AN INTERVIEW WITH PAUL PINKSTONE OF STEVENAGE KNITTING CO. (PART TWO)

Joseph and the 80s

'In 1980 we were approached by Joseph and were very close with them, producing nearly all of the Joseph Tricot range. This was the period of our highest production. We were doing about 15,000 garments a season, with two seasons a year.

During this time we opened another factory unit in Stevenage that concentrated on finer knits. At the same time we were still producing schoolwear for Harrods and in particular Hill House School in Knightsbridge. We also produced officers sweaters for the Royal Artillery and the tank regiment, if they wanted something a bit different from the normal olive drab uniform. We also did sweaters for the Admiral's Cup teams; both the UK and the USA.

When Joseph was sold, production started to drop off. We were competing with the Far East. They (brands) weren't particularly interested in the hand framed knitwear that you see in the video. A lot of what we were doing was still on the hand framed machines. So for this season (winter 2010) we would have been manufacturing during the summer but they (Joseph) didn't order anything.'

Images (from top to bottom): inside the (now closed) factory, a Joseph Tricot fine knit (bound for the V&A) and two Stevenage Knitting Co. jumpers - Admiral's Cup (with red v-neck) and Royal Artillery (with epaulets)

REDESIGNING DESIGN, REMAKING MAKING AT LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

M&I was lucky enough to attend a fascinating talk on manufacturing and its future on Friday afternoon at The Tramshed.

First up was Luis de Oliveira, principal of Portugese company De La Espada who talked about ‘decentralised companies’; using local production, small runs and frequent innovation. Oliveira believes this business model to be ‘a decade away.’

Furniture designer Matthew Hilton then told a story about one of his early products - a candlestick made in Charlton, packaged in felt bags from Hackney, sold through the UK retailer Joseph. (If anyone would like to give us one of these, do feel free.)

Hilton now works for Habitat and has a global perspective on manufacturing. He illustrated his experience with a video of some Sri Lankans making a chair to his specfications. Being versed in more traditional methods, the Sri Lankans couldn’t quite create the modern style required. ‘Older manufacturing is more forgiving than new methods’ concluded Hilton.

Theo Williams, creative director of Habitat gave a compelling talk on bridging the gap between design and development, stating that it is ‘essential.’ Williams suggests that we need to move closer to the Italian design model - quicker reaction times, locally produced products.

‘Communications need to get stronger and more focused. We need to understand better what the consumer wants,’ Williams said, warning of giving over too much power to the consumer, ‘There needs to be a parameter for consumers to work within.’

‘Customisation to customerisation’ is taking hold and this is partly due to design, development and manufacturing moving closer together. Williams also gave examples of Habitat making certain products in the UK. Sadly there were no illustrations of this but he referred to a ‘small guy in Cornwall.’ He rounded off his section mentioning that Robin Day can get on a train to his supplier - ‘a big thing.’

Thanks to the parties behind London Design Festival for bringing such a good group of speakers together.

Picture from Matthew Hilton Tear Sheets - De La Espada