Attire Accessories - Mar/Apr 2019 (Issue 75)

PROFILE 55 Tell me a bit about how the label was started. What was the inspiration? Master craftsman Peter Jones started his journey in a tiny workshop in 1967 as a saddler and harness maker. Peter was always looking for new things to make and try his hand at. One day, Toby, the local milkman, popped in for a chat and asked Peter to make him a new leather cash bag for his milk round, and Peter didn’t disappoint. He hand-stitched a beautifully crafted, strong bag, built to last. This is the very bag that sparked the beginning of Brit-Stitch! In 2010, Toby brought back the bag our founder Peter Jones made him decades previously for a replacement strap. With 43 years of history in our hands and our father’s love of making beautifully crafted items, we decided it was time to give the vintage bag a thoroughly modern makeover, using the traditional skills we are so proud of. How were the initial products developed, and what was the response? Our core product range was inspired by the bag Peter Jones created for Toby, and we began with our Milkman bag, which you can still purchase today. Peter made many bag styles, from school satchels to police handbags. We loved the satchel shape of Toby’s cash bag and could see its potential in the modern market. We stripped down the design, keeping it modern but classic. We took away the traditional clasp closure and developed our signature buckle closure detail. We worked very closely with our tannery to develop leathers in a rainbow of colours while creating beautiful leather that was long-lasting and durable. From this design, we then soon developed the Half Pint, Full Pint and Mini Milkman. We played with scale to create a core range that could cater for different needs and occasions. How important is the location and history of the company to its success? We feel our story and heritage really sets us apart. We are extremely privileged to have 50 years of experience in the leather industry. We (Peter’s children) use skills past down to us by our father to make an array of accessories. We are extremely proud that all our products are made in Britain. We are based in Abergavenny, South Wales, which is the town we all still live in. It’s where Peter Jones began his career in 1967 and where his whole career was based, upscaling as the decades past. How has the product offering changed since you started, and how would you describe your current collection? Since our core range, we developed a few other bag styles and collections. We developed the popular Milkman bag and designed a cute Backpack to cater for the growing festival fashion market. We later developed a classic croc print-patterned leather in a special selected colour range and designed a crossbody bag and clutch to cater for special occasions and evening wear. This is our Brit-Luxe Collection. A little while later, we made a mini version of our Brit-Luxe Shoulder to cater for the growing surge in popularity of micro bags. “We feel our story and heritage really sets us apart. We are extremely privileged to have 50 years of experience in the leather industry.”