Field Leathers

[dudewuttheheck]

^^In addition, it should be difficult to find a machinist who has similar quality requirements and who can also implement them.

Agreed. He will probably be better off just raising prices.

 

[Robbie79]

^^In addition, it should be difficult to find a machinist who has similar quality requirements and who can also implement them.

I definitely agree but on the other hand companies like Thedi have also managed this for sure but a lot of training and talent is needed as well. I know Thedi started his business more than 40 years ago but upscaling to be capable to produce larger number of jacket happened probably in the last 4-6 years if I'm not mistaken (I started to follow him about 5 years ago). If he, for instance, can convince former colleagues to be part of a new brand right from the beginning (OK perhaps with 1 year delay) can also be quite attractive.

 

[Robbie79]

Agreed. He will probably be better off just raising prices.

Companies with staff like Thedi are also raising their prices on a regular basis. Greg would be stupid if he would not do that as long as customers are willing to pay and as long as he doesn't have real competition in this "league"

 

[red devil]

I definitely agree but on the other hand companies like Thedi have also managed this for sure but a lot of training and talent is needed as well. I know Thedi started his business more than 40 years ago but upscaling to be capable to produce larger number of jacket happened probably in the last 4-6 years if I'm not mistaken (I started to follow him about 5 years ago). If he, for instance, can convince former colleagues to be part of a new brand right from the beginning (OK perhaps with 1 year delay) can also be quite attractive.

Theo did tell me that finding people with potential is very difficult

 

[Marc mndt]

I definitely agree but on the other hand companies like Thedi have also managed this for sure but a lot of training and talent is needed as well. I know Thedi started his business more than 40 years ago but upscaling to be capable to produce larger number of jacket happened probably in the last 4-6 years if I'm not mistaken (I started to follow him about 5 years ago). If he, for instance, can convince former colleagues to be part of a new brand right from the beginning (OK perhaps with 1 year delay) can also be quite attractive.

Thedi actually downscaled. They used to make -slightly better than- mall jackets in large numbers. At some point in time they changed their business model and began making quality jackets. From around 2000 to 2010 they made Harley Davidson jackets. After that they began making thedi jackets like we know them today. But back then thedi 's prices were lower This is a Facebook post from 2011

https://therake.com/stories/craft/thedi-leathers-genuine-motorcycle-jackets/

Back then they even sold jackets through etsy
https://www.etsy.com/shop/thedileathers/reviews

Edit: typo

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Companies with staff like Thedi are also raising their prices on a regular basis. Greg would be stupid if he would not do that as long as customers are willing to pay and as long as he doesn't have real competition in this "league"

And seeing how satisfied customers are, it would certainly be justified for him to crank up the pricing.

 

[Robbie79]

And seeing how satisfied customers are, it would certainly be justified for him to crank up the pricing.

As he's a really nice guy I just hope that he will make right decisions at the right time and will not end up like JC - a couple of weeks ago I sent multiple e-mails to JC and tried to call him....no reaction at all till today (not a single e-mail explaining sorry, I don't take any new orders unless you accept 4 years lead time). As long as waiting times are within one year, I think that's OK for most of us. None knows how Greg will end up in 5 years...perhaps one-man company or perhaps a company like Aero working with local shops in different countries. At least he has a lot of ideas and knows how to implement these.

 

[willyto]

To be honest I don't like the way waiting time is used to hype the brand or the product. It just means that there is demand.

I don't think having a long waiting time is a measure of quality, it just means that you have a long queue because you're a one man operation and can't do all the work needed in a sensible time due to the limitations of being a single Staff member. In the end it means that the time spent doing leatherwork is not as high as it could be because he is also replying emails, taking photos, sharing photos, etc.

I hope he just closes the list when the waiting time gets close to 1 year...that's a lot of time. Don't want to repeat JC mistakes.

 

[jeo]

To be honest I don't like the way waiting time is used to hype the brand or the product. It just means that there is demand.

I think the only one who is using wait times to hype the brand and get more orders is Greg himself, which I don't fault him at all for doing so. He'd be stupid not to.

Besides that, how is the wait times used to hype up the brand?

I think the "hype" on here and other places is the reason wait times are increasing more so than the other way around.

I don't think having a long waiting time is a measure of quality, it just means that you have a long queue because you're a one man operation and can't do all the work needed in a sensible time due to the limitations of being a single Staff member. In the end it means that the time spent doing leatherwork is not as high as it could be because he is also replying emails, taking photos, sharing photos, etc.

I agree with you here and hope that he doesn't make the jackets any worse or he rushes through them just to keep up with the orders and therefore the quality suffers. That doesn't look to be the case so far.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Agreed @jeo . On this forum at least, the hype was there for Greg well before the wait times shot up.

 

[oskar]

A longer waitinging list hypes up a brand because we as humans feel strongly attracted to scarce products. Not everyone is effected by that but if you are, it yas a very strong effect on you.
That is why many brands try to use this effect. They even go as far as limiting the supply on purpose.
(Fashion brands like Supreme)

It is a loop, people value a product -》 it becomes scarces -》 They want it even more

 

[jeo]

@oskar yes, but that is something that happens naturally and not something that any one person is using to hype up the brand except for Greg himself (i.e. him saying on his IG stories that wait times are now 7 months and that you should "get in" before it gets worse) Again, I don't fault Greg for doing that, but besides him, no one else is using the wait times to hype up the brand.

Maybe that's what @willyto was referring to but how can you be upset at a naturally occurring phenomena? Like you said, it's human nature to be attracted to something scarce.

 

[oskar]

Very interesting. I saw his post today and it did not feel like he his hyping up his brand. I had the impression that he tried to inform everyone that its smart to order now and not to wait too long. For example, I really take my time before I order and that information would be super usefull if I were about to order.

But it is interesting to see how different we interpret his instagram story.

 

[navetsea]

in his situation I would hire someone to sew the liner, to hell with one maker per jacket, not even the ancient master sculptors or painters do that when they get famous enough and get more orders they can do themselves they get assistants to do lesser parts, why would the main artist spent the whole day putting blue on the sky while he can do the face of the main figure of the masterpiece.

 

[Cornelius]

One option here for Field Leathers, which would be far easier than training another Machinist to reach his level, would be to hire one employee, perhaps part-time (~20 hours a week), who takes all the photographs, handles social media posts, manages a production calendar, triages e-mails inquiries, etc., leaving Greg more hours in the day to work on cutting patterns & sewing jackets. But perhaps he's already done this?

 

[navetsea]

standard items like pocket bags, sleeve linings, assistant can do that, he can stock pocket bags.

 

[jeo]

Very interesting. I saw his post today and it did not feel like he his hyping up his brand. I had the impression that he tried to inform everyone that its smart to order now and not to wait too long. For example, I really take my time before I order and that information would be super usefull if I were about to order.

But it is interesting to see how different we interpret his instagram story.

I used the word hype in response to willy's post.

I don't think he's hyping anything up, but he definitely is using the fact that wait times are increasing as a way to get people to put in their orders now as opposed to later when wait times could get longer.

Some may say he's looking out for his customers. Others may say that's just a way to get more orders. I don't think it's a bad thing either way you look at it. It's a smart business move regardless.

 

[Jin431]

@Jin431 I'm pretty sure that there will be many people interested in buying the same jacket you've just received granting you a discount on your next purchase would be just fair enough IMO. Btw. the FW Mulholland is no longer on my list unless I find a size 38 in very good condition at a reasonable price which preferably is located in the EU due to VAT+duty which, I know, is almost impossible...in this case I definitely would need to sell another similar one (I don't want and need another one in a similar style)...but which one to sell then?!?

Therefore I'm currently rather looking for a completely different style and I do have something in my mind but not from FL.

I'm just kidding lol Greg already gave me a discount on a future project so bless him. Thats true it's always a conundrum but to be honest you already have such a beautiful and diverse collection. So if/when that opportunity to get a FW Mulholland that's already in the EU comes I'm sure it will be another blessing.

Got it! That's good to know. I'm also in talks with Thedi for a project

 

[MrProper]

Maybe Greg doesn't want it to be a big company?
Suppose he is happy to do every detail himself, to take care of social media, to take pictures etc. Then he makes his 5-6 jackets a month and the price will increase according to supply and demand and bring him a good income.
The risk is that prices and waiting times will rise to such an extent that customers will decline and stop playing the game.
In addition, there is a risk of being unable to work due to illness/accident at a one man show.
In this respect we can be curious to see in which direction all of this will develop.
I'm sure not to speak of a hype with a backlog of an estimated 50 jackets.

 

[Robbie79]

in his situation I would hire someone to sew the liner, to hell with one maker per jacket, not even the ancient master sculptors or painters do that when they get famous enough and get more orders they can do themselves they get assistants to do lesser parts, why would the main artist spent the whole day putting blue on the sky while he can do the face of the main figure of the masterpiece.

One option here for Field Leathers, which would be far easier than training another Machinist to reach his level, would be to hire one employee, perhaps part-time (~20 hours a week), who takes all the photographs, handles social media posts, manages a production calendar, triages e-mails inquiries, etc., leaving Greg more hours in the day to work on cutting patterns & sewing jackets. But perhaps he's already done this?

I think these are very good ideas and could solve some of his potentially upcoming problems and could help him to keep the waiting times at a normal /acceptable level. Would be interesting to know how other hiqh quality brands like Thedi are handling this...perhaps Theodoros is doing some kind of quality control, certain complicated process steps, etc. When I compare my Aero jackets which are made by different machinists (including Julie who made my Badalassi 'Original Hercules') I can see quality difference (mainly stitching quality which is OK for me for sure).