Factory Visit - The Cobbler on Nørre Allé - Sandalmageren

A couple of days ago I decided rather spontaneusly to take my photographer friend, Niels, along for a small impromptu factory visit. I've been meaning to do some new factory visits, but I haven't really had the time, nor has it really been possible, as the few factories or craftsmen left in Denmark are scattered all over the country, which makes having a car or some other mean of transportation a neccessity.

However I knew, that there was a cobbler close to my place, that makes sandals, when he isn't repairing shoes, bags and other leather accessories for his customers. Furthermore I knew, that he has some very nice machinery stashed away. We did get to see some, but not all unfortunately, as most of it is located in his other workshop. With that in mind we decided to go for a walk and meet up with shoemaker, Helge Larsen.

Helge Larsen sailed the seas, when he was young, but after some years at sea he met a beautiful girl in Aarhus, which made him decide to end his seafaring days. A rather classic sailor story. But that didn't make him take up shoe making, instead he worked odd jobs, until he decided to become an apprenticed shoe maker almost 5 years ago. Working with leather wasn't some kind of new found hobby for him. He has been doing it for many years. It first became a time consuming hobby, when he started making bags for motorcycles for himself and friends.

Years later he decided to get his apprenticeship as a shoemaker, which he did in Aalborg and he even got a scholarship for being particularly skillful. It was also as an apprentice, that Helge acquired valuable skills, contacts and machines, that now ensures his daily bread. He told, that while his fellow students enjoyed their free time after school, he would pick up his bike and drive around to fellow shoemakers and thereby he learned the tricks of his trade. Or as he stated in Marxian terms "Knowledge is power"

Helge walks us through the process of making a pair of sandals. The parts are all cut using a clicker press, then the parts are either stitched together on one of his amazing sole stitchers or riveted on his rivet machine, which we unfortunately didn't get to see, but I'm sure, that it's as nice as his other machines. Finally straps are added and a lot of other different processes like attaching the buckle, rounding the edges on the straps and cutting holes on the straps.

One thing is sure, Helge has his equipment covered. He has been buying equipment from other shoemakers, that closed its doors, old factories and from retired leather craftsmen. Therefore he has quite a lot of equipment, that was produced on the Vilhelm Pedersen factory in Høng. The Vilhelm Pedersen produced machines for a lot of different industries in Denmark. Among others the shoemaking industry, which basically was totally shut down by the 70's, but up until then it was quite a thriving industry.

Among leather geeks Vilhelm Pedersen is known for making its own edition of the iconic Junker&Ruh SD28 (please follow this link) hand-driven sole stitcher. And Helge has one of these machines, but we didn't get to see it, but we did get to see the pride of his machine collection - his Rapid E. The Rolls Royce of sole stichers.

When you see this machine, you'll probably be quite awestruck. It's a monster. The thread, that it uses is thick as a rope and the needle looks like a knife. You could potentially sew through a brick with it. He told us, how he got his first Rapid E stitcher for free basically (he now owns three of them in more or less working condition). It didn't work, but he still bought it for a friend. He fixed the machine himself and made it sew again. Helge has no education, when it comes to fixing machines or refurbishing machines, but he is still almost always able to do so himself. He told us stories of how he would take things apart, when he was a kid. As he got older, he would also start putting things together again. He needed to know, how things work. Apparently he also learned, how the Rapid E works, as he has managed to increase the stitch speed from 300 stiches per minut to almost double speed at 500 stitches per minut. Time is money, as he puts it.

Now for some images of the sandals, that we came for. There aren't many makers of sandals left in Denmark, however I know of two other producers, which will of course eventually be featured here. The sandals are made of a 3mm thick vegetable tanned leather and they are equipped with a rubber sole. They carry the name Sandalmageren, which basically translates to "The sandal maker" In case you are wondering the buckle is a pretty standard solid brass buckle. They are made in both sizes for men and women. Although I think a lot of men are put off by the thought of wearing sandals either by hippie-connotations or images of old men wearing them with socks. Many of these Danish made sandals are quite masculine and very solidly built - or as Helge says "The only problem is, that they last a good 10 years, so it takes a while before I see the customer again"

The sandals are available through Helge's own website. Or I'll gladly swing by and help you find a pair.

In the back of Helge's workshop I found this box of Vibram soles. I don't think I'm much of a sandal man myself, but if I could have them equipped with a mini-lug sole from Vibram, I would definitely think about it twice. Maybe I'll take this idea to Helge to see if it could be made. 

Or at least I know, where I can have my boots and shoes equipped with a new Vibram sole and I know, that his Rapid E will stitch through anything.

Now if you are in Aarhus, Denmark, and in need of shoe repairs, I'm sure, you won't find anyone as capable as Helge. I'm also sure, that he'll throw in some free advice on how to maintain your shoes. He is a very straight forward man, that will give his honest opinion on just about everything. 

Lastly if you work with leather and in need of something special, I'm sure, that Helge is the right man to find it. His network is big and he has a nose for finding things. Again, "knowledge is power"

All words by Simon Tuntelder and all photos by Niels Hjorth

Photos have also been uploaded to Flickr

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Factory Visit - Hansen Garments A/W 2011

A little over a week ago We visited Hansen Garments in one of their two HQ’s, which incidentally also doubles as their respective apartments. This visit was a culmination of more than a years worth of e-mail correspondence. Although we have managed to find the time to view their collection and meet them in person at previous appointments, this time we found the time to sit down and have talk. Like really talk. And we did so for hours.

It all began one, fine Sunday morning. I woke too late, but managed to meet AtD’s trusted photographer, Rasmus on time. We were both a bit tired, which led os to walking over to Hansen, as we wanted to appear somewhat presentable and get some fresh air. While we walked, we talked about Hansen and how the same information kept showing up about them. We were baffled, that no one had taken the time to write something original about one of the most original Danish - and even Scandinavian - brands in recent times. So we felt it was our duty to write a descent, original and in depth article about them. 

The fact that they have been so friendly and have sent personal invitations to every single event, they have held, may have made me slightly biased, but nevermind that.

I would also like to say in advance, that if you don’t like reading, then you may want to jump to the pictures straight away (We did an impromtu photoshoot, and I selected some pieces from the autumn/winter collection to showcase) . They are located at the bottom.

During the six or seven hours, that we spent with Hansen, a myriad of subjects were covered. Some were more jovial than others and some were strictly confidential. However I can tell you, that we have already agreed, that AtD will return for another interview, when the next collection hits the shops. This means, we will only be covering the collection, which is in stores now. Clever thinking, eh?

First some background knowledge. Hansen is a two-man operation by Åse Helena Hansen and Per Chrois. Åse does the designing, and Per does everything else. This of course isn’t entirely true, but there is a fun dynamic between the two and they seem to compliment each other very well.

Not only are they partners in Hansen, they are also a couple, when they aren’t working, which is apparantly, what they are doing most of the time. They decided to create this new menswear label, when they were both in between jobs. The idea was formed on a trip through Europe and they decided to go for it. Despite recession et all.

Åse had been designing for a Dansish jeanswear label and Per had been doing something in the creative media business. My description of Per’s job is so vague because the man has done so many different kinds of jobs, that you wouldn’t believe it. Before he started working on making Hansen a reality, he had never worked in fashion – or ever thought about stitch length and French seams, as he put it. But he explained everything by referring to his old job as a runner – I was used to solving problems and finding solutions. This is also what I do now.  

They don’t see the fact, that they are a couple as a hindrance in any way. Of course it has some difficulties, but at the same time they are equally committed and with reason they can spend every wake hour working on Hansen. They like to keep things in the family and among friends, which can be seen in their lookbooks, as they have used neighbours, friends and relatives, instead of using expensive models.

They aren’t only going against the stream in terms of making lookbooks and working on creating a brand. Åse’s approach to design is very different to, how others are doing it. She seems to have a non-existant interest in, what others are doing. For instance she didn’t know, what Our Legacy is, when some people compared their first collection to Our Legacy. The resemblance might be hard to find, but when people run out of words, they tend to draw parallels and pigeon hole things. 

Instead Åse talked about, how she was very inspired by old books and the collection of clothing at Tidens Samling. She is an avid photographer herself, and has always used photos as a source for inspiration, but never fashion magazines. Other than that she paints quite a lot, which can be seen in some of the artwork Hansen has put out. Lastly she mentioned an old book on national costumes – mostly women’s costumes and how it had inspired her to do menswear.

We also talked about the term “heritage” and how it has been misused for a long time. Hansen had the term heritage in their name to begin with to underline their Nordic roots, however they are now removing it in order to avoid the connotations, that comes with that term.

Books on national costumes and polar expeditions serve as inspiration

What drew my attention to Hansen in the first place was their desire to create a line of clothing, that was entirely made in Scandinavia. This has proven to be near impossible, if not completely impossible. This is why, most of their stuff is made elsewhere in Europe, but some is actually made in Scandinavia. For instance some traditional black wool fabric is made in Norway, some fabric is woven in Sweden, Elk hide was sourced in Finland and some things are knitted and sewn in Denmark. Other than that we discussed the hardships of meeting minimums, buying fabric from Japanese sources, finding the right factories to work with and why most Scandinavian factories, makers and artisans haven’t shown any interest in working together for some unknown reason.

We also discussed how to build a brand and how to find just the right retailers for the brand. It is essential, that everything is handled just the right way both in terms of partners, but mostly in terms of production. We talked about, how Hansen could possibly do very well in Japan, but Åse was reluctant to go there, before she was a 110% sure, that everything was perfect from A to Z. Other than that we talked about how the collection was gradually and organically growing and who they would like to be collaborating with in the future. They have already worked with many interesting people in Scandinavia and they hope to find others, as they grow.

Now for the fun part.

This coat is made of a Norwegian-made wool fabric, which is also used in the Norwegian National costume. It is similar to melton wool, however it isn't quite as thick. It has a lovely hand.

The embroidery is entirely handmade by an old lady, who lives near Copenhagen. They tried finding someone in Norway, as this kind of embroidery is typically Norse, however they found it hard to find someone with the required skills.

Other than that the construction, fit and details are top notch.

This may just be a wearable shirt, but it is well-fitting, well-made, filled with nice little details and the fabric is very nice. Who doesn't need a shirt like that?

This sweater doesn't look like much. However it is a masterpiece. The sweater is made of wool from the muskox, which is handpicked on Greenland, where you find a good population of muskox. The raw fibres are then spun in a very small mill in Denmark called Hjelholt and finally it is hand knitted - also in Denmark. This is probably the softest knit I have ever felt and I have felt some insanely soft, Scottish cashmere sweaters. The fibres are long, fluffy, soft and really expensive.

I immediately recognised this fabric as being similar to some old fabrics, that I have found. They knew, what I was referring to, and told me, that this is exactly why, they are working with Japanese mills. They make fabric, like we used to. The cut is long, which is very vintage like. Other than this you see some very nice details like different fabric on the reverse and some of the most beautiful cat-eye horn buttons ever.

These pants were made of some very nice worsted wool fabric. The fabric is deadstock and woven in England. It was purchased from a tailor shop in Copenhagen called Hvidberg, that had one roll of it. Again, very solid construction and beautiful details.

This vest is made of the same nice Norwegian wool fabric, as the coat was made of. Need I say it again? Horn buttons!

This cardigan is one example of the ongoing collaboration with Danish knitter, Ole Strange. The inspiration for this cardigan is the typical Norwegian pattern called Hardanger. This you normally see in the very recognisable Norwegian knitwear, although this is more minimalistic and subdued. As you can see the knit is quite complex.

This jacket looked liked a liner, I thought, but then again it also looks like some old, quilted workwear jackets. Albeit this is made of much nicer materials and may I please add, that these are the best horn buttons I have ever seen? They feature a small loop on the back, that is secured by a split. So great. 

This jacket would be great for layering.

This shirt has a nice casual feel due to the gauzy, double faced fabric (Made in Japan, of course). Other than that it features some nice leather buttons.

The highlight of the collection must be the anorak, which is a very useful piece, if you live in Scandinavia. The material is a very nice, heavy canvas material, that has been slightly coated. The nice kangaroo pouch, fishtail and metal buttons, make this anorak stand out. Very finely executed.

Flickr

Lastly I would like to thank both Åse and Per for taking the time to see us. It was an amazing day spent in good company. Hopefully we’ll be able to build upon this good relationship in the future. Åse and Per were kind, warm, fun and welcoming people. A rare Nordic breed.

Words by Simon Tuntelder and photos by Rasmus Peter Vagn Jakobsen

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Danish Blogs and a Thank You Note

What's going on in our tiny spot on the globe, that we call Denmark? Not much is the short answer, and probably the long answer too. It doesn't mean that there aren't things happening in Denmark because there are some good things. I will try to uncover these things, as we go along. 

Today I would like to bring some attention to two Danish blogs that are doing one hell of a job.

First of is a blog that is very widely known. I would even like to correct myself right away, as this isn't a blog in the common sense. It is more of an online look book or inspiration board, as there are very few words and a whole lot of different outfits. I seriously hope that the owner Sergei and his handsome son, Erik, are borrowing clothes from friends for their shoots, as it would mean that they have the coolest wardrobe, if they didn't.

Please visit them here

http://closeupandprivate.com/site/

The second blog that I would like you all to bookmark the blog Stiljournalen. The owner of the blog - and now web shop - Torsten knows a thing or two about dressing right. I may sometimes find that a bit boring, but never dull. What makes him stand out from all the blogs on wearing a suit, is his sense of story and sense of crafts. He has blogged about how I bought some nice fabric from a retiring tailor and he has been one of the only people in Denmark focusing on Danish production - he even did a piece on Dahlman, before I went there.

Stiljournlalen isn't in English. He does write some English summaries of some of the posts, but I recommend you simply use google translate and read the Danish version.

Please visit Torsten here

http://stiljournalen.blogspot.com/

Finally, I would like to announce that After the Denim has now had 1500 visits  (not including my own, in case you were wondering) and it has only been slightly more than a month. This is a fact that I'm very proud of, especially when I think of how little I have done to promote the blog. Of course I hope that the number of visitors will rise to even greater numbers - so please tell your loved ones - but if it all ended here, I would still be very honoured. All I can say, is that I still feel motivated to make this one of the good blogs and I continuously try to think of new things that I can ad to the blog. Hopefully, more people will comment, ask questions, give recommendations or whatever you may feel like and hopefully more friends will chip in with posts, as this blog isn't entirely about me.

So to the readers, thank you.

Best regards Simon

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A Stuffed Horse and Danish Modern

A stone's throw away from the main shopping street in Copenhagen there is a small saddler's shop called, Sadelmager Dahlman. It's a hidden gem with a great story, that needs to be told before it is too late and Dahlman is no more. At its prime Dahlman employed a lot of people and had some stuffed horses to exhibit their saddles, but now there are only two left, the brothers Frank and Erik Hendriksen and the horses have been donated to museums. They haven't employed any apprentices in recent times, so it's probably the end of the line for Dahlman.

Now I could go on and on about the great story and the great heritage of Dahlman, but in this case that isn't the interesting part. Of course it plays a huge part, but I don't find the equestrian side that exciting, though I can appreciate the craft and skills that it requires. But if you want to read about it, they have written about their story in detail - here

There are a few other saddlers in Denmark and some of them might be making belts and leather accessories, but what sets Dahlman apart from the others is their unique assortment. This is a direct result of their willingness to work together - what we today would call collaborate - with the architects, who would later go on and make Danish design very famous. Dahlman made leather work to their specifications and were generally very involved in the creation process. This resulted in leather work on furniture for many famous Danish designers such as Børge Mogensen and Arne Jacobsen, as well as more fashion related items such as a briefcase and a very special belt.

It was the very special belt and briefcase that was our goal on that early spring Saturday when we drove our bikes over to Dahlman's shop. We were greeted by Erik, who was the only one there, as Frank had some other business to attend to. At first he was quite apprehensive, but when he learned that we were very interested in his trade and his products, he more than willingly gave us a tour of Dahlman's legacy. We of course gladly inspected all their products with great care and inhaled that pleasant smell of good leathers that is everywhere in their shop. Erik also showed us all of their old tools which had been passed down by one generation of saddlers to the other. Some of the tools were over a hundred years old, and they looked well-used. Surprisingly they also had a lot of deadstock silver buckles that were used on the royal horse-drawn carriages, which are now used as belt buckles.

Now for the stuff that made us go to Dahlman's amazing shop. All of it has been made since the 1940's when it was developed together with Danish achitects like Kaare Klint, Poul Kühl and especially Erik Herlöw. It later became "comme il faut" among designers to wear these items.

First up, a pair of sandals. These are unlike most other Dahlman items sewn on an old Singer machine, but they are cut by hand. They are meant to be worn inside as a pair of very stylish slippers. If I remember correctly, they cost a 1000 kr ($200), unless you want them fitted for your wide or narrow feet, then they cost slightly more.

Secondly there is the breathtaking briefcase or attaché that was 30 kr (6 dollars in the 40's), when it was first made, and now comes to a staggering price of 24.000 kr (around $4.600), although it was on sale for a bit less. I'm not trying to justify the price, but you do get a very nice briefcase that has been completely handsewn, which takes a couple of days, in a very nice leather with custom made solid brass hardware. This is old world craftsmanship.

Lastly there is the belt that is commonly known as the "Architect belt" because it was worn by many of the Danish architects. In the beginning the belt came in natural only, but Arne Jacobsen wanted the belt in black, so he had the saddlers dye it black, so he could have it his way. If you talk to Erik about the belt, he'll refer to it as the "Saurmurhage bæltet" (in Danish) referring to the French origin of the hook stud used for the belt. The belt is normally made of 27mm wide vegetable tanned leather and again, every stitch is hand sewn using an awl and two needles. What you don't see, unless you inspect the back of the belt, is how each belt hole has drilled channel on the backside in order to make the hook go through the hole more easily.

To me this belt is iconic. Fantastic craftsmanship, great quality, beautiful details, minimalistic design and lastly a story like no other. The price isn't too bad either - around 1000 kr.

Thank you, Erik for taking your precious time to show us around your shop.

All words by Simon Tuntelder and all photographs by Rasmus Peter Vagn Jakobsen

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