Tender Co. Denim

[Christmas In A Submarine.]

that looks great Bill. I'd lather up in that for suuuure.

[mtchfrnk]

I have smelled that soap. It's an experience.

So I finally got myself a pair of 132s. These are really special jeans!

(On the way to a carpentry call at a dance theater in Chelsea.)

(Overdyed denim in subway lights)

[Snake]

Come on now. We need better fit pics!

132 doesn't look too baggy at all. Looks slimmer on you than on Bill.

[poly800rock]

do you still have the black belt with the old buckle? i fell in love with the making of the buckle story!

[tigerformula]

Hey, is there a plan to make more of the printed shirts by Dekk for spring?

[rodeo bill]

lovely mitch! and I think your fit pics are rather artistic:rolleyes:

poly, thank you! the 'old' buckle isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I believe there are still a couple of the black belts around in a couple of stores- pm me and I can let you know. It'll be available in dark chocolate brown oak bark tanned leather for the second season anyway, as well as tan.

tigerfomula, nope the Dekk Ts are just for the first season (Autumn/Winter). Second season printed Ts (you heard it here first...) were drawn in 1729 by a Swiss draftsman.

thanks so much for the support everyone, I'll put up some more pictures over the next couple of weeks

[Joseph Hill]

Every time I visit this thread, I find I missed a whole bunch of stuff you should get repped for. Who'd have thought you'd put out the coolest bar of soap on the planet? Any word on who will carry it?

[grooveholmes]

I asked Bill the same thing! Hickorees, Unionmade, Superdenim and Tenue de Nimes, I believe.

[zissou]

Wow, I just found this thread. It's great to see a small operation like this be successful and turn out some great projects. I'll have to do a careful read through when I have the time.

Bill- are you harvesting the woad and extracting the indigo yourself? We have a lot of Isatis tinctoria here int he western US, where it is an invasive weed. I gave it a try last spring, and have been toying with the idea of a larger production this coming spring. I really need to just dye some bandannas with what I have, but the fabric options around here kinda suck.

[stresMaldo]

Wow... this is easily the most fascinating thread that I've ventured into thus far.

thank you for posting all that you have..

[altemp]

Coolest topic I've seen. Having such extensive behind-the-scenes insight and the story behind each piece just makes me want everything. The first time I've ever considered $95 for a t-shirt and I think I'm going to pull the trigger.

[rodeo bill]

Bill- are you harvesting the woad and extracting the indigo yourself? We have a lot of Isatis tinctoria here int he western US, where it is an invasive weed. I gave it a try last spring

Zissou, thanks so much for linking this up! I saw that thread a while ago, but somehow never came across these posts- really impressive. I've been working with Ian (in the pictures if you flick back), who grows and processes woad in Norfolk, England, and I've been helping out with the dyeing. I'm also using natural indigo from a community farm in El Salvador.

The more I've been learning the more fascinating natural dyes become. Weld (natural yellow)'s coming over the horizon for the second season- I'll put up a few photos when everything starts to come in.

Thanks again everyone for the support, it's much appreciated

[rnrswitch]

What about logwood? It's suppose to create some pretty cool blacks. Been wanting to try it at home.

[rodeo bill]

What about logwood? It's suppose to create some pretty cool blacks. Been wanting to try it at home.

well i'd rather not say too much, things are only just starting to come through, but wait a couple of months and your question may be answered (great minds etc)

[grooveholmes]

Just got my soap from Hickorees (special thanks to Mitch)... Smells delightful, and the packaging is a nice touch. Well done, William!

[Happy Hooligan]

^^ cool soap!

[rodeo bill]

lovely photo holmes:) I'm really glad this soap project has gone down so well!

I'm starting to send boxes off for the second season now, so when I get a minute I'll put up to some photos. First off though, here's a little special that I think has turned out really nicely!

My good friend Lewis at superdenim called me with a request from one of his customers- a tattoo artist who wants a denim apron for tattooing in. Could I think something up? As I'm sure everyone here knows, there's a great heritage of denim aprons, and some really lovely vintage ones turn up in quite a few of the denim books. After looking through some different ways of making aprons, and drawing up some ideas, I went with two lined pockets (cut on the selvage at the mouth, so they don't get too thick), fastened with herrigbone tapes, rivetted to the body for extra support. Using Tender's nice sturdy 16oz denim cut on the selvage, you don't need to worry about finishing the sides, which could otherwise get bulky.

I made up a quick mockup, and it struck me that it would be nice if the top/chest was a bit more substantial than the skirt, to give it a little bit of structure. Also as it's denim, I thought it wouldn't do any harm to line the section that comes into contact with Tshirts etc. So I sewed in a calico lining. The calico (shuttle woven in England) shrinks at around the same rate as the denim (ditto in Japan), so I didn;t need to worry about it getting baggy after a wash,

Here's a finished apron sewn up:

as this is such a small order, they went in for a soak in the bath...

the next morning, the water had gone pretty green from the indigo in the fabric, and they'd shrunk down a lot. Tender's unsanforized denim loses up to 20% in the warp, which is what gives it a really nice texture after it's shrunk, but also explains why it takes almost 4m to make a pair of jeans....

Here are the aprons hung up to dry:

[rodeo bill]

finally, to give them a bit of personality:

eh voila:rolleyes: I hope I'll get a photo of one in the tattoo parlour soon, and hopefully put it up here!

[rodeo bill]

Things are starting to go out for the second season, and are beginning to appear online:) I'll put up some photos as soon as I get a second, if people are interested. In the mean time, here are a couple of detail shots of some type 900 jackets done specially for a lovely new shop in Clerkenwell, London. I met the guys from Out of Town at a party for an exhibition of some mutual friends', and over free exhibition beers we got talking about denim (Jon, one of the owners, was wearing some rather fine LVCs). Their place is a little cafe/bar/vintage homeware & clothes shop, and they also have a very small selection of new stuff, including, as of later in the week when I drop them off, these:

lovely indigo-dyed wool soft tweed overcoating (used for the button-out lining):

I found this in a woollen mill I'm working with in the Cotswolds, south west England. This was a short length left in their stockrooms. I went through huge old stock books to find it:

special plain front buttons, just for these jackets:

anyone in the area I thoroughly recommend a machiatto and cheese on toast!

[grooveholmes]

gorgeous. the hues and construction on these look phenomenal.

[oboy_oboy]

^ yup. really amazing wool/denim combo.

[Snake]

Some items of Tender SS11 collection is available at superdenim.co.uk now. The pullover workshirt looks great. I like the new belt buckle design too. The new woad-dyed T-shirt is available in XL now.

Edit: SS11 guidebook is available for viewing as well.

[zissou]

Zissou, thanks so much for linking this up! I saw that thread a while ago, but somehow never came across these posts- really impressive. I've been working with Ian (in the pictures if you flick back), who grows and processes woad in Norfolk, England, and I've been helping out with the dyeing. I'm also using natural indigo from a community farm in El Salvador.

The more I've been learning the more fascinating natural dyes become. Weld (natural yellow)'s coming over the horizon for the second season- I'll put up a few photos when everything starts to come in.

My pleasure. I'm hoping to be able to do a much larger harvest in the next couple of years, and extract the indigo via fermentation. I have a friend who has studied native plants and their uses for the past 30 years, and would definitely be interested in learning more about natural plant dyes.

[grooveholmes]

According to the blog, Okiya has already received the spring line... I need to save up for those 130s...

[rodeo bill]

thanks for the links guys, and HAPPY CHRISTMAS

As I mentioned, the indigo wool-lined jackets with plain face buttons went over to Out of Town last week (in my suitcase). Here are a few pictures. Hope this doesn't seem too shameless, just it's a really lovely place, and most likely a bit off the radar for most folks here, even Londoners. Sorry for the rather crappy pics:

here's Sean, behind the bar, at the back of the shop:

all kinds of good stuff:

vintage waxed jacket:

bass weejuns, and some lovely knits:

rather good cake:

another of the owners, Peter, changing the menu:

and an [ahem] rather nice jacket on the kitchen table:

then back across london, with an empty suitcase and an oak bark leather satchel, a few months in (of which more to follow...)

happy new year everyone!

[ccmjim]

just read the whole tread. fantastic keep it up.

[grooveholmes]

Well, my trifecta of new jeans is complete-- I am now broke as a joke, but have all the pairs I need for a long, long, time. I mixed it up and went with a slim, quick-fading jean (Triple Works Future Indigo) and two jeans with looser fits (Amoskeag XX Millworker and Tender 132s).

Holy cow. These are amazing jeans. I am still unsure about the fit-- I'm not used to a pair of jeans with so much room throughout. These feel BIG. They are certainly fuller than the Millworkers, and yet... I really love it. Actually my first thought was, "These jeans smell good." They have a very pleasant, almost sweet fragrance like jasmine tea. Weird, I know, but that was my first impression.

If you've followed this thread, I don't need to post macro shots-- these are really well-made, beautiful, artisanal jeans. All the details are even better in person! Plus, my camera is for shit, as you can tell in these photos. However, we haven't had many fit pics of the 132s, so I feel somewhat vindicated. Snake was kind enough to post some beautiful shots of his Tender jacket, but beyond that, this thread lacked consumer representation of the wonderful pieces in the Tender line.

So I got the size 3, thinking they would have a 32 waist (as listed on Superdenim and Hickorees). However, these measure at 34! I'm not sure if I need to see about the size 2s. My waist is a 33.5, and these have just a tad bit of room, so we'll see. It's a bit hard to gauge, since these are clearly made to fit comfortably on the hips, which these do. Like most, I'm accustomed to sizing with a snug fit, to let the fabric stretch with repeated wear. I haven't had a chance to hem these-- they've still got a 37-inch inseam, so I had to roll the cuffs several times over...

Anyways, congrats and thanks to William and company, for producing an amazing product!

[Snake]

132 looks great. I like the fit.

My 900 jacket has that unique sweet floral smell as well. Doesn't last though.

[LC_Miey]

the slim jeans looks nicee..

here is the picture from Okiya

EDIT: just read the description...they are dip-dyed in woad too *blush

[grooveholmes]

The photos don't really bring out the true color. The lighting makes for a cool photo, but sacrifices color. Lineage of Influence just posted some pics of the 130s. The Denim Debate site has some nice fit pics of the 130s too.