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Niche Optical

Possibly not the kind of store that you would expect in a provincial city, Niche optical have been providing luxury eyewear to the city of Glasgow, UK, since 1987. Run by 'Optical Provocateur', Brenda Connelly (pictured below), the store has become one of the leading names in eyewear retailing in the United Kingdom.

With a brand list including; Dita, Oliver People's, Chrome Hearts and Thom Browne, the store is also involved with design and manufacture, in the creation of specialised and capusle pieces.

http://vimeo.com/51220104

Clients come to me to work together, we co-create. Its a mutual process, minds simply meet.

With both spectacles and sunglasses available in-store, plus a select vintage range in combination with new-season pieces, prices vary between £110-600

#niche #eyewear #dita #moscot #chromehearts

The Shoemaker, Source: www.hypebeast.com

Mykita

Since 2003 spectacles manufacturer Mykita handcrafts its products, based in Germany’s capital Berlin. Founding members Moritz Krueger, Philipp and Daniel Haffmans and Harald Gottschling conduce the business to its current success.

The materials for the optical eyewear are of highest quality and inspired by emerging technical innovations. Sheet metals and acetate combinations incorporate the visionary mentality of its designers. Mykita emphasizes a strong corporate culture that is reflected in every single item.

The entire manufacturing and complex assembling processes are carried out in Mykita’s Berlin-based manufacturing facility. The frames are molded and shaped into the desired design and furnished with the Mykita name on the temples.

Being able to unite design process and manufacturing basically under one roof enables a vast depth of internal communication that results in Mykita’s high expertise about their product features.

Valuing the artisanal production methods and and drawing back on creativity and craftsmenship has been highly rewarding for Mykita who have been awarded numerous Design Prizes like the IF Design Award (2007) the IF Material Award in 2011 and the Red Dot design Award in 2012.

Amongst famous celebrity endorsers such as Lady Gaga or Blogging icon Bryan Boy, various collaborations have contributed to the overall successful concept of the German eyewear brand. Moncler, Rad Hourani,Alexandre Herchcovitch and latest collaboration with Berlin originated, Paris based Designer Damir Doma draws the public eye on the highly coveted eyewear accessory range.

Daniel Craig wearing the Mykita Helmut model.

Mykita x Damit Doma

Besides wholly owned stores in Paris, Vienna, Zuerich and Monterrey Mykita products are exported more than 60 countries worldwide countries worldwide. Buy on FarFetch.com. Prices range from £300-£700.

#Glasses #Mykita

Leffot

When it comes to good design it all comes down to simplicity, that´s what The Folt is all about. Made out of a single piece of Horween cordovan leather, The Fold wallet is as simple and elegant as it gets when it comes to a wallet.

The t-shaped leather cut is the ultimate wallet for cash-carrying minimalists, as all they need to do is to fold the wallet three times, to have their money secured.

SIMPLICITY IS THE ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION

Awise old gambler once said, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em”. Sage advice no doubt, and exactly what the Fold billfolds are all about.

The Folt is offered in two sizes:

The small one fits U.S. Dollars but no credit cards ($95), the larger one fits all international currencies plus a credit card or two ($120)

The Fold is only available in the Leffot store in New York City or online (www.leffot.com)

Slim Timbler

Slim Timber wood wallets are designed by an American couple from Boise, Idaho. “I have long been an entrepreneur and love working on and refining new ideas. My wife is more on the artsy side, she loves photography and painting”.

All wallets are handmade in store, from carefully selected, unique pieces of wood, that show off the beautiful and fascinating qualities of the materials used. The wallets are ergonomically designed and hand rubbed with Danish oil. Crafted from single pieces of maple or walnut, the wood wallets are sized just right to carry credit, business, and ID cards, as well as a little cash.

“There is a sense of Pride that comes with it that just can’t be beat. If you are a creator you know the feeling.”

Currently, four variations are available (each one at a price of $45):

MAPLE WOOD & WALNUT WOOD WALLETS

Handcrafted out of a single piece of wood, these wallets are extremely strong and stable, and simultaneously smaller than many normal sized wallets, so that they can be comfortably worn in the back pocket. A leather strap is secured to the wallet, to hold its contents in place. The wallets are ideal for credit, business, and ID cards.

ZEBRA WOOD & WALNUT WOOD BIFOLD WALLET

These bi-fold wallets are perfect for those who like to keep their wallet on the slimmer side. The unique designed wallets are comprised of high quality leather and two carefully selected pieces of wood. The wallets have slots for two cards and an ID card.

Bleu de Chauffe

Founded in 2010 by friends Thierry Batteux and Alexandre Rousseau, Bleu de Chauffe means 'Blue Hot', a reference to French steam-engine workers jackets. The workwear feeling of the name permeates the brand in its creation of leather bags and accessories which draw directly from traditional trades such as the 'Plumber' and 'Postage' models.

The final product is assembled in Millau, southern France, whilst cotton elements are from Lozère; meaning the product is sourced and produced in a 100km radius. This ecological focus also extends to treatments which the leather itself undergoes;Mimosa, chestnut tree and acacia tree are used in this process with each element traceable.

Manufacturing facilities in France also allows better monitoring of quality products. - Thierry Batteux

Each piece is signed and dated by the artsian who created it, whilst the brands own website promotes the idea of using the bag as part of everyday life, away from product turnover.

http://vimeo.com/26369081

Prices vary between £75 and £310 and can be found at:

http://www.bleu-de-chauffe.com/en/

#Bags #bleudechauffe

Mismo

With a vision to combine functionality and minimalism Danish couple Alexander Bach and Rikke Overgaard founded the brand Mismo in 2002. The creativity and specific eye for details is what distinguishes the Scandinavian couple’s design direction incorporated in these rugged items. Inspired by a trend they observed at business school, where the couple met, carrying a laptop around was an increasing necessity or habit, so the pair sensed a market niche for stylish universal accessories.

“We wanted to do good bags. Bags that easily adapt to the person that uses them, so that the Mismo bag becomes your best friend”

The simplicity of the designs and the resilience of the materials rests upon the brand’s philosophy of products being timeless and durable, whilst joining simple sophistication with urban flexibility. Mismo positions themselves between Japanese heritage brand Head Porter and French luggage patriarch Louis Vuitton.

"I think the reason you might say we develop great bags consistently is because we have this very steady platform from where the design and idiom originates"

All bags manufactured in Istanbul Turkey. The materials range from heavy-duty canvas to various fine leathers, and are the inspirational source for all designs. Once a product idea is thought through from sketch to smallest finished stitching, it still requires the production of two to three prototypes until the extraordinary standards of the two Danish founders are fulfilled.

Despite the main products ranging in the luggage category, Mismo’s congregated expertise lead them to venture into a smaller product selection, extending their line with smaller accessories like wallets, belts and cardholders that follow the same simple and understated aesthetic.

In the spring 2013 collection duffle bags, totes and travelers come in Scandinavian favoured mustard tones, grounded charcoal grays and light and dark hand painted blues. The premium workmanship of noblest Nubuk leather and upscale denim sourced from Italy furnished with gallant details like golden carabiners Prices range from £75 for an Iphone case to £650 for duffels and main distributors are Très Bien Shop, Barneys, menlook.com or ka-pok.com.

“Finding the right balance of colours is like creating your own painting. It's a delicate process."

#Bags #Mismo

L'ECLAIREUR

Hinterland Wandering would like to take a small side-step, to look at some of the stores which stock the wonderful products which inspire us. The stores and stockists are often as fascinating as the brands themselves, with each creating unique narratives around the products.

The first of these stores to be introduced is L’Eclaireur. Translating from the French for ‘Boy-Scout’, L’Eclaireur is in its 33rd year of existence, and now claims 6 Parisian locations (and one in Tokyo). Founded by Armand Hadida in a basement location of the Champs-Elysees, the store was the first distributor of brands such as Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela, in France.

With two dedicated menswear stores (Rue Malher, Marais and Champs-Elysees) and three mixed stores, the brand list now includes established names such as Lanvin and Comme des Garcons, alongside cult names such as Paul Harnden and ETS Callatay.

Aesthetically, clean lines such as those of Jil Sander and Junya Watanabe are juxtaposed against those of Julius, Isaac Sellam and Rick Owens; creating a new vantage from which to view brands not often associated with a looser, voluminous and often gothic aesthetic.

As for store interiors, cast-iron and dark wood meet a glass roofed atrium (in the Rue Malher store) whilst 147 screens are buried into the wood and polystyrene walls of the Rue de Sevigne location.

“This is not a store…It’s an experience, this project is the formatting of a dream, an intention fed with enormous stories and memories; like a tale in which I hope everyone can find a little of himself” – Arne Quinze (Rue de Sevigne store designer).

www.leclaireur.com

#leclaireur #paulharnden #junyawatanbe #commedesgarcons #lanvin #ETScatalay

Barbisio

Barbisio have produced handmade hats in the Italian town of Biella since 1862 and continue to work from the same 5,500 Sq ft. factory.

Working with a noticably anglo-saxon aesthetic (producing models such as Fedora's and Bowelr's) each hat undergoes seven unique stages of production (an numerous other sub-stages). Firstly, the hats are blown, putting air through the fibers to ensure its consistency. Secondly, 'basters' create the shape of the cone on which the style is to be modelled. Thirdly, a process of fulling occurs, where the felt is shrunk through a process of washing and drying, before the fourth step of drying takes place. Fifth, shaping and finishing take place, before the final stage of sealing (ribbons etc.) takes place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wJ712TY4v0

Showing each year at Pitti Uomo, Florence, Barbisio operates under the motto:

Barbisio, a name, a brand, a guarantee

Prices begin at £120 and can reach £750, whilst stockists include L'Eclaireur in Paris.

#barbisio #hats

Borsalino

In 1857 Guiseppe Borsalino qualified master hatter and his brother Lazzaro founded a hat manufacturing company in Alessandra, Italy. Already in 1871 the company produced around 300 hats in one day a number that rose up to 8000 in 1920. The company has always been in family hand, whether it was sons, daughters, nephews or nieces until 1979. Even after a heavy setback in corporate history, when the manufactory was hit by two bombs in World War II, the company regained strength and celebrated extensive successes through appearances in movies and celebrity clients such as Alain Delon, Gorbatschow or Al Capone.

„Borsalino stands for highest quality. In addition it is an attitude towards life, that develops together with wearing the hat.””

Borsalino hats are handmade and solely produced on demand. No products are held in stock, which gives a high-class exclusivity to the items. Every hat starts from circa 150g high quality hair felt, cotton, silk or panama straw that is processed with steam to form a cheroot in about 120 working steps. Borsalino follows a large scale of quality standards and places high value on sophisticated workmanship.

The trademark hat of the Borsalino brand is the ‘Fedora’ hat, made from superior fur felt, broad-brimmed with a butter soft leather band. However the main product categories are waterproof felt hats from coney hair, panama straw hats from finest raw straw materials and hats from fabric with extraordinary patterns and high class materials.

By spotting celebrities like Humphrey Borgart or Marlon Brando in Borsalino hats gave the brand the characteristic refinement and created a high level of public attention. Over the many years Borsalino developed a cult status amongst their product category.

#Hats #Borsalino

Super Duper

SuperDuper-Handmade Hats are produced by a group of three young designers from Florence, Italy. The brand was born out of a fun-loving passion after the discovery of a unique wooden hat blocker. In 2013 SuperDuper are presenting their 5th design & production line.

Intrigued by the wooden shapes that were used in the past to make hats, the designers learned their trade from old Florentine artisans such as Anna Maria Niccolini, an over 70 years old hat maker from Italy.

“Since the very beginning the beauty of this object, so carefully carved, went together with our love for the hat, an irreplaceable icon of style” (Matteo Gioli, Menswear Designer).

Every SuperDuper hat is completely handmade in Italy, spending several hours to transform high quality raw material into an authentic handcrafted product.

Made in Italy means highest quality materials used, such as Melousine, Superb, Lapin felt, Fur or Straw, taking care of every single detail.

“A hat becomes a SuperDuper only if we are truly satisfied with the final result and if we are the first ones willing to wear it”(Veronica Cornacchini, Womenswear Designer)

Collections are inspired by the 20’s and 30’s years, the era of beauty were everyone, men and women used hats with ease. Designs are enriched with irony, colourful details and optical reinterpretations of antique techniques. Tone in tone combinations are favoured in order to emphasize the different shapes beautifully.

(Vanity Fair, 2012)

(IO Donna, 2012)

“Every SuperDuper is a creative jewel inspired by the suggestion of the moment and is the result of a traditional process, almost totally lost in the chaos of mass production nowadays”

„Every serious relationship with a hat, should be started with a liftetime commitment, anyway“

The SpringSummer collection 2013 is inspired by a journey through natural tones and pastel shades, expressed in materials such as panama, balibuntal and playful fluo transparencies. The atmosphere recalls an English pic-nic under the first warm rays of sun and gathers the same chromatic nuances that Monet donates to his landscapes and ponds.

The FallWinter collection 2012-13 is inspried by the elegance of Vogue during the first half of the past century, meeting the style of the silent movie actors, the gloom of rythmm and blues, up to the imagery of the durtiest working class.

“Hats are the cream of the outfit, the crown of the king and the best friend of a working woman or man”

#hats #superduper

Hutkonig

For five generations the Lange family has led a successful traditional hat manufacturing business. Starting 1875 as hat manufacturer and supply the aristocracy and royal families the business has been privately operated the traditional craftsmanship has been passed on through every generation until today. Located in Regensburg, Germany, the business named Hutkönig (engl. - millinery king) latest business executive Andreas Nuslan, is the only manufacturer worldwide, whose products are entirely fabricated by hand according to traditional English millinery craft. Professional knowledge and expertise have been passed on through the family, who still operates in the initial workshop.

“Our focus in the handiwork lies on durability, functionality, and the most individual optical appearance”

The manufacturing halls contain over 10.000 wooden moulds and irreplaceable millinery machines have been accumulated over the past decades, ensuring the long-established values and premium quality.

Between 60 and 80 production steps over two to five days are going into every single product handicraft builds the main competence and seal of quality. The highly trained and professionally educated milliners put heart and soul into every product to guarantee finest and valuable quality in every hat. Heat, pressure and moisture are the main components accounting as premises for the production. Rabbit hair or natural hair are pressed into a sample workpiece, that is tautened onto a wooden mould and processed and shaped to the aspired design with hot air steam. After a first drying, the so called ‘cheroot’ is broken in or cut so in develops the bonnet. Through this dimensional stability of hats is ensured, a production step can only be done by hand. A video illustrating the manufacturing details can be viewed under:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kx0JP4OS46c#!

The hats start at a buying in price from 10€ to 1000€, depending on material and quality. Being titled after sometimes famous inspirations such as the Humphrey Bogart shape, noblest materials are used to create unique haptics and velutinous, lustrous that resist against strongest weather conditions. Sibirian wild rabbit and goat velour leather are combined into felt and rarefied with condenser cotton yarn ribbons.

#hats #hutkonig

Marsell

Founded, and ever since based in Milan, Marsèll has specialised in handmade leather shoes, portraying contemporary appeal and a distinctly heritage-inspired aesthetic. The plain and unsophisticated shapes, creased wrinkles and the washed leather, lends the shoes and boots a Bohemian edge.

Marsèll’s hand crafted shoes are made from finest high-quality leather, suede and rubber. Unique constructions and intricate details turn these shoes into collector’s items and daily suitable art works.

Products are displayed in showrooms in Milan, Paris and New York; and are sold via a number of independent outlets and online (The Corner.com).

Prices vary between £400 and £1100.

#footwear #shoes #marsell

Paraboot

For more than one hundred years, the French-based brand Paraboot has been hand-crafting shoes from high quality materials. After an exploring journey from Paris to the USA, founder Rémy Richard-Ponvert was driven by his passion for hunting, fishing and mountaineering; to combine functionality and high quality materials. The name originated in Brazil from the Sea Port Para, where Richard-Ponvert sourced premium leather. The product design has undergone a transformation according to the different inspirational sources that cued the design and purpose. Since the foundation in 1908 Paraboot has been conducted as a family business over four generations and by this time is distributed worldwide.

"Authenticity, quality and charm for a true and natural product."

The materials for Paraboot shoes are sourced with utmost care and all products are entirely cut and stitched by hand. The value of traditional shoemaking techniques are carried out by two specific manufacturing practices; the Norwegian and the Goodyear Stich to ensure finest materials and superb construction. Ever since the foundation the production factory has been located in Rémy Richard-Ponverts place of origin, Izeaux, France, and from there is distributed to the 28 wholly-owned stores in Paris, Lyon, London, Tokyo and Antwerp whilst online retailers include Pediwear-Halifox or Stuarts London.

Paraboot products reflect the values of tradition, heritage and high quality according to established experience of artisanal shoemaking competencies. The leather shoes with though and solid characteristics combine elegance and comfort for active people. The four core items are the functional outdoor boots Michel and Morzine as well as the more elegant gent’s shoes Avignon and Chambord.

#footwear #shoes #paraboot

Paul Harnden Shoemakers

Paul Harnden Shoemakers remains shrouded in mystery. From his base in Brighton, England, the designer and craftsman devotes much of his time to actively keeping his brands existence unknown; he has only ever participated in one interview and refuses Internet selling of any of his products.

With his American Civil War meets Victorian England aesthetic, Paul Harnden himself is believed to be one of only three craftsman who hand produce each pair of shoes, with the designer himself perfecting the artform for over 25 years.

IT’S PART OF OUR HERITAGE. THESE THINGS TAKE GENERATIONS TO DEVELOP, & THEY’RE GONE IN A SECOND AREN’T THEY? I’M REALLY PROUD OF THE WAY THEY’RE WORKING THERE…THEY’RE NOT MAKING THAT MUCH MONEY, IT’S ON A WING & A PRAYER - Paul Harnden

Each pair of shoes (with their often wooden soles) are hand sewn and individually shaped, before being buried underground for up to one year. Not only does this create Mr. Harnden’s aesthetic in its truest form, the drying process which the leather subsequently undergoes ensures remarkable strength and suppleness.

The shoes take on an almost abstract quality, blending the boundary between themes of darkness and whimsical, almost humorous qualities - also present in the brands clothing division which was introduced in 2000.

Stockists meanwhile are enviable, among them Dover Street Market and L’eclaireur, once again hinting at luxury and exclusivity. Prices meanwhile can vary, from around £400 to £700.

#footwear #shoes #paulharnden

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