The Tender Co. Trestle Shop

I have to say, that no other brand inspires me as much as Tender. I could read about his projects for hours and hours. Every time I do so, I quietly think to myself, this man is doing it right - this is how things should be done. I mean, it seems like the founder, William Kroll, isn't that worried about the extra costs of adding a genuine horn button (that is specifically made for Tender in England) or spending extra time finishing a product by dyeing it using natural dyes. He gets the fact, that when it comes to making a good (good is an obvious understatement) no short cuts can be made.

Knowing all of this about Tender, I was really intrigued, when I heard, that Tender would be opening its own webshop called the Trestle Shop some time ago. Well, the wait is over, and has been for some time now - I just totally forgot to mention it.

As you probably guessed, this webshop is astonishing. The offering is quite eclectic, which some people are totally afraid of, but it seems very logical. The offerings adds to the whole idea of this being a lifestyle and they all bear the Tender hallmark. To me the Tender hallmark means handmade, functional, engineered, made to last, well-thought-out, longevity, purposefulness, provenance and I could go on. It's just great.

One Month of Denim - Day 26

These are the hands of a passionate man

We are getting closer and closer to the end of this marathon. I'm almost out of things, that I want to write about, but I think I'll make it. Then we will take a long break from denim, unless something amazing is uncovered in the deserts of Arizona or something sensational happens.

That sensational thing happening could be coming from the English brand Tender Co. and I would be foolish to not include Tender in a write up on denim - especially on modern denim -, as I see this brand as one of the most innovative.

So what makes Tender more innovative than others or rather should I say, what makes Tender so great? That might seem like a fairly easy question to answer, but there are many things that you need to include in order to answer that question fully.

This list might give some perspective to why Tender is so great. In no particular order of course.

1. William Kroll seems like friendliest man alive. Probably also one of the most passionate and creative.

2. Everything is cut a sewn in England using small factories and artisans - you can take this literally

3. The use of natural dyes like woad dye (I type of indigo dye), logwood and weld

4. The use of full grain leather that has been oak tanned in England by an amazing tannery called JF Baker - (I have used this leather myself and I have to say it is the best belt leather, I have used)

5. The overly excessive use of small, well-thought details - for instance the "snob's thumb pocket"

6. Not necessarily making slim, basic 5 pocket jeans a la the New Standard

7. Custom made (in England) wax cast solid brass buttons

8. Custom made (in England) wax cast belt buckles of very original designs.

9. Tender has a piece of soap in their assortment

10. Small, well curated collection - that grows organically

11. Collaboration with Hickorees Hard Goods in New York - Don't you love this?

12. Loopwheeled t-shirts with print or hand dyed

13. The level of almost full disclosure through the Tender thread on Superfuture. Definitely worth a couple of hours of browsing due to the pictorials posted by William himself

14. Ingenious construction of the garments - bias cut and one-piece cut

15. The introduction of sheepskin mittens in the collection and small runs of denim aprons

16. Beautiful print illustrations done by an old artist named Dorrit Dekk

17. For having a wall clock as a prime feature on the website

18. You can ask him anything in the Superfuture thread, and he will probably provide answers for more than you asked

19. Do you need more reasons? Really?

20. If you need more, watch this film

I wouldn't mind a pair of these, although my taste is probably a bit too conventional (boring) to pull them off on a daily basis.