Baby Ruth.

I got this earlier today, all the way from the US of A, it's an original promo poster from 1985, I tried to get this years ago it was a time when fussier sellers wouldn't post internationally. This is actually an advert for Baby Ruth bars from the famous old favourite The Goonies, with our old pals Chunk and Sloth, a kids film that's not a kids film, the one every one from my generation will always be fond of. The candy bar that starred in not one, but two 80's greats, Caddyshack being another, as it was mistaken for a shit in the pool, or a doody.

I know it's a little juvenile perhaps, but it's still cool as fuck. Of course, it would only be right and proper that I've actually had a few of these bars from American contacts of mine, bit like a Lion or a Picnic if you are that intrigued...

Little Plastic Armies.

This is an interesting story, on first glance these appear to be little plastic soldiers, the kind I used to see as a kid, like old soldiers and swords and sorcery lead figures you used to get from model shops, I'm trying but I can't remember the name now (heavy weekend), but I used to have a collection of lead figures from Galt toys in town, one always stood out, I think it was some old Dungeons and Dragons type thing, his head was only the size of a bogey but he looked a lot like Andrew Lloyd Webber, so small but with a big daft funny face, I never really played with them or collected them, I just loved the tiny attention to detail.
A friend of mine shared this link, it shows a unique collection of these little models belonging to a young Russian girl, but what makes it pretty incredible is they were all made by her late father, hand crafted from cheap standard Soviet plasticine and everyday items like string, foil and even hair, all hand painted. He had mastered his skills over the years in miniature scale and impeccable detail which is quite impressive.

Compiled from history books in their original language, the detail in his work is immense, from the breed of horse he used to the uniforms of the soldiers in exact regimental colours. Armies such as the working peasant Red Army, English and French covering each historic period, kept in it's own unique box, named and numbered, and each one had a description on their base, carefully catalogued. All these had been made from over thirty years ago and kept in great condition, despite early versions intended to be played with.

Thousands of tiny soldiers made by hand in painstaking detail, at a scale of around three centimeters. Amazing plasticine soldiers.

Made In England.

Last month myself and Mark from Proper Magazine made the short stride across town along the old canal as Manchester City centre jumps into Salford visiting the Cooper & Stollbrand factory.
We were given the guided tour, and a brew whilst we waited, by Managing Director James Eden who showed us the ins and outs of good old fashioned clothing manufacturing. British, hand crafted clothing manufacturing. Sadly one of the last few remaining mills like this which is still in operation today. During the industrial boom, Manchester's mills were hard at it, producing lots of different garments for lots of different brands, especially raincoats, the famous Baracuta harrington,Steve McQueen's favourite jacket was produced around these parts to name just one, as they come in quite handy around these parts. Manchester was dubbed Cottonopolis - bestowed during the 19th century, as inspired by it's status as the international centre of the cotton and textile processing industries during that time, industries were powered by water and steam, people used canals before roads were even thought of. As it boomed and became world renowned it has now long since declined, many of the original mills in smaller surrounding towns are still in use, as many in the city still stand in the same spot, but not many are still part of that once proud textile industry. Just forty years ago millions were employed in that industry, it's a stark contrast today.
Yet this is one of the longest serving and sophisticated manufacturers of premium outerwear today, nowadays a rarity in the UK, surviving against the odds, as new found enthusiasm for heritage and classic style going back to basics sees more and more designers and craftsmen wanting to produce home grown schmutter once again.
With several floors of hand crafted high quality garments, going through the production process from sketch to the finished article. The staff are all as essential as the good old reliable machinery they use, some have been there for over five decades from school leavers to retirement age, a real rarity in this day and age. You may well have seen this place feature on telly last week here


The in house brand is PWVC, in honour Private Jack White, the founder of the factory who won the Victoria Cross in the Great War, his Grandchildren now run the factory and keep the long standing tradition of a family business going. Speaking to James from PWVC he told me this place was the first place on the planet, well this here blogosphere at least, to mention the brand.



An old edition of Victor comic mentioning real life war hero Private Jack White.





A familiar roll of checked fabric, there was a whole host of labels I recognised here, some I really like too, I won't mention any names but I had a sneak peak at one or two bits of forthcoming stuff before the look books and bloggers got hold of them.

Jean who's worked here since Manchester was built, you won't find another.

Hard at work on a flyweight parka.

Pattern cutting, some thing's will always be done by hand.

Managing Director James, getting his pose on.

One of those tedious feet shots as I hilariously pretend to use some heavy machinery.
Situated over several floors, we got to see the working day of a factory, there's a lot more to it than you might think, all different folk doing different jobs, from pattern cutting at the top, to seamstresses and popping in press studs at the bottom, a real mix of local lads and lasses and those from further afield. Many of the local women have worked there for years, their first jobs, think Underworld in Corrie, but with less knickers and more cooler brands.
One room was stocked head to toe in an array of fabrics, from Harris tweeds to British Millerain and pretty much everything else in between.
Most brands will use archives and reference points, they all normally base bits on older bits, and why not? old British heritage brands and US outdoor brands were built to stand the test of time, set a standard and also look timelessly cool, a lot are a model for all the things we see released today, one fairly secretive room saw lots of gems on rails from time gone by, some old pieces of outerwear which were used by current brands as a model for new jackets.


For more of the same, and I think a really ace competition, look out for the forthcoming issue 11 of Proper Magazine.

Whillas & Gunn.

A fairly new one on me, currently showcasing their slim fitting bank robbing silhouettes for the current season are Whillas and Gunn - a label from down under. Advocating the look of 'the outlaw' in the wake of the very decent True Grit. I like the look of this stuff, good old fashioned menswear, there's a real old Western vibe in there with one or two bits, I'd also say a whiff of the Prohibition about it too. Good 'ol hoodlum steez.

A visit to Studio Osti.

Words and pictures; Blake Witherow.

I bought my first Massimo Osti jacket over a month ago. I found it in a second hand store here in Milano. I was perplexed by this strange material and utilitarian styling. This jacket was from the ‘Left Hand’ collection and is made from ‘ThermoJoint’ material. From then onward I began looking for information about Massimo Osti and the legacy that he left, the first search I got was Oneupmanship's articles on Osti and Left Hand from several years ago, so I got in touch.
A large portion of the Massimo Osti legacy can be found at his Studio in Bologna. The Studio is located on the outskirts of Bologna. You can take a taxi to the Studio or be an idiot like me and walk for 45 minutes. The converted warehouse contains the Garment and Fabric collection and a graphic design firm. The Garment collection is at the back of the studio and the fabric collection is located underneath an elevated level containing even more dyed fabrics!

The first thing that hits you as the door to the Archive is opened is the smell. Leather, synthetics and natural fibres are mixed together in a rich, musky smell that should be made into a cologne for men to smell to smell more like men. Currently, Lorenzo and Pamela are still working on the upcoming book detailing Massimo’s contribution to the fashion world. The book currently sits at 350 pages and is due to be released next year. Hence the clothing archive can best be described as “organised chaos” Pamela explaining to me how they have documented all of the ranges of clothes and the different variations within that line of clothing, photographing and archiving each garment in a database. When I saw all of the racks together, it made it apparent that Massimo was extremely dedicated to his work (read: Passionate) For me, the most enthralling part was being able to touch and grope these garments that I could only ever normally view on a computer screen.
After two hours of going through the Archive, my shoulders were sore from holding jackets and pants. You could easily spend a full day going through all the clothes and samples. Pamela made an interesting point, Italians are not terribly excited about Massimo Osti but she said that many people from outside Italy are completely different. They are more involved and appreciate the brand and the history more. That was a fairly accurate description of me.

The fabric collection is absolutely mind boggling. Racks and more racks of every fabric that you could think of. I barely made it a quarter of the way through before I had to turn back. I was lucky enough to find a synthetic fabric that was used for inside of my own jacket. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Unfortunately I had to head back to Milan that afternoon. Please take note if taking the train as there are the normal platforms and EAST or OVEST. Just so that you do not miss your train like I did and have to wait for one hour for the next. But if you have time (like I did) go for a walk around Bologna as it is nice city from what I briefly saw. I would like to thank Lorenzo and Pamela for their time and allowing me to view a piece of history that has influenced (and continues to provide influence) to many people all over the world.