AW26, 13 Years, Pins, The Studio, Close of the Year, Product Testing, R.T.S., Wobbly Waffle

I, of course, have missed two months. As long as we all set our expectations correctly and understand this monthly blog may not be EVERY month, no one will be disappointed and I won’t feel like a failure in another quarter of my life.

The last couple of months were very busy, very tricky and all the other ‘very’s’. In addition, at the end of December I had a bad mental health episode. I am feeling much better and thankful for everyone who takes the load when that happens, especially my wife.

Now, drawing a line under that, let’s get to the ‘good stuff’!

New years are always incredibly exciting. Time off is refreshing and new samples and ideas seem to flow much more freely. I’m sitting in the office now surrounded by AW26, the collection we’re taking to Paris shortly.

It’s being shot in the studio, and we’ve spent all week talking about all the non-seasonal stuff and when it’ll come in. It would seem wild to 2013 Saeed that a company I was part of could see a year ahead and plan accordingly, but here we are. Things always change and shift, of course.

On the note of seasonal and non-seasonal, I thought it might be interesting to go over what that means. “Isn’t Story mfg ‘seasonless’?” people ask, and the answer is yes and no. When we started the brand we (like many) thought the whole fashion system sucked butts and we weren’t going to follow any of it, including gendered collections and seasonal collections. If stores wanted us, they’d have to buy when WE were ready.

That just didn’t work. Stores have budgets for certain times of the year, and gendered parts of their site. If we are even a little bit confusing about when we’ll deliver, it’s a no no (and I understand that now). So, we just started calling things by collection names and selling at menswear and womenswear show times. We didn’t make anything different, just more digestible. On our own site we have never, ever, had a menswear and womenswear category, despite everyone forever saying it was dumb, but we maintain the other way is because everything is for everyone, so those buttons would be useless.

Also, the ‘seasons’ are really there for stockists, and not everything we make is available to stockists. Increasingly, more items are only available direct from us. Because costs are through the roof, we can no longer sell some things to stores even at our minimum margin and their minimum markup.

We love our stockists, but selling to stores is a practice in horrendous risk and so, so much work. Sometimes I dream of being a direct-to-consumer brand, but most of the time I think it’s a grass-is-greener thing, because the best really is being mostly direct, with a handful of great doors people around the world can shop in physically. China, for example, has turned out to be a really, really good place for us and we couldn’t ever reach those people directly.

13 years

We blew past some milestones since my last blog, one being 13 years of us. If you’ve supported us in any way, I am so thankful. This is such a tough gig but I can’t imagine a world without Story mfg any more. Every milestone year I remember that at 1, 3, 5 and 10 years I wanted to do a book about the brand and never found the time. Maybe 15 years of Story mfg? 20?

Pins

We found a bunch of these pewter pins while moving and they’re incredible (artwork by Sophie Hollington from about 7 or 8 years ago).

Like so much of Story, we like to bring things back in cycles. I love brands who do this, but I also kind of hate when brands ‘update’. Patagonia do this all the time, and I have it from one of their designers that it’s a policy never to just re-issue. Things have to be modernised as they go. I’d be over the moon if they just brought back old fleeces and let the update be more eco materials, but it’s always got some new fit. The fit is often objectively ‘better’ because the old stuff all fit terribly, but that’s also why it fit so good. It was anti-fit.

The studio

I get a lot of DMs about visiting us, which is LOVELY, but it’s cold af and we’re still settling in. We’re also probably a little understaffed for retail. You need a couple of people around at all times, and people need lunches, holidays and sick days. For right now, that’s out of budget I think, but although we haven’t had any deep discussion about this, I’m thinking we have a seasonal shop, a kind of ‘spring and summer’ shop when the weather is more pleasant. We’ll keep you updated. That said, if you make an order online you are of course welcome to come collect in person. Saves on gas!

Close of the year

Last year we got a LOT of tags, DMs and mentions and ‘internet awards’ thanks to a bunch of projects we did that reached people who might not be a historic Story mfg. buyer. Far and away the most popular was our collab with Asics, which basically sold out everywhere within ten minutes or so of being online. It was a ‘limited’ release, but no more limited than any other collab. It was just that popular, and honestly I’m so thankful to the team that believed in it and to those who loved it. It’s not hard finding people who want to collab. I get a message or two a week. But finding a brand that has access to, and is willing to use, sustainable tech options we can’t get at is another thing entirely. I’ve been ghosted or left on read by so, so, so, so, so, so many brands who lovebombed us the moment we say we won’t use animal leather, etc.

I don’t know if I’m allowed to say, but we are doing another collab with Asics. It’s turning into a more long-term project, so if you’re into it you’ll see more toward the end of the year and into next. We plan to do a physical thing again that makes it easier to buy. I’d recommend getting to one of those if you can!

Although we can’t stop people buying to resell, it was funny watching the one or two who tried come to the event, embroider, and then leave with only one pair. Work is love!

PF Flyers

Oh! Also can finally reveal some sneaky peek info we have a sneaker coming out with PF flyers this year. If you’re a regular follower you’ll know for YEARS we have been on the cusp of making our own high top using our weaves. A little while ago PF reached out to say they’d like to work together and in just a few months we have what we have been trying to develop for like 5 years at factories. Stay tuned (they’re going to be affordable!)

Product testing brown jacket

Been testing this brown dye for a few months now. New natural dyes and dye recipes are very, very rare. In the last 13 years we have ‘made’ or ‘developed’, I think, three. Our purple (which sells out every time), a pink (the dyehouse calls it ‘Katy Pink’), and now this deep, rich brown (no name yet!). The rest are very ancient recipes from the dyehouses and locals. This new brown I’d say is a dark roast to our usual light or medium roast brown, thanks to the inclusion of iron into the process. It’s very sturdy and strong, only really wearing away at the usual wear points like the seams, but I haven’t noticed any fading from the sun. It’s already a success and already in both upcoming collections and R.T.S. drops.

R.T.S.

Speaking of, R.T.S. Jupiter Jackets are coming (or may have come by the time I write and you read). We have some things that trickle out and some things that fly out. These are generally a flyer-out.

Such a GREAT shape, so easy to throw on.

Wobby Waffle

This is another fly-outer. We had some in, more coming. I think you should sign up for notifications if you want one!

As always if you have any questions email me/us at hi@storymfg.com and we’ll get back to you!