Cardigan in West Wales is a small town of 4,000 good people. 400 of them used to make jeans. They made 35,000 pairs a week for three decades. Indeed, they were so skilled at making jeans, when the doors closed 20 years ago, it was the last remaining jeans factory in Britain.
But now, thanks to the brilliant team at Hiut Denim, the town is making jeans again. And that's why we were thrilled to sit down with Sara Ladd, Hiut's Head of Product, to find out about her tea and toast favourites.
Over to you Sara.
+++
Tea or Coffee?
Morning Coffee. Just one. Around 10am. Then tea in the afternoon.
Marmalade or Jam
Jam. With peanut butter.
Lie in or early bird?
I’d like to say I’m an early bird, but in reality I do press snooze.
Book or newspaper?
Book. I am prepping for my university thesis, so most of the books I’m reading are about innovation and design. At the moment it’s Greg Hoffman ‘Emotion by Design’ which I can’t put down.
Coast or country?
I live in the most wonderful coastal village in Wales. Of course it’s going to be coast.
Summer or Winter?
Summer. West Wales comes alive in the summer. Longer days. Sea swims. Sunsets. Evenings on the beach. And we are spoilt with the most beautiful beaches.
Spring or autumn?
Tough one, both are great in their own ways. If I’d have to choose, it’ll probably have to be Autumn.
Denim or dress?
Obvious one from me. Denim for sure. My favourite pair at the moment are Hiut Denim’s The Aurelia fit. Loose fitting in a hemp denim selvedge from Candiani.
Jumper. There's something nostalgic about a jumper. It makes me feel super comfortable. Oversized and cosy is what I tend to go for.
Navy or grey?
Navy knit, grey sweatshirt - is that a fair answer?
+++
That is a very fair answer. We'll take that. Thank you very much for chatting with us Sara - it's been a pleasure. Sara wears our OVERSIZE in Undyed Ecru in these pictures - which will be back in stock very very soon.
And for those of new to Hiut Denim - we cannot recommend their jeans enough.
Here's a little bit more about them:
We make jeans. That’s it. Nothing else. No distractions. Nothing to steal our focus. No trying to be the world’s greatest generalist. We focus all our talents on jeans. And we are proud to say that we make some of the world’s best jeans
In the same way as the orange stitching runs through our jeans, a belief in quality runs through our company. For us, quality is not just about using the finest materials, but it is the philosophy behind everything we do: how we look after our people, how we treat our customers, how we conduct ourselves as people and, ultimately, how we do business on a planet with a finite set of resources.
Quality is also about design. To make something so that it will always be loved is a rare skill. Most things are not discarded through failure to function, but because people grow tired of them. Knowing this informs of us of the importance of design that has longevity on the eye. To be classic, to be understated, to not be of a moment so it won’t die in that moment.
Yup, the eye must be given consideration when we design. And indeed, quality is about materials too. The stuff we can feel with our hands. A great product will keep performing as intended when made using the very best materials. This is of course, obvious. But this is where most people try to cut corners. And then they wonder why their customers never came back for more. So maybe, it isn’t so obvious. And lastly quality is about a respect for the planet’s valuable resources.
How often does a cheaper product have to be replaced? Part of that price is paid by the customer, but the other part is paid by us all. In a world that seems obsessed by quantity rather than quality, we know where we stand. We will make the best jeans that we can, rather than the most jeans that we can.