Tender Co. Denim

[rodeo bill]

Speaking of unique, here are a few pictures of an experiment Ian and I did the other week. I saw indigo dyed leather in Kojima, and I thought it would be amazing to dye an oak-bark leather belt with natural indigo. So we had a go...

it's very tempting to keep pulling them out to see how they;'re getting on...

but after a few dips in and out to let the surface oxidize, we left them in for the rest of the day to get completely saturated

and then they get hung up to oxidize and dry slowly:

[mikecch]

^ Haha, that's awesome fun!

[Snake]

Bill,

Very interesting! Can you post pics of the belt after it is dry? Love to see some close up pics.

Btw, are those going to be in the upcoming collection?

[rodeo bill]

yes it was:)

When the leather was fully dried out, was extremely stiff...

and the surface cracked very easily with the slightest flex. Andrew the tanner said this would only be the surface, and the inner structure of the leather wouldn't be effected because of the deep greasing of the hides. Even so I wanted to rehydrate the top layer. So out came the Huberd's:

let it sink in and then do the whole thing over again

flexing the leather still causes some little cracks as the shrunk top grain cracks slightly

but with another very thorough oiling and a good manipulation of the whole belt it's now fleixble enough to wear comfortably, and the leather's not going to crack any further.

it's actually ended up with a really unique texture, and I'm very happy with the depth of colour. I also love how the brass has become slightly blued.

as these were just a little speical one-off at this stage, each of the 2 belts gets a hand-stamped date on the swing tag

[rodeo bill]

Bill,

Very interesting! Can you post pics of the belt after it is dry? Love to see some close up pics.

Btw, are those going to be in the upcoming collection?

hey man- sorry missed your post, and thanks! These 2 are just a little special for Hickoree's Hard Goods. I'm pretty excited about them though, so yes they might reappear at some point;)

[smittybat]

I would send it back

i got lot no. 900 jacket yesterday. i love everything about the fit, color, details , hardware, etc. only thing is the sewing is a little sloppy. the cinch on one side looks to have been sewn again after the over dye. reason i think this is the stitches are white instead of that nice blue shade. also the over lap seam has come loose in the armpit already. i know this sixteen oz denim must be hard to sew.

...

i not trying to be to picky , i just paid a lot of money for this jacket. a little hard to return since i bought from the uk shipped to the us. i know its not going to effect the overall jacket. this jacket is already a beauty. i can only imagine how cool this jacket will look with a little wear.

[grooveholmes]

i want this belt...

[Snake]

I can only imagine how this belt would age! With amber/tan/brown peeking through a year from now.

Any chance you can show the new S buckle design?

[jacob_davis]

hi Jacob, I was going to pm you but I thought I might as well reply straight up here. First off thanks, and I'm very glad you're happy

Yes you're right the buckle on that jacket was restitched- I remember it. The bucke got crushed in the mangle before it was dyed and I only noticed it when I was packing them. I replaced the buckle, which meant undoing the strap. Rather than using blue-dyed thread to match on the shelf, but which wouldn;t wear, I used the same unbleached cotton thread as the rest of the sewing. After a little bit of wearing (and definitely after a wash), the indigo in the fabric will bleed over and make the difference much less noticable. Plus you can look at it as a unique feature and part of the stort of that particular jacket.

On the armhole again yes I see the place you mean, and very I'm sorry if you're at all disappointed. The armholes are cut quite high, which I think looks really nice. The problem with this is the curve of the panels is very tight, making it difficult to get the heavy rigid fabric around the machine. A lot of jeans jackets overlock and topsticth this armhole seam, but I don't like how this looks. The reason for having a triple fell-seam at the armhole is to secure against this being a problem. Even if the feed misses the edge of the seam at one stitch the remaining 2 will keep it completely safe. Again as you wear the jacket in and you start adding repairs etc this kind of thing will hopefully not seem an issue, and it certainly won;t be any less strong.

All of Tender's stuff is made on a very small level, and this is all still only from the first production, so there will be certain inconsistencies. I really hope that as you wear in your jacket these little things will become a part of the enjoyment of how unique each piece is. Hope that helps!

thanks for the extra back story. bill what is the password for the new season?

[commodorewheeler]

I can only imagine how this belt would age! With amber/tan/brown peeking through a year from now.

Any chance you can show the new S buckle design?

Is it the one shown here?

[Snake]

That's the one. I don't know how I missed the picture on DenimManiac. Thanks.

[mtchfrnk]

It's also used on the satchel. This is what it will look like all buckled up:

[jacob_davis]

I would send it back

i would have. if it wasn't for bill responding to my post. it makes the jacket more interesting. i like knowing the story behind white stitching. also i helped sell another lot 900 jacket. i personal shop for a guy that loves hand made clothing , showed him my jacket. he told me to find one for him. just ordered one from hickoree's hard goods.

[commodorewheeler]

i would have. if it wasn't for bill responding to my post. it makes the jacket more interesting. i like knowing the story behind white stitching. also i helped sell another lot 900 jacket. i personal shop for a guy that loves hand made clothing , showed him my jacket. he told me to find one for him. just ordered one from hickoree's hard goods.

That's a great story! The Tender Type 900 jacket might be my favorite denim jacket that I've ever seen. I was wearing mine a bunch over the past couple of weeks until we got a heat wave and it hit 108 F here yesterday.

[mtchfrnk]

We have the 900s in the shop I work at. I try them on all the time. Actually come to think of it I owe Rodeo Bill some photos of them all merched out.

How did you guys size yours? I'm thinking I'd size up from 3 to 4; I need the extra arm length. Also I find a dropped shoulder looks "right" for this particular jacket, and because of the high armholes and and cinch straps you can still get a lot of shape into it. Did y'all choose true-to-size?

[commodorewheeler]

We have the 900s in the shop I work at. I try them on all the time. Actually come to think of it I owe Rodeo Bill some photos of them all merched out.

How did you guys size yours? I'm thinking I'd size up from 3 to 4; I need the extra arm length. Also I find a dropped shoulder looks "right" for this particular jacket, and because of the high armholes and and cinch straps you can still get a lot of shape into it. Did y'all choose true-to-size?

I think I sized down one (from 4 to 3), actually. I normally wear a 44 chest shirt (at least from Japanese brands), and I think the size 3 is for a 42 chest. The cut of that jacket is fairly generous in the waist area, and I wanted a little bit more of a fitted look with it. Since I won't have to layer here in SoCal, that works pretty well for me. Plus, I can always take off that wool liner if I do end up wanting a little bit more room. I also figure that the jacket may stretch a little bit, being denim and all.

[rodeo bill]

Actually come to think of it I owe Rodeo Bill some photos of them all merched out.

yes you do! up here or pm/mail me- I'm dying to see:)

[Snake]

mtchfrnk - I have a 39"-40" chest and I wear size 2. Please do post those pics here!

[mtchfrnk]

Here are some other pictures--the vintage roundhouse overalls that I gave to William. He did a little indigo dyeing in them and sent them back.

I think it's interesting--the indigo dye on these is a rough negative of the wear on a pair of blue jeans; instead of indigo wearing off of high-contact areas, it was added on.

Since the first time I saw it I've loved Roundhouse's logo; in Ohio you actually see barns with things like that written on the roof. So is this [a picture of a roundhouse] with the name written on it, or [a picture of a roundhouse with the name written on it]?

I've also loved Tender's logo since first sight. Why does this dude look so...not stoked? What artist drew him this way?

The waistband:

Right thigh:

Right back pocket (with external care/sizing label!):

The size: 40 waist, 32 leg.

Green from the oxidized copper hardware

Red and yellow spots. Red was, I think, there when I gave them to William. Could the yellow be weld?

Maybe the most notable part of the vintage fabrics I've handled -- even more than selvedge edges -- is the character and unevenness in the fabric. Here, inside the pocket, you can see how the slubs in this apparently normal white twill would pick up dirt over time, ultimately giving it much more textured appearance.

[mtchfrnk]

And some quick fit pics:

I put on one of my vintage work aprons briefly:

Some lower shots:

I really love the way these fit when worn as overalls -- I was wearing a tee shirt, thick flannel, chore jacket, and Samurai 710s under them. But I struggle to think when I'll be able to wear them. They are really painter's overalls (Roundhouse still sells the same overalls, MUSA), and unfortunately I'm a scenic carpenter, not a scenic painter. Hopefully I'll get out of New York and into some rural or painterly situation sometime soon.

Unless anyone else can make a compelling argument for ownership? Roundhouse x Rodeo Bill Indigo-Splashed Overalls World Tour?

[lenn]

I've also loved Tender's logo since first sight. Why does this dude look so...not stoked? What artist drew him this way?

the logo comes from a source book of william krolls father, who worked for magazines and used these generic graphics which could be filled with a customers text (source: journal de nimes no5).

fucking great overall btw.

[joelz]

not sure if you know this bill - your stuff is in the j crew liquor store in soho (nyc)

[rodeo bill]

^^ thanks Joelz, yes I did know about this. Through Hickoree's popup there. I've not been yet though, but I'll be visiting for sure in the new year- really exciting! Sorry for the lack of pictures lately, I'm just getting the second season together, and I'll put some photos up in the coming couple of weeks

[joelz]

no worries - the jackets and belts look amazing, it's great to see them in person after seeing so much of them online!

[grooveholmes]

So I was on the Denim Debate site this morning and saw the new cut (130s). They look freaking amazing.

[pepper davies]

Those do look good! I've missed Bill's updates of late.

[rodeo bill]

thanks chaps

really sorry I've been neglecting to put much up here lately- I've been really busy, but also a lot of what's been going on has been repeats of things I've already shown here. Some nice new things coming up in the next few weeks though I hope...

Here's a little side-project I thought up though. I've been really interested in perfumery for a long time, but it's generally something that needs a huge budget and a very established brand, so it's not something I ever imagined getting into. However when I found out that woad oil (cold pressed like olive oil, from the seeds of the woad dye plant) is valued as a great ingredient for soap (it's extremely high in fatty acids, which are an excellent moisturiser), and I found a lady who'd be up for hand making a small run of bars to my own fragrance recipe, I jumped at it!

My soap finally arrived last week:

The scent is pure Vetiver essential oil. Vetiver is extracted from an Indonesian grass root, and is usually only used as a bass note for blended perfumes. It has a very deep scent, almost pungent at first, which reminds me of Islay whiskies (which I love!). It;s slightly tarry, smokey and woody, but it develops out to a lovely cedary sweetness. I like it as it's not an obvious 'soapy' scent, and it lingers subtley after you wash with it.

The bars are all hand cut, so they are slightly irregular, which I really like. The soap isn;t coloured, so it retains the natural colours of the oils (coconut, olive, palm and woad) that make it up. I had a metal plate made up to stamp branding into the top of each bar.

To package the soap, first I wrap them in waxed paper, and then stretch a card slip over that, fastened with a sticker on the back, and then hand stamp the Tender logo on the top:

[Paul T]

Soap looks great. Smells of Islay whiskey....mmmmmm.

[rodeo bill]

then comes a bag to pack it into. I cut these from English-woven raw cotton selvage calico, the same that goes into Tender jeans hip pocket linings.

They're cut on the selvage, so that the top edge doesn't get too thick with a double fold (the middle, non-selvage part of the fabric doesn't get wasted, it is used for the garment pockets- Natu and I cut all the selvage off a roll of calico for these). I French seamed them all round, with a curve at one corner- this is the way I was taught to make trouser pockets when I was a tailor's apprentice. The top gets a jute drawstring, tied in a knot at each end.

I got into a nice rythm sewing these, not cutting threads between each operation, so I had a great long chain of bags at the end that needed cutting off one by one. Once they were done I stamped a face on the front of each bag.

Then I took them up to the jeans factory to rivet the corner, where the seam splits to allow for the drawstring:

They're rivetted with the same copper dome rivets that go on Tender jeans and jackets. Here's how you put on a rivet:

you take a top part (the dome):

and a bottom part (the nail):

It's a bit difficult to see, but the inside flat plane of the nail part is actually ridged in concentric rings- this helps the rivet grip onto the fabric.

You need a specific die part for each different rivet, one for the top, and one for the underneath. These fit into a chuck on the rivetting machine. It's basically the same idea whether you use a kick press or an industrial machine.

You can adjust the height of the lower die part to make the closed rivet tighter or looser, depending on the thickness of what you're rivetting. You need it to be tight obviosuly, but too tight and the fabric might be weakened or cut, or the nail part might puch up too far inside the dome and bend it out of shape:

You push a dome part up inside the upper die, and drop a nail into the lower die. In a big industrial machine these are fed in automatically from big hops.

[rodeo bill]

^^ thanks Paul! Sorry I missed your post.

So once the rivet parts are in the dies, you position the fabric inside the jaw of the rivetter:

and kick down:

it's set on a ratchet, so when the rievt is set you feel a click, and you can let go:

et voila. Sorry if that was rather overindulgent picture-wise, just to put on a rivet:rolleyes:

finally I stamped the back of each bag with my little text stamp kit:

and we're done! These got packed up and sent out over the last couple of days, to some of the shops already stocking Tender.