Tender Co. Denim

[Marcaster]

Hi, 

 

I got bored this sunday and i thought i would snap some pics of my Tender stuff... 

Hope you'll like it

Bought at Okiya appr. one year ago, 4 machine washes, air dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aries]

^^ jeans looking great Andrew, thank you for posting! Please keep us up to date 

 

Thank you very much for your purchase! I hope it's with you safely by now. I'm afraid the only place stocking Tender in London at the moment is Trunk LABS, but they only have accessories, and aren't open for a few more days.... Very sorry there's nowhere else at the moment- if there are specific garments you're interested in please let me know, and at least I may be able to send you some detailed photos of textures etc., or a better description. This is an unfortunate thing about running such a small brand in a global marketplace! As Andrew suggests, the best bet in this vicinity at the moment is Peggs & Son, in Brighton- if you're over that way I couldn't recommend them highly enough.

 

Thanks as always Bill, first class service as usual.

[rodeo bill]

^very welcome, and thank you! ^^Marcaster thank you for posting- looking lovely. Nice first post too 

 

A good little interview was published recently in the Australian map magazine under their Dreamers series- it's an incredibly flattering group to be placed in, with the like of Alice Waters, Ferran Adria, Geoffrey Rush, Jane Birkin, and our very own Corsillo Brothers. Here's mine:

 

 

WILLIAM KROLL

The British steam train era is one that evokes great nostalgia for a time where longevity, quality and provenance were all fundamental aspects of working life. One where people would put great care into everystitch of their creation. This is the driving force for William Kroll and his English-made clothing label Tender, a dapper collection of denim and other garments and accessories designed to become beloved staples in their owners’ wardrobes.  In addition to Tender, William and his wife Deborah also run the online shopfront The Trestle Shop, which sells more unconventional and experimental items – often one-off or limited-edition pieces – that challenge the status quo of mainstream design.

 

I grew up in Oxford … which is where my parents still live. My grandparents were very creative people and my grandpa in particular was a big influence on me. He was the art editor for British Vogue in the 1940s and 1950s and also worked for House & Garden and The World of Interiors â€“ he did some really cool stuff. So he was always very keen to have me drawing and making things, and seeing things with my own eyes. He would take me to see pretty challenging and exciting things, like exhibitions, contemporary art shows and events at auction houses. It really opened my eyes to a lot of things.

I’ve always enjoyed making stuff … and when I was about 12 or 13, my best friend and I started to really get into photography. We built a darkroom in the attic of his parents’ house and started developing photos. That really got me excited about making things for myself. So I started making bits of furniture and banging things together – and then I started making clothes.

I made my first pair of jeans … when I was 14. I hadn’t been particularly interested in fashion but I was interested in finding out how clothes were made. Jeans seemed the easiest to follow because you could see what had been done since there weren’t any linings. I found a pair of jeans and I liked how they had contrast stitching. To this day, that’s something that I really like about the attitude of denim – there’s nothing that’s hidden and all the construction is evident. It’s really quite honest.

I came to London … when I was 18, to go to Central Saint Martins to study menswear. While I was there, I had the opportunity to take a year off. I wound up working at Hackett, which used to have a bespoke department. They wanted to ramp that up a little, so they got in a really fantastic tailor, John, who had a place on Savile Row called Tobias. I was allowed to stop being a shop assistant and become his full-time apprentice for about 18 months and he taught me a huge amount. He was unusual in that he was a tailor and a cutter, so he was making both the patterns and the clothes. That was the first time I came into contact with really high-end handmade clothing and I’ve certainly taken a lot from that into what I’m doing now.

After I graduated … I got a job with EVISU and ended up in Hong Kong working for them, which took me to Japan quite a lot. I met a lot of amazing people and really began to understand why people say that Japan is very exciting for people making things. I ended up deciding that I was going to leave my job in Hong Kong and go to Japan to try to learn indigo dyeing – I’d met a guy who had set up his own little atelier and he said he would teach me. Since then, I go back to Japan two or three times a year now and a big part of my market is there.

I don’t intentionally take risks … it’s more about doing something I feel is right at a certain time but nobody else is particularly interested in it commercially. But I think it’s worth doing things that you really believe in because there are a lot of good products and if you’re not doing something you think is interesting, it’s difficult to present it as something you think people should take notice of.

I’m getting better … at riding the crests and falls that come with running a business – the little ups and downs that come all the time. Yes, you’re always working and you’re always thinking about it, but it’s exciting and I wouldn’t change it for the world. And it’s really nice to not have a boss!

I’m really proud that … people like what I’m doing – it’s really cool to think that people in their private lives are enjoying the products that I’m making.

I wear a lot of my prototypes … so that I can test them. Right now I’m wearing next season’s socks, where I was trying out a new dye, and shirt that shrunk too much so we changed the fabric. And I’m also wearing a pair of jeans that we put a cell phone pocket on, but I don’t think the design will see the light of day on anyone else. Plus I have on the first Tender watch and the first pair of Tender glasses, so I think I’m wearing five different experimental pieces at the moment! I end up with quite a lot of ‘Frankenstein clothes’ but it’s nice because it also means that, by the time things are coming out in public production, I have a version that has been worn for a year, so I can show people how things will look. That’s a really important part of the way I design and I really think that you’ve got to live with something before you put it out there.

In the end … it’s my name on the tin. There’s a huge amount of stuff out there in the market, but there’s also a huge amount of very good stuff, so it’s really important that I do something that I feel is genuinely different. I guess that’s a pretty arrogant thing to suggest and it’s a big ask, but I just love making stuff and I love seeing things that I’ve designed come into creation. Hopefully that comes through in the products and makes them feel personal, because I think people respond to that.

I’ve had a lot of people who have really inspired me …  Certainly my grandpa – my wife and I now live in the house that was my grandparents’, so there are lots of things that remind me of him daily. But then there are also so many other people who have really helped me out and shown me really interesting things. I’ve been very lucky because I’ve been taught by some excellent people. Even my woodwork teacher when I was in high school encouraged me to make stuff for myself and he wasn’t too worried about whether or not I was on the syllabus. He let me use the woodworking machines and use up their stock and make interesting things.

I find peace … at home. I got married in summer last year and my wife and I have a great home. We enjoy cooking a lot and we’ve been working on our garden recently. There are some lovely plants that were planted by my grandmother probably 40 or 50 years ago and have since completely run riot. We have huge camellia bushes and everything was covered in ivy, so we’ve been clearing that out. It’s nice just being out in the garden and getting muddy.

I don’t believe in a god … I’m an atheist, I guess. I believe in being nice to people and that you ought to be a good person.

My mum used to say … that if somebody is annoying you, it’s probably because you see that irritating aspect in yourself. And I think that’s very true. If things aren’t going well with someone and you try to imagine yourself in the other person’s shoes, I think it helps you get along with them. It really teaches you an element of self-awareness.

Tender

London, United Kingdom

Written by – Mikki Brammer

"It’s worth doing things that you really believe in ..."

 

[Youthxattak]

Personally my favorite interview yet.

[hemi]

Fantastic!

[rodeo bill]

^thank you! I have to say I agree- Mikki, who wrote it, did the interview on skype and seems really great. It's a fantastic series- worth a glance in general.

[LFC4ever]

It's inspiring and somehow gratifying to see someone pursue their passion, develop their natural talent, create differentiated products that others appreciate and make part of the fabric of their lives. Best ofluck for the future!

[Marcaster]

Dammit i just lost the auction for the woad dyed tee...

[Mvk190]

Here are couple of pictures of my dad in his FHUTT x Tender Co. jeans!

 

 

Edited June 19, 2013 by Mvk190

[rodeo bill]

^looking good!

 

I just gave my pair of Tender/For Holding Up The Trousers jeans a hot wash for the first time (at 90C). Here's what happened to the patch:

 

 

 

Proper jerky   I'll give it a grease when they're dry 

 

Sorry for the lack of updates lately- lots going on personally and with the brand. More soon!

[Thor]

A bit late but many congrats William. You are spot on, being a dad is the best thing ever.

[Thor]

Post x 2. Sorry

Edited June 28, 2013 by Thor

[rodeo bill]

^thank you very much! yes it really is.

 

I just had a new batch of hides tanned: most of them are unstained oak bark or wattle tanned for the main production of belts and wallets, but I did a couple of skins in black. These have only been stained on the grain side, with the flesh left unstained, and unfinished. After staining, the grain side is heavily greased (with the same tallow as our boot grease is made from), leaving a white bloom on the surface. This will rub off pretty quickly, but looks pretty cool!

 

Now up on the trestle shop are:

 

Bronze wire buckle belts:

 

Bronze keeper buckle belts:

 

Wallets:

 

Coin purses (black on the front, brown on the back):

 

And watch straps:

[clayton]

those new belts look swell. 

 

if i didn't already own an oxidized keeper belt I'd look at grabbing one! I should take an updated photo, it's been almost 8 months of wear. 

 

creativity is my favourite part of tender co

[rodeo bill]

^ thank you  and yes please do post pics of your belt

 

A new magazine, Broadway & Thresher, launched today, and is well worth a look. The current issue's available online here. They did a nice little piece and Q&A about Tender:

[Graeme]

I like the new belts a lot too.

Any plans of doing the S buckle in that leather?

[rodeo bill]

Thanks! Not at the moment, but do email me if you're interested. I can't promise it'll be any time soon, but next time I put in an order it might be a possibility.

[clayton]

my tender co goods

 

original - Mid-September 2012

 

 

now - July 1st 2013 - Canada Day

 

 

 

outside natural light

 

 

and my long sleeve woad cambric tail shirt

 

 

 

[rodeo bill]

^looking terrific- thank you! happy belated canada day 

[rodeo bill]

Some nice new ceramics and glass in this morning and now up on the Trestle Shop:

 

Cobalt blue glazed carafes:

 

 

Lemon yellow glazed mugs and beakers:

 

 

And a mouth blown glass bottle:

 

[rodeo bill]

I'm at the factory today, going through everything and putting buttons and tags onto garments for the next delivery. Just opened a particularly nice box  :

 

[redragon]

 

^

I spy a white bear?

[rodeo bill]

yep, he looks a bit lonely doesn't he?!

[rodeo bill]

Just up online today is a new project with my friend Takashi Okabe. He's got a kickstarter going here for his new brand, Fukushima Projects. It's worth watching the video- the plan is to get manufacturing going in the area devastated in 2011. Taka's own brand is Allevol, and he's the Tokyo editor of Men's File, so he knows his stuff. 

 

This isn't a charity T- the business will be run for profit, but I think it makes a really positive message, and if it scales could make a real difference.

 

They're starting with basic Ts, with jersey loopwheeled in Wakayama, but he plans to expand to a full line eventually. The kickstarter also has collaboration pieces with Tender, The Superior Labor, Inverallan, Allevol, and Men's File

 

Here's the Tshirt print I did for this project:

"We are pleased to announce that we are collaborating with Tender Co for making special T-shirt for Fukushima Projects. William, the founder of Tender Co, has been Japanese affectionist and for his passion, he learned how to dye indigo in historically well-known atelier in Okayama Japan. In order to support the project, he came up with this great design, using the signature elephant design with "Made in Fukushima" details on. Thank you William for your support!"

[rodeo bill]

And now for something completely different... it's been a while since I put up any making photos. Here's the production of a new product up tonight on the Trestle Shop- natural beeswax leather polish.

 

The main ingredient is English unfiltered beeswax. This comes in blocks direct from the hive and smells incredible- there are little pockets of almost-black honey in it, too.

 

 

You have to melt the wax very slowly, and as evenly as possible. If you're careful the dirt in the wax falls to the bottom. A few things floated to the top though, which I carefully pulled out. Here are the original makers:

 

 

It took quite a bit of experimenting to get the mix just right, but a blend of the melted beeswax, linseed oil, and pine resin spirit produces a lovely clear liquid which smells amazing, and will set to just the right consistency to rub into leather and polish out perfectly:

 

 

The Leather wax is poured into printed tobacco tins. As it sets it makes really cool patterns:

 

Boxed up and ready for use:

 

Here it is going onto a sneak preview of a new boot shape...:

[onionknight]

Love tenders! 

 

Currently want some 133 beaverteen trews if anyone has some up for secondhand sale? in a 2 or 3?

 

I'm in London.

[rodeo bill]

^thank you and welcome to superfuture!

 

I'm at the factory today. Natu's cutting out scarves:

this type of fabric can cause the electric knife to jump, pulling his hand into the blade. He showed me a scar this has given him in the past. Now he wears chain-mail gloves...:

 

Earlier I started on ironing transfers onto some freshly-dyed socks:

 

 

 

Now I'm folding shirts ready to be packed. Sneak preview of a couple of new colours!:

[seedling]

Love that colour! 

 

I've spoken to WIll over email and he's super helpful and really interesting.

 

Here's my 130 woads and 129 wattle dyed jeans that I got photos of for Reddit. You can see the discussion here.

 

Apologies for the shoddy photos.

 

[kellybear]

@rodeo bill

hello, are you planing to produce some female size products? i pretty like your T-shirt and jeans, but the size is far too large for me, ( only wear W26~27, maybe xs for T-shirt). it is not easy to buy your product, do you have any distributor in China？ Hong Kong maybe？ 

[rodeo bill]

^^Seedling, thank you! Both pairs look great on you :-)

^Kellybear, thank you very much for your interest. I run down to a size 1 (XS/28" waist), but availability all depends on what shops order. In HK Delstore stocks Tender. Please could you email me ([email protected]) for some more details- I may have some items in your size!