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Documenting British Manufacturing

It’s no surprise that Britain, once the ‘workshop of the world’, has a proud heritage of satisfying the needs of consumers. Whether bespoke or mass produced, there’s still something wonderful about seeing things being made in a digital world of ones and zeros.

 


Feature on short documentary about Barbour wax jackets ‘A Jacket for Life’

Capturing this seemingly hidden world is too tempting a prospect for most film-makers including us and so we are delighted that sister-mag, a great new digital magazine is celebrating ‘craftsmanship’ in their latest edition.  The Berlin based magazine explore what attracts us to document people making things, in our case, at Barbour South Shields, UK.

If you are interested in British Manufacturing, one upcoming project well worth following is by 10 Magnum photographers for the wonderful Multistory team. The largely untold story of British manufacturing+industry through the lens of the world’s greatest photographers.  I can’t wait to see the results.

Teasing out the heart and soul

We’ve been overwhelmed by the wonderful feedback we’ve had for our film ‘A Jacket for Life’. From creative agencies that have enjoyed the intimate storytelling to people who now feel proud to wear, or even go out and buy a Barbour we seem to have inspired a lot of online talk about the things we most value.

We’re now sharing a few quotes here, alongside links to other blogs so that you can read some of the reviews in full.

Portable TV – Hopelessly Devoted

Magali Pettier and Jan Cawood of Tin Man Films fully understand that the primary purpose of a film is to tell a story, but they venture one step further as they specialize in teasing out the heart and soul of their subject matter with intimate narratives.

the heart and soul of their subject matter with intimate narratives.

Steven Hurley

This is what branded content should be all about, brilliant work, great story telling.

Volume.1. Brooklyn Things that are simplest last a long time

I guess there’s no better time than your lunch break to sit and watch what is basically the quaintest thing you will see all week.

Unabashedly Prep blogger F E Castleberry

A great video. A Jacket for Life, showcases the 30-year love affairs several Barbour owners have with their jackets—revealing why those relationships last longer than many marriages.

F E Castleberry

Brilliant video! I’ve owned a Barbour since the early 80s it’s so true about the Barbour Jacket! Worth the investment!

Sue Newton, Global PR and Sponsorship Manager, Barbour

Magali Pettier and Tin Man Films have managed to portray the pleasure and the comfort, both physical and emotional, that a Barbour jacket can give to its wearer. We’re very proud of this legacy and the intimate nature of the experience that our wax jackets give to our customers. We feel that this film not only captures the essence of this, but also celebrates the lives of real people in a very subtle and wonderful way.

Now enjoy watching the film!

 

Really Great Filmmaking Tips

Here is a really nice website helping you to avoid making major mistakes when making your films.

For instance, most film budgets will include actors, dancers, camera operators, gear…. but when it comes to marketing, there is very little.

So first lesson, if you budget for your film, include a decent fee for marketing.

Look here for endless tips: www.atomicstudios.com

 

Barbour Film Editing

There’s a texture to the wearing of the jackets – a sensory feeling our three owners talked about– so we wanted that to come out in the location, mood and texture of the film.

Aldeburgh

We also loved the factory sounds, the contrast between factory and landscape, the production versus to weather and so focused on that to add an extra dimension.

Aldeburgh

We hope it’s a ‘seamless ‘ edit that weaves together our particular story. Watch our film ‘A Jacket for Life’ on our Vimeo channel.

You can also view it here.

Reflections on Glass

We have recently had the pleasure of filming a day in the life of Rick Pooley, a designer, creator and restorer of stained glass based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Ashfield Stained Glass: Rick preparing stained glass

Rick also offers customers the chance to design and help make their own glass panels too.
Ashfield Stained Glass: window with Rick's glass works

If you are in the region visit Rick in Newcastle at his Ashfield Glass workshop.

Ashfield Stained Glass: close-up of Rick soldering glass

He’s the sort of man who will have the kettle on for you.

Ashfield Stained Glass: window with some of Rick's work

In this documentary we gain an insight into his work and find out how his passion for glass turned a hobby into a new career.

We have now finished editing so view the film on our Vimeo Channel.

You can also view it here.

Barbour Location Filming

Barbour jackets are beautiful and functional but you never really know who wears them.

South Shields Beach, by Beacon Lighthouse

Our location filming included some beautiful British landscapes from the South Shields waterfront as the sun rose to a day on an allotment in Beverley and walking on Aldeburgh beach.

Aldeburgh Beach - Maggi Hambling's Scallop Shell

The texture and tone of the locations are more than we hoped for and create a lovely mood for our quintessentially British story as did our Barbour owners Paul, Thea and Carole.

Beverley - Rapeseed Flowers Field

Researching Barbour Jackets

One of Barbour’s new retro lining fabrics was based on what the Customer Services team had found in jacket pockets over the years when they came in for repair. The contents hinted at customer lifestyles – from dog biscuits to toy cars, party poppers to plane tickets.

Photo of Barbour Inside Jacket Lining

Over a period of weeks we’ve come to know a lot more about Barbour and it’s customers.

To find out more about the relationship between Barbour and its customers we spent a day with the Customer Services team and factory workers to see how Barbour wax jackets are made and repaired.

Visiting Barbour’s Simonside Factory at South Shields

There’s a great atmosphere of people who know what they are doing at Barbour’s South Shields factory. About 14,000 jackets are repaired, reproofed or altered by the Customer Services team of 11 people each year and demand seems to be growing. It’s an intimate relationship watching one operator like Denise trying to ‘get inside the jacket without anyone knowing you’ve been in it’ and a lifetime of experience which allows colleagues to bring them back to life.

Barbour Repair Department

On the factory floor it takes over 40 pair of hands to produce one new jacket. The process starts in the cutting room, with rolls of 55 metre long waxed cotton, which are cut into 4.6m lengths. Each length makes three jackets. With over 150 people on the factory floor dedicating time to each part of the process there’s a rhythm and sound which appeals to us as film-makers. It’s also a feast for the eyes.

Barbour South Shields Factory Floor

Visiting Barbour’s Simonside Factory at South Shields

There’s a great atmosphere of people who know what they are doing at Barbour’s South Shields factory. As well as making new wax jackets, about 14,000 jackets are also repaired,reproofed or altered by the Customer Services team of 11 people each year and demand seems to be growing.

Barbour Old Waxed Jackets

It’s an intimate relationship watching one operator like Denise trying to ‘get inside the jacket without anyone knowing you’ve been inside it’ and a lifetime of experience which allows her to bring them back to life.

Barbour Repair Department

On the factory floor it takes over 40 pair of hands to produce one new jacket. The process starts in the cutting room, with rolls of 55 metre long waxed cotton, which are cut into 4.6m lengths. Each length makes three jackets.

Barbour Cutting Room: Cutting Fabric

With over 150 people on the factory floor dedicating time to each part of the process there’s a rhythm and sound which appeals to us as film-makers. It’s also a feast for the eyes.

Barbour South Shield Factory Cutting Room: Pattern cutting

Barbour: A Jacket for Life

We’ve always admired the fact that Barbour’s classic wax jackets are still hand crafted at Barbour’s factory in South Shields near where we live.

Sewing the Barbour Label

The 118 year old family business is well known for producing beautifully functional clothing and the quality of their jackets mean that for some customers it’s a relationship that lasts a lifetime.

Barbour Wax Jacket

Reading Barbour’s blog about the work of their Customer Services team at South Shields who alter, rewax or repair over 14,000 items a year made us wonder why some customers prefer to keep repairing than buy new and who wears a Barbour that’s over 30 years old?

As documentary film-makers it was too tempting a story for Magali Pettier and Jan Cawood of Tin Man Films and so we decided to find out more.

Barbour Wax Jackets

It’s been a joy filming on location for our upcoming short documentary about why people are so attached to their Barbour wax jackets.

Barbour South Shields Factory

We’ve met the small team who expertly repair, alter and reproof approximately 14,000 jackets every year at Barbour’s South Shields factory.

Barbour's Repair Department

We’ve also met a few customers around the UK who have owned jackets for over 30 years and are now busy editing.

Beach at Aldeburgh

We hope it will become a seamless story that weaves all the threads together. We’ll begin the story by sharing our film-making diary with you about how and why I and Jan Cawood of Tin Man Films (www.tinmanfilms.co.uk) came to make this film.