On our way to Konstanz we finally visited Jeanslife in Winterthur, which was on the agenda for a long time. Roger runs his shop for a more than 2 years now. He managed to hoard some of the finest brands within it. A wide selection of denim/jeans (Jeanslife!), leather jackets, boots, belts … you can walk out there fully dressed from head to toe or just add something to your wardrobe which isn´t that hard in there. 2/3 of his goods are menswear in the ground floor and an excellent selection of 1/3 for your lady at the ground floor. For sure one of the top stores we´ve been into lately and will return soon.
Some of the brands we spotted were: Indigofera, Tellason, Merz b. Schwanen, Dukes, Passion France, Levis Vintage Clothing, Schiesser Revival, Red Wing, Nigel Cabourn, KOI, Kiki Fritz, Scarti Lab, Penfield, Dehen 1920, Filson, American Optical ….the full list of brands here
Monomento – Holger Peckmann @ Fein und Ripp Berlin
During the last Bread & Butter fair, Holger Peckmann from Monomento – Hamburg tailored, took orders and showed some of his designs at Fein und Ripp Berlin. I saw one of his tweed vests in the shop and it took me a while to finally realize that the craftsman / tailor of this piece was just sitting in front of me. Holger uses mostly rare deadstock / vintage canvas or tweed for his jackets, vests or trousers. One of his latest designs you can see on the Fein & Ripp website or at his Tumblr Site www.TheRuggedGuys.com.
My personal Highlights – Warenkatalog No. 26 2013/2014
This morning the brand new Manufactum Warenkatalog No. 26 for 2013 till 2014 arrived. Not even 5 minutes later I was into it to look for new products or rediscover classics. As always a great inspiration. It´s products, photographs and layout is defining the standard for other to follow.
At a recent visit in Zürich, I had the chance to have a 2nd and closer look at the Max Rohr “Toile de Jouy” Pocket Squares. Max took extremely rare vintage french fabrics (Toule de Jouy) from around 1880 from the village of Jouy-en-Josasand created his version of a pocket square / pochette.
Hank Butitta was very close to his master thesis for architecture and sick of theoretical stuff, so he bought a school bus and converted it to a mobile home. After the presentation was a full success, he decided to field test the interior by driving the bus for about 5000 miles trough the states. Great Project and Inspiration of the day/week.
A rare camo pattern is the belgian jigsaw camo. Take a look at the second line of buttons at the side pockets, probably more a backup row than a possibility for an adjustment.
Today at breakfast my little sister Greta complained about that she did not get a Frühstücksmesser from me YET! So I went into my inventory, got her one and engraved it. (ok i can work on this skills). Above you see 3 different aged ones, Geta´s brand new one, the one I use since about a year, and my first one used for about 2 years before I broke it.
Honestly having breakfast or performing with small amounts of sausage, cheese, butter and jelly/marmelade without this knife results in panic or unsatisfactionary results. Why?
1. They are sharp, not razor sharp (which is sure possible to get them that way) but sharp enough to cut fine slices of hard salami which most 3 times bigger chefknifes might struggle.
2. The “Buckelsklinge” shape of the tip of the blade is just perfect to distribute butter and other semi liquid stuff on your slice of bread.
3. The blade got sharpened all the way to the cutting edge not just a quick e.g. 45 degree angle which goes blunt too quickly. (it is called the Solinger Dünnschliff)
4. They just look great after some time of usage, no need to say you have to go for the carbon version!
5. They take some care but they are worth it! From time to time add some olive oil to the cherry tree handle and if too rusty just go with some steelwool over the blade (not the cutting area).
6. Never press too hard to press down cold “Leberwurst”or you might break the blade – shame on me.
Enough said, you might not be able to understand the use or the fascination for this knife before you have tried it, but I guarantee you and your friends and family will go after it. Make sure to protect it well or supply them. (I guess I gave already +20 of them away)
Ah and one simple and last advice, take care as I written above it is a sharp knife not as the Breafast knifes you used to use!
You might wonder why I did not have listed Manufactum (where I fist saw and bought this knife – they are out of stock) or Robert Herder Solingen (new website under construction).
As with exceptional things, they get remarkable when they are connected by a good story they can tell. Thanks to Thomas for guiding me around a bit through the denim world @ the Bread & Butter Summer 2013. Before his tour I was just fascinated by LVCnew collection and especially the yellow Western Shirt made of silk and so nicely done embroidery. But via Thomas I understood the story of the Bing Crosby Denim Tuxedo made by Levi´s. A limited edition of this Tuxedo will be produced by Levi´s, an Investment and for sure it gets a well hunted collectors item.
Here the short story about this Tuxedo and Bing Crosby´s connection to it.
After he was told to be not dressed appropriate in his Levi´s Jeans by a Canadian Hotel Clerk and was nearly rejected to get a hotel room for the night, Bing told the story Levi´s and they went into action and crafted him a Denim Tuxedo. The President of the American Hotel Association even put a Label inside and granted him – Bing Crosby entrance to all Hotels in America in this Tuxedo.
Jeanslife Winterthur Switzerland by Roger Schmuki
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