FACTORY VISIT NO.9 : PERSAUD'S BAGS / J&A DESIGNS, HOMERTON

“You missed me,” wrote Junior Persaud in his first email . It came with a link to a story on Spitalfields Life. This was in October last year. A few weeks later, on a damp winter’s evening I was stood in his Homerton factory along with my friend Julian, the photographer for this visit.

“You’ve missed quite a few guys. In Somerset, Clarks village, there were lots of factories nearby. The satchel company, not Cambridge Satchel: the Satchel Company. All of these guys used to work for Clarks. Then they moved it all to China, the whole industry was left, the whole village. Can you imagine what that did to them?”

For Persaud, the business of making bags seems to be as much, if not more, about the people and their stories as it is about the product and profit. An hour spent with Junior is a fascinating one. Within moments of us arriving he’s telling us about his newborn boy (who arrived just days earlier), showing us around the cluttered space, explaining the company’s history and plucking metal frames from hooks hanging above to explain different jobs undertaken over the years. Despite the sheer amount of work and tools that surround us, Persaud knows exactly where everything is.

Demand is high for J&A’s creations, when we leave, two machinists are still working away while chatting to friends and family on their phones (in-ear headphones required, to allow for hands-free talk), according to Persaud, late nights are common at present.

J&A has produced bags for the likes of Paul Smith, Lulu Guinness, Christopher Raeburn and Ally Cappellino over the years. Needless to say, the quality is of a premium. “We use point eight gauge steel here, whereas the Chinese bag makers will use point five, point six. Ours is a tenth of the thickness of a Lancia. They’re not the toughest cars but for a handbag that’s pretty good. We hand braise everything. Everything is double welded so we can give our fittings a life range of eight years. Ally (Cappellino) wants her bags to last so we’ve toughened up our frames as much as we can. They’ve got a good shelf life.” On this particular evening, some sturdy looking numbers are being made for product designer Tom Dixon. Persaud’s address book, a who’s who of British design over the years, would be the envy of many.

As we shuffle about this vast old warehouse, Persaud’s story hurtles back-and-forth, with tales of brothers who traded exotic animal skins decades ago to the coming of the “hop, skip and jump” Olympic Park, situated a javelin throw away from the premises we’re stood in.

“I lost a lot of suppliers. I struggled. I had to go out of London. We had all our workforce round here. Dad (pictured above, in photo frame, on scooter) had this building and the workers would all live in the flats opposite; they’d roll out of bed and straight into here.”

The construction of the Olympic Park saw Persaud (and East London) lose a whole cluster of manufacturing businesses that are unlikely to return. He reels off a list of companies and characters that were lost: the mattress maker, Mr. Ettinger (“The council started to strip the machines down to move them and they just fell apart. You can’t move a machine that’s been sat there for 50 years.”), the board cutters (“Their machine was sat there for donkey’s years, they started to strip down the machines, the machines couldn’t take it. Neither could the guy who was running it.”) and the guy who rewound the motors (“The motors - they’re quite huge and the winding machines were massive and quite complex, built into the building. And the same happened: these guys came along and took apart the machine. Those machines can’t be recalibrated again.”)

“They wiped the whole lot with one hit. That left a lot of these guys in problems and a lot of it went over to China. But now it’s coming back. What I need to do is build that ecosystem back up,” Persaud says, optimistically. The ecosystem he talks of encompasses a wide array of makers, “Quality Castings, Premier Plating. These guys are a lot older than us and they don’t advertise, not much of a website. Nothing. The more chance we have of them sticking around, the better. We’ll regret it if they go.”

Alongside sourcing suppliers, he’s doing his best to encourage new blood into the industry, “We have to show the guys that this is not a woman’s trade. It’s a serious job, there’s a lot of engineering goes into a bag, the amount of companies we have to go and see to see each individual finish. We take on people all the time. I try start them off young, 18 -23. But we take people on to their mid-thirties. London College of Fashion help me out a lot with pattern makers.”

As well as his desire to keep business buoyant, Persaud also has a very keen interest in the heritage and history of British bag making. Earlier, he tells us of a visit with his dad to a Birmingham factory that was winding up production, “They had a ‘Hall of Frame’! It featured everything from 1800 to 1998 or whenever it was. We didn’t have any money but we’d always find a way of buying the tooling. A lot of them owned the copyrights to different frames – the English Inverted, the Queen mum has her bags made with that frame.” He tells us that many of their clearance purchases are still in storage, “at my mum’s place, we have a garage absolutely stacked full. It’s the fear of something important getting lost,” he confesses, “That’s why we’re holding on to the frames and fittings, we want to get them back up and running, because a lot of the stuff that’s made in China is based on old British manufacturing companies from back down the line.”

“It’s not about the money for me. Otherwise, why would I do it? These guys will pick up companies, strip them to their bones, relocate parts of it and try to make money out of it. The guys who are left are without a job and there’s no one to pass the skills on to. There’s a lot of guys who you’re going to miss out on.”

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For more photos of the visit, see the M&I Facebook page

FACTORY VISITS TO DATE

Following a spike in interest (consequence of some welcome coverage from Another Something) last week I felt it timely to provide a quick round-up of the factories I have visited to date. As follows:

1. Stevenage Knitting Company : Stevenage, Hertfordshire

My first factory visit, in January 2011, was to the now defunct Stevenage Knitting Company where I met owner Paul Pinkstone. Sadly, the factory had just closed so was devoid of life. However, Mr Pinkstone was very generous with his time and showed me how various knitting machines worked as well as telling me about the illustrious history of his company.

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2. Sunspel : Long Eaton, Derbyshire

Next up was an early Springtime trip to Long Eaton in Derbyshire to meet Nicholas Brooke, co-owner of classic underwear brand Sunspel. Over the course of a couple of hours Mr Brooke showed me the company's archive and explained the family ties that exist in the current management.

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3. Globe-Trotter : Broxbourne, Hertfordshire

In March of 2011 I also ventured to Broxbourne in Hertfordshire to meet Gary Bott, creative director of Globe-Trotter. Mr Bott kindly told me about the luggage company's long history in detail and our conversation touched on what British manufacturing stands for today, as well as the importance of Japan. We also spent time on the factory floor, with Mr Bott showing me all of the processes that go in to the creation of a Globe-Trotter suitcase. I also had a quick chat with David, the factory manager.

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4. Brompton : Brentford, London

Another March 2011 visit saw me head to West London for a swift tour of the Brompton folding bicycle factory. Here I had the good fortune to meet Alan, the man responsible for quality control.

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5. Smith & Pepper : Hockley, Birmingham

A bit of a cheat's M&I visit in that this factory is now a museum. However, the guide gave a good overview of the working processes and history of this fascinating business at the heart of jewellery production in the West Midlands.

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6. Abbeyhorn : Holme, Cumbria

In late August of 2011 I visited Abbeyhorn, a company with over 250 years of history. It was a truly informative visit, made so by Graham who has been working at the horn product makers since 1974.

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7. Vitsoe : Camden, London

My final visit of 2011 was to Vitsoe, most famous for being the producers of Dieter Rams' 606 shelving system. Here it was the attention to detail that impressed most of all.

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8. Alfred Dunhill : Walthamstow, London

My most recent visit was to Alfred Dunhill in East London. I was accompanied by photographer Robin Mellor who did a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of the craftsmen and women who work on the leather goods there. The visit is available in three posts: the raw materials store, the master craftsman and the processes.

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A map showing the locations of the factories I have visited is here (it also shows a couple of distilleries I visited out of season)

FACTORY VISIT NO. 8 : ALFRED DUNHILL, WALTHAMSTOW (PART THREE : THE PROCESSES)

“A girl in my class whose sister was at Cordwainers. She brought in a pair of gloves that she’d made. I thought ‘wow, I’d love to be able to do that.’ I liked sewing, doing crafty stuff. So I thought ‘that’s what I want to do’.”

Emma, the only female bench worker at Alfred Dunhill tells us about how she came to work at the factory. To get to the level of ability that is required she spent many years honing her skills. Cordwainers college in the East End was central to her learning.

“Eventually I got a place. I was there for three years. I didn’t do glove making though! I did two years of leather goods – small stuff, handbags. Third year was saddlery which is where I learnt this,” Emma tells me as she demonstrated the stitching of a handle.

The skills within Alfred Dunhill are passed on. “I’ve been teaching John junior (there are two ‘Johns’). John and Kevin are the youngest and they’re 41. We need some young people coming through.”

“You’ve got to want to do it because you love doing it; because there’s no money in it, not at the bench level anyway. We all love what we do, we’re craft people. I like it because it’s traditional. I love doing stuff with my hands. I’ve always made things.”

As Emma chats she continues her saddle stitching with impressive dexterity. Using wax to help grip and stop the thread from coming undone, she stitches sturdy pieces of leather together in near effortless fashion. “I get told off at home for doing the taps up too tightly!”

I ask if the processes have changed at all over the years. “The traditional side hasn’t. The materials have changed though. With bridle leather the tanning has changed due to different chemicals. The properties change and the leather doesn’t do what you want it to.

“Some leathers lend themselves easily to being edge dyed because they have a lot of natural fat in them. Other things… like it is not very water resistant. So if you’re using glue and you drop some on the leather - some leathers it will just wipe straight off, with others it’ll wipe the colour from it. You’ve got to be aware of what you’ve got in front of you.”

Emma moves on to show us the process of edging leather. “You don’t want a sharp edge on a bridle. That followed through from when I worked in the saddlery trade. A customer does not want to feel a sharp edge on a bag so we take the edge off. There’s different sizes of edge tool. This is a super-duper one, only to be used in certain circumstances. You need to do both sides.”

Following edging Emma applies a dye to the leather edges. “You wipe it on, put plenty on. Everyone has their technique. All you’re doing is buffing it – because the fibres are damp, smoothing it.”

Finally Emma shows us the art of pricking. “It’s where we make holes. You just need a mallet and one of these,” she says, picking up what looks like a fork with closely spaced prongs, “They’re calculated as stitches to the inch. Biggest we use is 5 to the inch. I’ve got a 13 to the inch, that’s for bridle work. You put it next to your crease line, give it a whack. The aim is not to go all the way through, just to give an indication as to where to go when stitching.” Emma's years of experience mean that she makes it look simple.

As we make our way off the factory floor we take the opportunity to have a quick chat with Rick who started at Alfred Dunhill ten years ago. We talk about the history of the place and the type of people who work there. “We like it here. There’s a buzz about the place. When there’s work to do, we’re like bees in a hive,” Rick muses before concluding, “It’s nice to know that one of the big houses has an English workshop isn’t it?”

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All photos by Robin Mellor

See here for Part One and Part Two

FACTORY VISIT NO. 8: ALFRED DUNHILL, WALTHAMSTOW (PART TWO : MASTER CRAFTSMAN RICK READ)

The Alfred Dunhill factory in Walthamstow, East London, employs several master craftspeople. Rick Read is one of them. Above the main factory floor, in a quiet, well lit room, Rick creates bespoke items of great beauty.

Rick, who hails from south of the River Thames, has worked for Alfred Dunhill for ten years. He started his career in 1966, since when he has created products for the likes of Tanner Krolle and Chanel. Rick served his apprenticeship at Marshall and Company. He explains that company's demise, "they did desk sets and the like. Since desk sets have fallen by the wayside, so have they. More's the pity."

With companies such as Marshalls going out of business and the likes of Tanner Krolle being brought out (by Alfred Dunhill), many of the employees at Alfred Dunhill have worked for a variety of household names. It strikes me as being a very similar story to that which I heard at Globe-Trotter.

We talk to Rick about some of the items he has made over the years. He tells us of his pride at seeing Tanner Krolle briefcases still being used by business people on the tube. The items he makes are made to last.

The reason that the items which Rick and his colleagues make last so long is the attention to detail and understanding of materials. Rick talks us through the prototyping process, where items are mocked up in a cheap material called 'salpa'. "It’s very cheap, you can make the job up, get the proportions right, send it back to the designer, they can draw on it, cut it, do whatever. We’ll probably do another in salpa to check it’s right. Then we’d do one in old leather before the final one in proper leather."

The proper ones are very impressive. Flawless leather goods that are the result of Alfred Dunhill's exacting standards in materials, the craftsman's skill and understanding the customer's needs. Rick tells us about a recently made alligator skin wallet: "It came out so well… It’s like anything you do, if you make the smallest mistake, you’re doing some decorating indoors say, your eye goes to it (the mistake) straight away. This wallet… it was pukka! Spot on. So good he (the customer) wants another one."

While leather goods continue to attract healthy sales, other items no longer have the relevance that they used to. "There were 300 craftsmen making pipes at one point here. You used to go to the football years ago and everyone would be wearing a cap and smoking a pipe!" The pipe business does still exist, under the name White Spot.

Conversation moves on to apprenticeships and education. "All the guys downstairs are all long serving, it’s very hard to get anyone new to do crafts," Rick tells us, "I think the reason is that it costs a lot of money to train someone up and there’s nothing to tie them to that company. They could finish their apprenticeship and go ‘I think I’ll try this on my own’. They could take their skills away. It’s up to the company to make it worthwhile staying."

Rick tells us that he is to retire in a couple of years. They are already looking for his replacement - it is a long process to find the right person. "People want the big bucks. If you go on to an apprenticeship you need to be prepared to be on a low income," Rick says. The person in question would need to 'gel straight away' in the small workshop that Rick shares with Tomasz Nosarzewski (who has taken up a kind of residency over the last year or so at Bourdon House, Dunhill's Mayfair HQ in order to bring the craft closer to the consumer). "They don't need great skills," Rick continues, "it's just a particular fit."

I suggest that it could be tough to find that elusive person, what with the required skills not being taught in schools as they used to be. Rick nods. "The school I went to – there was a drawing office, there was a metal workshop, a wood workshop, a forge… all of these things pushed you in that direction if you weren’t academic. But to do this you have to know drawing, you have to know measurements… you need to know quite a bit before you can actually put those skills in to the hands and do the job."

We talk about the difference between making and designing. "There was a college in Hackney, Cordwainers. But it has moved more towards design… everyone wants to be a designer you know? Design to me... ideas just keep coming around and around. The amount of times I hear someone say ‘oh, we’ve got a great idea, look at this’ and I think ‘oh yeah’ (Rick rolls his eyes) … ‘I think that’s in the cupboard at the bottom!’ These things, they come around, get tweaked up." He has a point.

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All photos by Robin Mellor

FACTORY VISIT NO. 8 : ALFRED DUNHILL, WALTHAMSTOW (PART ONE : THE RAW MATERIALS STORE)

In Walthamstow, East London, nestling among a warren of roads that feature a mix of terraced houses and new build flats are a set of industrial warehouses. They are the kind that you can see on the outskirts of most British towns and cities.

Clad in brown corrugated iron, with little clue as to what occurs inside, the premises of Alfred Dunhill are as modest as those that you might expect a double-glazing warehouse to occupy.

For this visit I am accompanied by Robin Mellor, a photographer who has a great eye for capturing the beauty of craft and the people behind it. It turns out to be the perfect visit for us both, as the craftsmen and women of Alfred Dunhill are an outgoing group who are at ease both in conversation and in front of the camera (several of them had been in a studio the day before to have their portraits taken for ‘a book’. Clearly, there is great interest in them and what they do at present.)

Steve, the factory manager welcomes us to the factory and shows us around the raw materials store. We learn how the ordering system works. With the bespoke nature of much of Alfred Dunhill’s leather goods, some stock items can take up to six months to come in.

“We’re using products which are raw, natural materials. We use the skin of a cow, a by-product of the meat industry,” Steve explains. “We use vegetable tanned skins. We get ours tanned in Belgium now. The cattle there are slaughtered at around 18 months. They use cattle from around Scandinavia as they believe them to be better quality – there’s no fences so you get less marking from barbed wire.”

We move to the scanning table where Steve shows us how a skin is measured. With just 5% of the skin being up to scratch for Alfred Dunhill’s products, it is a meticulous process.

Alfred Dunhill’s standards are exacting. Other companies will use a lot more of the leather that they buy in, but here, if it doesn’t match the lofty requirements it is not used.

“You’re familiar with the saying ‘dressed to the nines’?” Steve asks us, “That was brought about by the fact that if you wanted a really good suit it’d take nine yards of material to make it. But you could make a suit out of two yards. That’s the difference here too.”

We’re left wondering what happens to the waste leather. It gets scrapped. We’re told that the pieces are so small they would not be of use to anyone.

Next we hear about the initial stages of making a product. Two samples are made of each item that is produced. One goes to Alfred Dunhill HQ, the other stays in the factory for reference. “Because of the amount of different products we make, and that we make very small quantities of them, we might make some now and some again in six months time, in that time you’ll have forgotten what it looks like,” Steve explains.

Looking up at the shelves, there are lots of solid looking wooden boxes. Steve tells me that they are used to cover when building attaché cases. “There is a minimum order of ten of those wooden boxes. We might only want one. It’s a bit of crazy situation but that’s how we’ve ended up with a load of them.”

“It’s the same with leather. We get an order come in and we need a hundred square foot. The tannery won’t sell us a hundred square foot, it’s a minimum of three hundred square foot. We end up with a load of different colours on the shelf. That could be left here for ages.” Clearly, these are the lengths that a luxury brand has to go to.

Before moving out of the raw materials store Steve tells us about the difference in English and Belgian leathers. Bridle leather was the original leather that Alfred Dunhill would use in producing its items. Over time, a whiteness (called ‘bloom’) appears on the hide. “When they tan bridle leather they use lots of fats and oils so that they make it waterproof. What happens is that the white keeps coming to the surface. If you keep brushing it it comes back to its original colour again,” Steve tells us.

“A lot of customers felt it didn’t look very nice where the bloom was coming up. So we changed the leather slightly. This leather was tanned in England, we started using the leather from Belgium which doesn’t bloom. That’s what we use most now. Some of our customers still want leather that blooms. So we developed both – a customer would come round and say ‘can I have a leather that doesn’t bloom?’ so we developed that. Invariably someone else will ask for leather that does bloom. So we do the two.”

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All photos by Robin Mellor

FACTORY VISIT NO.7 : VITSOE, CAMDEN

Several weeks ago, I visited Vitsœ in north London (along with David, good friend turned M&I photographer for the day). When I learned about the company making nearly all of its components in the UK I was surprised, presumably because of the Scandinavian sounding name. The story of how it ended up being produced in Britain is an interesting one.

Vitsœ’s key product is the 606 Universal Shelving System, designed by Dieter Rams in 1960 (hence the ‘60’ of ‘606’ - the ‘6’ is the design number).

Shortly after graduating university, Mark Adams became associated with Vitsœ and in 1986 established Vitsœ UK to became the sole importer and distributor of Vitsœ products in the United Kingdom. Under Adams’ leadership, Vitsœ UK quickly became the largest retail account for Vitsœ.

We arrived at the factory, situated off of a Camden side road and were greeted by Anne, an outgoing Scot who would be our host for an excellent day. Also joining us was Keith, who has worked at Vitsœ for nine years and is, as you might expect, thoroughly knowledgeable on every facet of the product.

Starting our tour in the meeting room, which is also an archive containing masses of drawings by Dieter Rams and some of his designs for Braun, we were given an overview of the history of the product. “In the 60s Dieter’s ‘buy less, buy better’ ethos was almost counter culture. Anti-obsolescence rather than sustainability was the message,” Anne told us. It’s fascinating to think of the power of that stance in an era where consumerism was just starting to blossom.

At its north London base Vitsœ assembles the orders, with parts coming from all over the country. A very small amount of the components come from outside the UK, a key one being the drawer runners, from a supplier in Austria. “Else 95% is made in the UK,” says Anne.

There is one supplier that Vitsœ deals with on a regular basis and has high regard for.

“They make lots of the internal components for the 606. The only reason we found them was that Mark was driving one day and he spotted a van that said ‘Quality machine turned components’; he thought that sounded good and got in touch,” Keith tells us as we move onto the factory floor.

It is this constant desire to improve which strikes you as you learn more about the company. Incremental changes appear to be being made on an unbelievably regular basis considering that the product Vitsœ produces is essentially the same as the one created over 50 years ago by Rams. However, as Keith explains the minutiae of these improvements you find yourself understanding how such miniscule changes come to be, and how they reflect the culture of the company.

“The changes we make are often tiny, and sometimes they will cost us more money but it results in a better product,” Keith says, before adding, “These shelves used to be stamped out. When you ran your finger under the bottom of it you could feel it. We spent years trying to get our suppliers to use laser cutting, eventually they did. When we showed Dieter he had the biggest grin on his face.” You get the sense that this means as much to the team working on the product as it does to the designer himself. This quest for perfection does not remain in-house, however.

“We listen to the customers. If they make a suggestion we will take it on board. One very famous one, who I can’t name, suggested we change the shape of the shelving pins. Flat ended, the pins that hold the shelves in place feel flush with the E-track (the upright posts that hold the shelves). He suggested however that the pin could be rounded for ease of use. We made 10,000 of them but then we decided it wasn’t right so we changed it back,” says Keith.

Listening to customer’s feedback doesn’t stop with product improvements – we also hear about customers who have obtained their 606 elsewhere, who then contact Vitsoe UK and have their calls for help answered by being provided with the parts to repair their units. Remarkable.

It comes as little surprise that most of the staff we meet have been with the company for many years. Many of them are RCA graduates, spanning at least four decades by my reckoning. According to Keith, Ian, one of the cabinetmakers, ‘came with the furniture’ when the company moved from Angel to its current location nearly six years ago.

When it came to implementing a new computer system Ian was instrumental in its design. “The way the cabinet makers used to do it was printed assembly lists would come to the workshop and it would be marked with a highlighter,” Keith explained.

“Ian used to have a big folder. A new order would go at the front. There was a piece of card saying ‘in progress’ and when he was building it he’d move it to the next section and when he’d built he’d mark it as complete.”

“When we told him he was getting a computer for the first time in his life there was a look of horror. So we told him ‘no, we’re going to base it around how you work, rather than tell you how to work. You’ll be even more in control’. It’s entirely based on his system: incoming, in progress and completed - all based on his cardboard tabs.”

Every aspect of the production seems to be considered to a level beyond anything I have witnessed previously. As we continue our walk around the factory (Radio 4 favoured by the cabinet makers upstairs, Mount Kimbie by the team downstairs on the day of our visit) we hear about how Vitsœ created bespoke timber boxes to ensure damage free transportation for its parts. “Some companies we work with often find this surprising as there’s not many companies that pay for the packaging to transport parts coming from other factories. But we’ve saved about 15 years worth of cardboard by doing so,” Keith tells us.

We hear how saving packaging is considered across the company - from how the installation teams return all cardboard to the factory after a day’s work to how Bill (one of the more senior members of the team) designed a bespoke tape holder to ensure that the exact amount of tape needed to wrap around a tube was dispensed. Fastidious stuff.

A final tale from Keith sums up why Vitsœ has managed to build such a strong business in the UK. “Around seven years ago we created these cardboard folders for sending out with instructions for fitting. We’d had them for about a week. A German guy who had bought the system from Germany and now lived in Cornwall calls up. He’d removed his shelving from a brick wall and was now putting it up on a plaster wall. He was concerned and called us to ask our advice. We sent him the fixings and instruction manual for free in the new folder. Within a week of him receiving it his wife had placed a new order for more shelving. He made a comment about the quote which reads ‘Our happiest customers are the ones who have dealt with us the longest.’”

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For the full set of photos, please see the M&I Facebook page

With thanks to Anne and Keith at Vitsœ

DISTILLERY VISIT NO.2 : LAPHROAIG, ISLAY

The photos from the visit to Laphroaig whisky distillery are now up on the M&I Facebook page. Here is a selection. As explained previously, the distilleries of Islay offer group tours, therefore it was unlike most M&I visits and is without the usual write up.




A great deal of information on Laphroaig is available on the company's website.

FACTORY VISIT NO.6 : ABBEYHORN, HOLME (PART TWO)

Abbeyhorn was founded in Bewdley, near Kidderminster in the West Midlands, where it was situated until 1930. The company gets its name from the fact that there was an abbey nearby. Since then it has changed owners many times. It moved to Kendal where it used to be right in the centre of the town. It moved to the current premises in Holme in 1991, after being bought by the present owner, Paul Cleasby. “It’s got a long, nomadic history!” Graham tells me.

“Apparently, when it was at Bewdley it used to get everything (horns) locally,” Graham continues, “Those were the days when cattle had horns in Britain. I think when it moved to Kendal it was a horn comb works and it amalgamated with that.”

I ask Graham a few questions about how he came to work for Abbeyhorn. “I came up to Kendal. I’d just been made redundant. I came up here on holiday. There was a little poky workshop, half the size of this place. I popped in and asked if he had any jobs. He said, “you start on Monday.” I’ve worked for all sorts, the Royal Mail in central London. An aluminium foundry... even the RSPCA for 6 months!” Its oddly satisfying that someone who seems so at ease with his work has previously done shorter, sporadic stints elsewhere.

As we move around the factory Graham keeps us entertained with anecdotes and facts about the company and its work. “The big secret of working with horn... when you heat it, it becomes pliable. When you put it in a mould or last it retains its shape. There’s quite a lot of skill in getting it just right - if you don’t heat it enough it will go back to how it was and if you heat it too much you’ll just ruin it,” he says as he demonstrates an expert ability in heating the horn just right without appearing to pay attention.

The room we are stood in houses several solid looking machines and Graham tells us about each, “The fly-press (above), we bought second hand about 20 years ago... it’s from the 30s. We can still get the oil for it. Luckily its not specifically for this. If you look at the shaft its actually cracked right the way through.”

“We work the spoons in the factory, get them sanded. Then before its polished it comes back in here, its dipped in the fat fryer, put in a mould and that puts a bowl in it,” he says, pointing to the mould. The moulds (below) are made by a local company, Excel cutters. According to Graham Excel are traditionally leather cutters.

“The basic process hasn’t changed,” Graham says as he cools down the now moulded spoons. “We’ve had various goes at modernising it but they never really worked. We’ve got a vibration machine but it kept breaking down because we overworked it.”

Despite this, there have been some touches of modernisation. “We have an engraving machine and we do a lot more work on the computer now,” Graham says. (I have to confess that I didn’t see a computer during my visit.)

Abbeyhorn’s fortunes seem to have been remarkably steady - as demand for one item declines, another rises to take its place. “We were producing 3-4,000 egg spoons at once a few years ago. We had a contract with Lakeland (a British kitchenware retailer), we were in their Christmas catalogue. Slowly spoons have dipped in popularity. Mugs, horns and shoehorns have grown in popularity though,” Graham says before going on to tell me about the great sales of the company’s horn goods to reenactors, “We do a couple of reenactment fairs. We dress up, sell stuff off the stall. It’s quite good. I did one in Germany recently.”

Before we leave I ask Graham about his working day. “I start at 8, finish at 4.30pm, 3.15pm on a Friday. I cycle from Kendal most days, 11 miles each way on my Claud Butler.” Its pleasing that, for a company that produces its products from the waste of another industry, its staff also take an environmentally friendly approach to travelling to and from the factory.

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Click here for Part One of Factory Visit No.6 : Abbeyhorn

For more photos of the visit see the M&I Facebook page

Thank you to Pauline at Abbeyhorn for allowing us to visit

VITSOE : NO ROBOTS

Off to visit Vitsœ in north London today. This video makes for a nice introduction to the company's process and the people behind it.

FACTORY VISIT NO.6 : ABBEYHORN, HOLME (PART ONE)

When we visit Abbeyhorn, they have just taken delivery of horns from Germany and Nigeria. “Some of them are 25 inches and upwards - quite huge, right down to shorter ones which are used for whistles and knife handles, amongst other things,” Graham (pictured above), our guide and expert craftsman tells us.

“There’s no endangered species - its all from domestic use - waste from beef and so forth,” Graham hastened to add, before picking up a stumpy bit of horn in the stock room at Abbeyhorn’s factory in Holme, Cumbria. “Deer antler - this is all shed; they shed it and the gamekeeper in Scotland picks it up. This’ll make a knife handle.”

Graham has worked at Abbeyhorn since 1974, aside from a year away in another job a few years ago, from which he swiftly returned, “I didn’t like what I was doing whilst I was away and this is an easier life!” he jokes.

The factory, set in a rural idyll south of Kendal in Cumbria, is a fascinating place. Each room in the stone building is covered in the dust and dirt from the production of Abbeyhorn’s products, “Its a dirty job, you get mucky and dusty. But its enjoyable, you’re making stuff,” says Graham.

As we go round the factory Graham makes us two spoons to illustrate the different methods employed in turning horn into useful products. Different horns have different uses, depending on their form and colouration. Our horn is halved, heated, flattened, cut, buffed, fried, moulded, cooled and polished on its way to becoming spoons. It’s probably the most basic yet mesmerising production I’ve seen since starting to visit factories.

(Spoons, pre-frying and moulding)

Abbeyhorn’s products are sold throughout the world, with many of them ending up with the stamp of luxury brands engraved onto them. Purdey, Asprey, Harrods and Hermès all sell products produced by Abbeyhorn. As Graham puts it, “It’s surprising, for a little company, some household names turn up!”

The company also sells a great deal to reenactors and sells its wares at fairs around the world.
“We dress up, sell stuff off the stall. It’s quite good. I did one in Germany recently,” Graham tells me. “When I first started, most of the stuff was export - sent out to the States. There was no reenactment stuff back then. Reenactment has taken over a lot from export. We sell more to Japan than the US. Japan and Germany are our main export markets, shoehorns and stuff.”

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Part two of Factory Visit No.6: Abbeyhorn to follow soon.

For all the photos of the visit please see the M&I Facebook page.