Volume I - Hayes Farm Trout Fishing Cap
Growing up I would occasionally go out early in the morning with my Step Dad, wrapped in a fleece or a thick coat and go fishing. It was one of the few times I spent with him alone, being one of 4 children and him having two children as well. I would help carry his box and watch as he set up his rods, line, hooks and pull up chairs for us to sit in. He would tell me the types of fish we were trying to catch and we would spot the early morning wildlife on the banks of the river. I'm not an expert and certainly haven't gone fishing in many years but I always remember the peace of sitting next to a river, watching the small orange dot of the float across the reflection of the river, spotting damselflies whizz across the surface of the water. Often with my hands in a bucket of maggots as I enjoyed the feeling of them wriggling through my fingers. I was a gross child.
Hayes Farm is just one of many green spaces that are slowly being swallowed up by housing developments, building poor quality homes and selling them for maximum profit and certainly not for a price that is obtainable for the average young person looking to settle down and start building their family. All that brings for the other local residents is more traffic, a big issue along Hayes Lane where the farm is located, and the loss of a third space. A place where people can unwind from the stresses of their working week. Where a father can teach their son or daughter how to tie knots. Where friends can talk or where someone can enjoy the peace and quiet. We are losing more and more of these natural spaces over time, green spaces being eaten up by developments and no replacement for these third spaces being introduced. There is another development being built in Biggin Hill for 650 homes in Green Belt space plus there are plans to convert Bromley Palace into apartments, a wild decision for a building with such beautiful grounds.
I think it is important we immortalise these third spaces while we can, much like how you see many patches, hats, sweatshirts etc that are branded with the National Parks, Camp Sites and Fishing/Hunting Clubs in the USA. I picked up a particularly nice vintage fishing vest online with multiple patches from Canada including a nice patch of a Beaver.
This will be the first of three drops that will all be themed around this idea, keep an eye on our website and sign up to our newsletter to find out when Volume II will be released!
Long Time No See
It has been a while since we have posted anything, a lot has happened in my personal life that has kept me busy and away from working on the brand. A new job, events in London plus quite a life changing milestone, a new member of the family. Oscar Thomas Burke is now 5 months old and doing very well, he is a bit small for a pair of United Overall jeans but maybe we can get that sorted in the near future.
So what have I been doing in this time? Well we have worked with Antonescu who runs a cool Etsy store called @vintagemeohmy where he collects turn of the Century branding, letter heads and packaging, some of which are truly pieces of art in their own right. He also designs some pieces and has helped us design a couple of stickers so that people can rep United Overalls without having to buy some jeans. They will be available on the website soon, many many thanks to Antonescu for helping out with them.
We hope to bring more out for you all soon, thank you to those who keep in touch with what we are doing, thank you to those who help out with photo shoots and the like and big thank you to anyone who have trusted me by purchasing from United Overalls, it really means a lot to me. Fingers crossed we can bring you more in the coming year!
The coolest baby alive
Now Available At The Emporium - Westerham
We are super excited to announce that our ED-1 jeans, the first jeans to be made with British woven selvedge denim and constructed in London, are now available to purchase at The Emporium in Westerham!
The Emporium holds a lot of the same ideals that we do, UK brands that manufacture here and products that are made to the highest quality possible. When they reached out to discuss having some of our ED-1 jeans in their store we knew it would be a perfect match.
When we first went down to the store to check out the shop we saw the Triumph motorbike in the window and instantly knew this would be the right store to stock United Overalls. You can really feel the owner Lee’s personality in the decor and setup of the shop. From the bandana toting classic portraits to the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil Space Monkeys there is so much to look at and admire. And this is before getting to the products!
We really hope that in the future there can be more that we can provide for people to try in a physical shop now that everyone can go out protected by vaccinations, keep an eye on The Emporium’s social media feed as we heard on the grapevine that they will be having a launch party in the coming months.
Visiting Field Denim Workshop's Studio
Today I took a walk down to South Bermondsey to visit Lex in his studio space situated in South Bermondsey. Lex is a lecturer and founder of Field Denim Workshop, where he makes custom one off jeans by hand on a plethora of original vintage sewing machines. He can even darn holes on a vintage Singer darning machine, a very rare machine that can essentially remake the hole in your jeans in an almost invisible way.
His studio is a veritable treasure trove of all kinds of denim related paraphernalia as well as being a working studio where he can design garments from scratch. He will use his collection of vintage sewing machines to construct his custom jeans in ways true to jeans made pre-1960’s. As a lecturer at London College of Fashion where he is also doing a Masters in Denim Education he has a vast wealth of knowledge on the design processes and construction methods that go into jeans manufacturing. As well as this knowledge his collection includes an original Levi’s advertisement banner which he explained is a known original due to the cigarette the cowboy is holding (which companies now can’t include in advertising) and the added length of fabric either side of the banner which reproductions don’t ever add.
My favourite part of his studio is how he has fitted all of these sewing machines into a relatively small space like some kind of master Tetris player. Some tables he has had to saw shorter and others he hasn’t even been able to put on a table due to a lack of space. There are patterns hanging up next to vintage jackets and draws filled with buttons, rivets and any other accoutrements he may need to make a pair of jeans.
Even if Lex isn’t considered one of the biggest denim collectors in the scene, he has a true eye for collating a plethora of interesting and unique pieces. He is someone that I have respected and admired for his knowledge for some time. As co-hosts on the Sons Of Selvedge podcast we often find our views and preferences on scenes, trends and styles line up with each other. For these reasons he will be lending his expertise helping to design the next style of United Overalls Co. jeans, hopefully we can come up with something truly wonderful and eye catching together!
Globa Denim Hangs Interview With Hewitt Heritage & United Overalls
A while ago Tom was involved in a very unique and obviously denim focused event called Global Denim Hang. If you missed our interview featuring Chris Hewitt from Hewitt Heritage Fabrics (the mill that weaves our denim) then you can now check it out on the Youtube link below, where Ben has uploaded all the segments from the Global Denim Hangs.
Huge thanks to Ben and Amanda for having the both of us on and we are sure there is more in the pipelines from them both!
United Overalls Book List 4: Avant Magazine
Avant Magazine is a Biannual book/magazine written by Eric Maggiori which focuses on a different subject/style each edition. The first edition is all about American Workwear and delves into the many characteristics of 19th Century and early 20th Century manufacturers. Many of the pieces that are highlighted are items from Eric’s collection as he has been a prolific vintage collector for many years and the magazine is a way to impart much of his knowledge gathered over the years about the brands that he has come across. These include brands such as Sweet-Orr, Peabody’s Overalls and our favourite article on Stifel Cloth.
There are also several interviews with many of the greatest names in the vintage workwear scene and many designers whose heritage brands take inspiration from such pieces seen in the book. We particularly enjoyed the pieces on Brit Eaton, famous for being on the programme Ghost Town Gold which is currently on Netflix, and the interview with Larry McKaughan who is the designer/collector behind Heller’s Cafe. Tom has several pieces by Heller’s Cafe and you can tell that the attention to detail on the brand (manufactured by Warehouse & Co in Japan) shows the breadth of knowledge of Larry.
As always it is a great resource for style ideas and to expand your knowledge of all things denim and workwear. There are so many pieces of turn of the century artworks and packaging that you get a true sense of what it was like to purchase their clothing at the time. The second edition revolves around the story of American Militaria which we are sure will touch on more denim pieces! Go and purchase at their website https://theavantmag.com/magazine
