NATIONAL WOOL WEEK: SAVILE ROW FIELD DAY

M&I joined a bunch of farmers, tailors and some hacks on Savile Row yesterday to mark the start of National Wool Week.

On a beautifully sunny day, the Row was turned in to a mini strip of countryside - complete with two flocks of sheep (Wiltshire Exmoor Horns and Bowmonts from Devon, if you're interested) and gents in corduroy milling about.

We were lucky enough to meet Patrick, chief cutter at Huntsman, who showed us the entire business, from stock rooms through to the tailors at the top of the building. During our tour Patrick told us about the democratic selection process of the season's Huntsman tweed whereby each sample is laid out on the floor for a month to be walked over and ticked with chalk when favoured. A simple way to cast a vote. We also discussed making suits for demanding Arabic customers, Millwall Football Club and Colin Hammick, the famous Huntsman tailor who passed away in 2008.

Thank you to the organisers of Savile Row Field Day and special thanks to Tom and Poppy who looked after us. We look forward to our next visit to the Row.

For more pictures please click here

PAUL SMITH ON MANUFACTURING IN THE UK

Last night M&I had the pleasure of attending a discussion between Sir Paul Smith and Mr Colin McDowell at Selfridges department store, London.

Over a fascinating 74 minutes the gentlemen discussed Sir Paul's childhood, his father's humour, his (brilliant) lack of 'business model' and the importance of being genuine.

The highlight for us came in the Q&A afterwards though. We asked Sir Paul to expand on his recently reported lament on the decline in craftsmanship in the UK and whether his eponymous company was doing anything to help the situation. Here is what he had to say:

'Masses of British manufacturers have fallen by the wayside, many in the 1970s, during the period that the government and many people were thinking that the new way was to do with the service industries; to do with the computer, the mass produced, robotic way. So a lot of the mills just didn't have the money to reinvest because there wasn't the tax incentives to do so. Also, unfortunately a lot of it was their fault, they had gotten complacent and sat back.

We lost our motorbike industry because Japan reinvented the motorbike by doing something called the 'moped' which young people could ride around. Triumph, AJS, Norton, all these struggled, luckily Triumph survived. Some of it was our fault, some of it was the situation.

Therefore there's very few manufacturers left. We make shoes here, we make ties here, we make tie fabric, Yorkshire tweed, Worcester and Scottish tweed. But there's not a lot personally that I can do about it. What I do do is work largely in Europe, as opposed to China. I make things like trainers or jeans in China but basically we work in Britain or Italy.

A lot of it was complacency. If you want to be in this game, it is about today and tomorrow. Nobody cares about how good you used to be.'

OLIVER SPENCER & ANOTHER COUNTRY

Another Country? No, still very much to do with products made in the UK, fear not. M&I attended a tastefully modest event at Oliver Spencer's shop on Lambs Conduit St, London last night. On display was a fine array of understated furniture from Dorset based Another Country. We couldn't hang around for long but enjoyed what we saw and appreciated the hospitable nature of the hosts.

Thanks to Oliver Spencer (lovely shop with some excellent clothing on a very pleasant road in WC1N) and Another Country for the invite.

The image above is from the excellent Another Country gallery. We took some pictures that are not quite as good and they can be found here.

THE LONDON BREWERS ALLIANCE SHOWCASE

M&I spent Friday evening drinking many fine ales from across the capital. There's plenty to say about our experience but right now the words are being quelled by the locally brewed hangover.

For more pictures please click here

ERCOL SAYS... SIT DOWN

We visited the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green today and thoroughly enjoyed the current exhibition, 'Sit Down: Seating for Kids', sponsored by Ercol. Designs by Charles and Ray Eames, Robin Day and Thomas Chippendale are amongst those featured. The main hall also plays host to the Ercol chair arch (pictured), commissioned by Wallpaper* magazine and previously exhibited at the V&A in South Kensington.

Curators Catherine Bornet and Noreen Marshall have created a show that brings a potentially dull subject to life, helped greatly by playful illustrations by Emma Houlston and 3D design from Wells Mackereth.

The show deserves extra praise for its efforts to engage children (and adults, of course) in the chair manufacturing process:

'The earliest of these seats (1680) look back to a tradition where designer and maker were the same craft worker. Even when individual furniture designers became fashionable and well known, like Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779), they usually began by learning practical techniques. More recently Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) was a jeweller and sculptor as well as a designer and Verner Panton (1926-1998) trained as an architectural engineer.'

Sit Down: Seating for Kids closes on 5th September 2010. Admission to the exhibition is FREE. V&A Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9PA. Nearest tube: Bethnal Green. Open daily: 10.00 – 17.45, last admission 17.30. Switchboard: 020 8983 5200

Images from Emma Houlston's site

MARMITE GOES ELITE

Interesting work from our favourite yeast extract here. According to The Dieline, the 'Marmarati' were given responsibility to refine the flavour of the viscous spread. Quite how this could be achieved is beyond us but we are impressed with the regal packaging by Core Design nonetheless.

MEANTIME, THEY HAVE A BLOG

New branded awnings, the development of a brewery/pub/restaurant to open in March (coinciding with the 10 year anniversary of the company) - 2010 looks set to be a memorable one for Greenwich's Meantime Brewery.

Click on the title to go to Meantime's blog.

ERCOL, THEY HAVE A BLOG

We are glad to see Ercol putting some effort in to its public relations through its blog. Other manufacturers looking to do the same should take note of Ercol's mix of new product features alongside more in-depth, historically noteworthy items.

Above, the company's founder, Lucian R Ercolani OBE and his son, Lucian B Ercolani, DSO DFC are shown giving an interview to the BBC on 25th April 1966, demonstrating the bending of Windsor chair backs - the same equipment is still in use today.