some great images of early pencils. The detail in some of these is astounding, especially the “oversized ferrule” examples. Note the “no metal” ferrules on the WWII pencils.
Pencil Pages is another collectable pencil site to check out.
Peterbilt, founded in 1939 by T. A. Peterman, a logging entrepreneur from Washington, turns 70 this year. Mr. Peterman was already buying up old military transport trucks and modifying them so he could haul freshly felled logs from the forest to the mill faster and more efficiently. At that time the best way to get logs to the mill was to float them down the river or by horse teams. So, in 1939, when Faegol Motor Co. went bust he bought up the assets and formed Peterbilt Motors Co. Peterbilt, was of course not alone in this medium and heavy duty truck manufacturing business. There were a number of big outfits like Mack, Kenworth and Ford who had years more experience and were churning out around 100 trucks a day while Peterbilt was only producing around 100 a year. Despite the low numbers Peterbilt quickly gained popularity, no doubt due to Peterman’s insistence of quality over quantity. Likewise, he would send his engineers and builders into the field to assess the wants and needs of the truckers to develop the best rigs. Once they had the valuable data they then went to the designing phase. Peterman died just 6 years later in 1945 and the company was eventually sold to Pacific Car and Foundry, which owned Kenworth in 1958. Peterbilt trucks are made in Denton, TX
Peterbilt’s first truck -1939
What young boy hasn’t been impressed by a huge chromed out semi tractor trailer with a flashy paint job? Back in the 70’s and 80’s when these rigs where mostly chrome and steel they certainly got my attention on our summer vacations to TN and FL from MN. My arm would get tired doing the universal signal for “honk your horn” to all the truckers. My father was also a CB radio buff. His handle was “T-Bone” and he could operate a CB like a seasoned pro. Perhaps I am biased, but I do believe being from the South is a prerequisite for CB radio use, it just sounds better with a thick Southern drawl and my father has one. I recall him talking for hours on his CB. It would generally go something like this, “Breaker, breaker 1/9 this is T-Bone does anybody copy?” “10-4 this is Blue Dog, I copy.” “What’s yer 20 good buddy, over?” “I’m Southbound on the 75 passing mile marker 34, over.” “I’m comin’ up on marker 15 with the pedal to metal, you got any smokies in yer back door, over?” “Bear in the grass around 18, over. “ “Copy that Blue Dog, over and out.” This honest banter amongst big rig trucker and civilian is a lasting reminder of how friendly our roadways can be.
The 1975 novelty song Convoy by C.W. McCall was a big hit in the 70’s and was the inspiration for the 1978 Sam Pekinpah film, Convoy.
This CB and trucker culture saw no bigger time then the 70’s and 80’s. Big budget movies like Smokey the Bandit, Convoy, Cannonball, White Line Fever and The Gumball Rally only further solidified their massive appeal.
Assorted 70’s & 80’s Peterbilt Trucks
More Peterbilt images can be found on these sites:
When we were thinking of a ten year anniversary logo I knew we would design it around an old labor union button. I have always liked the colors, old fonts, and how they could cram all the little bits of info onto that little celluloid disc. Obviously, they held significant meaning to the wearer but the button companies outfitting the unions seemed to take great pride in what they did as well. One such company that proved to be more than just design inspiration for our logo was G.H. (Grays Harbor) Stamp Works out of Aberdeen Washington. I had seen a number of their old political and labor union pinbacks from the 30’s and 40’s and noticed their name written on the side so I thought I would see if they were still around. Sure enough, Ron, Ken and David Windell are keeping the business alive and well that their Grandfather, Clary Windell, founded in 1916.
Besides buttons they can make rubber stamps and a plethora of other advertising specialties to fit anyone’s needs.
Grays Harbor Stamp Works circa 1919.
A sampling of their labor union buttons from the 40’s.
Our “Labor Union” 10 Year Anniversary Button. Note the states abbreviations.
Not only do they do nice work, use old machines/techniques and keep an eye on the small details they still use old receipts, labels, letterhead, neat old boxes and a typewriter to address it all. This is the sort of customer service and pride in what one does that our parents and grandparents were accustomed to and when experienced nowadays feels like you’re living in a different era.
*Give them a ring and be sure to ask for Ken – 1 800 894 3830
Winn Perry of Portland, OR, arguably one of the finer men’s shops in the NW, just got his first shipment of Colchester Rubber Co. high-top basketball sneakers and he sent us a couple of pairs. I am always a bit intrigued when an old brand re-surfaces. I remember meeting Michael Cassel from Stronghold Denimat a Project Tradeshow 5 or 6 years ago and hearing how they found the remnants of an old pair, did the research and were now trying to rebuild the brand that was likely the the first denim brand in LA. Colechester is really no different – a guy finds an old pair of sneakers in a Victorian era trunk at a estate sale for $2, does the research and tries to re-build the brand.
Oddly enough, Gary Pifer, the man who bought the shoes, has received quite a bit of flack because there are some who think the shoes he unearthed are fake and his claiming that these were the first basketball shoes was simply onebig marketing hoax (a) andhoax (b.) You be the judge. Gary, in fact, responds to the hoax allegations with a pretty plausible explanation but does not have proof to just how old they really are:
“I am the owner of the sneakers. Yes they are real. Converse has known about the sneakers for 4 years. Calling them a hoax without meeting me or seeing the actual sneakers is very lame. So I will invite David Prescovitz to come to Oceanside, Ca. to view the Original Basketball Sneakers, and while he is here, I will show him other original Colchester Rubber Company’s 1880’s Tennis Sneakers, Rubber Work Boots, Original, Catalogs, Advertisements. So as a hoaxer, I figured out an old obscure company, hatched a plan, came up with the old Basketball Sneakers idea then with no footwear experience, I was able to create an old looking shoe, by using natural gum rubber, I was able to inject red mold into antique twill and button weave adobe colored canvas along with adding mold to the cotton and celluloid shoe laces and tips. Then I was able to vulcanize the sole into a solid slab of rubber leaving in the impurities, then I poured melted rubber into a hand-carved turkey feather design mold while hand carving the cooling rubber with finer details. Earth to David, I may have a Moderate IQ, but I ain’t that smart. It was much easier, finding the Original 1892 Sneakers.”
It’s a pretty intriguing story and hopefully someone will come along to adequately pin-point when they were made. I tend to believe the shoes are indeed old but seem more modern than what shoe companies were churning out in the late 1800’s especially since the shoes CRC was offering at the same time were quite a bit different. Perhaps another person tried to revive the brand in the 20’s or 30’s. All speculation and hearsay of course…..
An e-mail to Gary has not been anwered as of yet. I will update the post if I get one.
**UPDATE
I received an email from Craig Huck, Strategic Advisor at Sneaker LLC, Inc.
“I oversee operations for Sneakers LLC which holds the license to Colchester and several other heritage shoe brands for Gary. Will see if I can answer your questions to your satisfaction.
Your analogy is a good, regarding the futuristic prototype. These shoes are indeed original, and dated 1892. The working on the sole alone predates technology from the 20’s or 30’s. Regarding the “hoax” theory floating around, we believe that it can be shown to be fueled by a competitor in the marketplace, who made some statements to one of the sites, but failed to disclose his own shoe line which bears a stricking resemblence to what he has denouced as fraud. The uppers to his shoes are a different material but the basic model is very very similar. We have chosen not to respond any longer, rather are letting our shoes speak for themselves.
The shoes actually cost 50 cents, which is one of the best purchases I have ever heard of!”
The Auto Ego column written by Richard Chang in the New York Times is one of my favorite Sunday reads. Unfortunately it isn’t a weekly, coming out only around once a month. One of Chang’s recent stories was on inventor Richard Fuchs of Simsbury, Conn. and his 1971 Ford Mustang which has ticked off nearly 620,000 miles and 12,339 hours behind the wheel. Richard is 81 and bought it off the lot new in 1971 for $3,310 or just over a dollar a pound. This, on the outset, isn’t terribly interesting however, Mr. Fuchs has managed to log every single mile he has made with his trusty 351 Cleveland V-8 trying to suss out the best fuel economy scenarios along the way. The time and effort he has puts into his car is truly astounding and should be a lesson to all of us car owners. He has two 2″ thick binders filled with his many travels. The first line in his log reads, “First drive, 13 miles, from dealership.” “I averaged 16.3 miles per gallon and spent $6.81 on gas.” After reading through the story I couldn’t help but think if this guy was so into fuel consumption why did he buy a big V-8. Chang must have thought the same thing and at the end of the article asks Richard that very question to which Richard replied, “Every man has his weakness, it can be booze, women, gambling. I have a weakness. I can’t refuse a challenge.”
Audio slide show of Richard and his 1971 Ford Mustang HERE.
I found Townes Van Zandt later in life and have enjoyed his soulful, introspective sounds for a number of years but his 2003 posthumous album, “In the beginning” is very special. These recordings had disappeared for 35 years until his late wife, Jeanene Van Zandt , found them and put it all together. It comprises Van Zandt’s first professional studio recordings and shows a bittersweet glimpse into the heart and soul of the young artist. These 1966 demos, recorded two years before his official debut album, are filled with folk, country, and blues influences and find Van Zandt style already laced with tales of losers, gamblers, ne’er-do-wells, and a certain fatalistic restlessness that would embody his life’s work. If you are a new listener to Van Zandt this album will send you out searching for more.
I’m a tool guy. I like mine old, drop forged and made in the USA. There is no doubt that a brand new set of Craftsman or Snap-on tools will do the job but in my eyes there is nothing quite like using my grandfathers old wrenches, folding ruler or Estwing leather wrapped claw hammer. We use quite a few hand-me-down and flea market found tools at the Billykirk design studio. One of our larger tools acquisitions is this C. Parker & Co. bench vice. I pulled this out of the Manischewitz Factory that was across the street from us. It was covered in flour probably dating back to the 30’s.
Like many nostalgic US made collectibles, the antique tool business isn’t go away anytime soon and as more and more US based tool manufacturers succumb to the Far East and their low prices perhaps these relics are all we’ll have left.
If you are interested in old tools and their provenance Patented Antiques has a great collection to peruse. Everything from levels and chisels to sewing machines and planes. Speaking of planes, I am reminded of Gustave Caillebotte’s famous painting, The Parquet Floor Polishers, from 1875. While I truly appreciate the look and feel of a well made antique plane there is something to be said about an electric floor sander.
Partner with brother Kirk in the leather accessories company, Billykirk Inc. When I am not designing and taking care of the day to day operations at BK I can be found gardening with my wife Tracy, digging for dinosaurs with my daughter Matilda and burping the latest Bray, Willa May, who was born on Elvis's birthday (1/8/10.) I also enjoy boot sales in England, running with our dog Tuck, cycling, exploring the East Coast and working on my house.
