Hiut Denim

The History Tag

Our love for our things – our pens, shoes, cameras, our books, our music, our jeans – usually has something to do with the stories that we attach to them. Sometimes the stories are our own, sometimes other people’s.

The places we go. The people we meet. The ideas we have. The companies we start. The tender moments. The excitement we feel. The failures. The successes. And, all the moments that fall in between these times.

But those memories are subject to one threat: It’s called “Time Passing”. And with time passing those important memories fade. Even the unforgettable brilliant ones. That’s what makes our memories oh so fragile.

That got us at Hiut Denim to thinking…

On the one hand, we have the Luddite desire to make something well, to make something to last. And on the other hand, we have the geeky side of us that understands the power of the internet to tell stories.

For us, it’s like two roads coming together. And where they meet, is a really interesting place. And, as a company that’s where we want to be. At the crossroads between Luddite and Geek.

That’s why Hiut Denim will be the first jean company in the world to have a History Tag.

This is crazy good.

After all if we make a pair of great jeans that last, so should the memories that are made in them.

So, how does it work?

It’s super simple. Each jean will come with a unique number. Your unique number. You go to the HistoryTag website and register. That’s it.

Then you can upload pictures of where you went, what you did, who you did it with…to the HistoryTag website.

So those memories get saved. Not a big deal right now. But when you look back, it will become a big deal.

And yes, the History Tag is a bit like a blank iPod, but as you add more and more music it becomes more and more interesting. Or in our case, the more memories you add to it, the more fascinating it becomes.

So if in the future, your jeans get handed down, or end up in a second hand jeans shop, their memories will go along with them.

Your memories won’t be forgotten which we think is good. A good marriage between Luddite and Geek.

And that’s the genius of the history tag. And that’s the genius of making a product to last. It will give our objects more meaning. It will mean we throw things away less. Because it attaches the stories to the objects that we love.

At Hiut, we want to have ideas that no one has had. We are not here to make up the numbers. We don’t want to play small just because we have started out small.

We want to change the denim industry.

We want to be history makers as well as jean makers.

Our town is going to make jeans again

Cardigan 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.

Then one day the factory closed. It left town. But all that skill and knowhow remained. Without any way of showing the world what they could do.

That’s why we have started The Hiut Denim Company. To bring manufacturing back home. To use all that skill on our doorstep. And to breathe new life into our town.

As one of the Grand Masters said to me when I was interviewing: “This is what I know how to do. This is what I do best.” I just sat there thinking I have to make this work.

So yes, our town is going to make jeans again.

Here goes.

Do one thing well

We make jeans. That’s it. Nothing else. No distractions. Nothing to steal our focus. No kidding ourselves that we can be good at everything. No trying to conquer the whole world. We just do our best to conquer our bit of it. So each day we come in and make the best jeans we know how. Use the best quality denims. Cut them with an expert eye. And then let our ‘Grand Masters’ behind the sewing machines do the rest.

There is a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from making something well, of such superior quality that you know it is going to stand the test of time. It makes the hard work and the obsessing over each and every detail worth all the effort. That’s our reward. That’s why we stick to just making jeans. Yup, we just make jeans. That’s all folks.

Packaging for Whisky

SCAN IN DEVELOPMENT SHEETS OF PACKAGING IDEAS

Idea one:
Scientific experiment, beakers test tubes, diagrams


Continue idea of scientific diagrams link back to idea of mountains.
Contours of mountains, blend fold out packaging

Contour

RE-WRITE OF BRIEF

BRIEF 1 -WHISKY D&AD

Concept:
xxperiment- the new generation of whisky

Deliverables:
-Logo of brand
-Main bottle and packaging
-Pack containing 5 tester bottles of Whisky, different flavours
-5 Labels for Whisky bottles (Range)
-Whisky cards- cocktail drink experiments
-Events
-Dispenser for bar
-Taster cards, review cards
-Info about Whisky science behind it.
-Taste wheel

XXPERIMENT CONCEPT FURTHERED

The idea chosen in the crit to continue with was the whisky to be marketed as an 'experiment' for women. After researching women's views on Whisky and how they have become a growing generation of whisky drinkers, I found that women are more likely to experiment and try different tastes to find the one which best suits them, also how the woman's palette is more delicate to these subtle changes in the flavour of the whisky.

Exxperiment Word

Colour

So far on my design context I have been collecting images and objects that have used colour well, from here I have used the Adobe Kuler website to create colour palettes for me to use in my designs.

I will keep collecting colour palettes throughout the module and identify what each one could be used for, mood, tone etc.

Tasters

Make your own Nosing & Tasting Kit How does it works? You start with an empty gift box (there are different size boxes)Kit which contains: 6 tubes, black presentation box sealing sticker.

Tell us what whiskies you would like. Malts and blends. Choose 6 (depends on box ordered) whiskies to fill the presentation box if you want one

If you don't want to have a presentation box with 6 tubes, you will be charged only for the tubes you choose in Build your own Kit. Boxes hold; 6, 12 or 24 tubes. Email for details.  A 6 Box set

LABRATS PACKAGING

LABRATS PACKAGING

By cyril foiret 16 Oct 2011 @ 9:12 am | Categorized design |

New work by Werner Design Werks for LabRats, a project done with Cabell Harris from Worklabs. It’s an introductory/welcome kit to stimulate conversation and creative thinking for new members or to entice high level creatives to be a part of this exclusive and experimental process.

About LabRats:

“Welcome to a breeding ground for ideas. A place where studies in collaboration between creative minds, cultural scientists and business leaders are on going in order to develop and build ideas. Here experiments in finding answers are conducted daily.

For years, people have pontificated on what the new creative model will be. Now, an entire industry says what it isn’t more than what it is. It’s become complicated for the sake of being complicated.

We have another idea. A simple idea. In fact, it’s all about ideas.

We put the idea front and center. We strive to make something new. We strike fast. We work with expertise. The lab is an open source in which a chosen group of people from varying disciplines has the opportunity to contribute to a number of projects. It is also a forum to get assistance and help from the other Rats on their projects. We work together in the Lab.

We approach each project with respect to the clients and to our talents. In the Lab, we know ideas are not a dime a dozen or infinite in number. We treat the ideas, as they deserve to be treated – to be given their right due.

The Lab is not open to everyone. Those who contribute to the projects performed here are professionals who were invited because of particular know how and specific skills, interest and passion. Here, the best ideas from a wealth of cutting edge thinkers will offer clients access to the best minds to solve business challenges and identify new opportunities.”

Contemporary Whisky bottles

Johnnie Walker x Chris Martin 'Johnnie Walker House' Porcelain Bottles

By Lu Yawen, June 23, 2011

 

Newly launched is the Johnnie Walker House in Shanghai, China. A joint project by the whisky label and Singapore-based, Asylum, the House is a luxuriously designed walk-through of the history of whisky that aims to enlighten the elite in China. Details such as the peat and barley walls, 24 degrees angle and colour of the oak floors, are all inspired from the process of making a good glass of whisky. 

The House also features seven white porcelain whisky bottles that, when put together, form the story of whisky's introduction to China. Done by illustrator, Chris Martin, the bottles are reminiscent of China porcelain bowls. 

An exclusive whisky was also created by Dr. Jim Beveridge, called The 1910 Edition, and is only available at the Johnnie Walker House. 

Source: Creative Review

Whisky experiment

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Whisky made from WHAT???

I'm still not quite sure that this story isn't a hoax, but it's been widely published, so I'm going to take it on trust . . . although I won't be drinking the product!

Wired magazine in the UK reports:

James Gilpin is a designer and researcher who works on the implementation of new biomedical technologies. He's also got type 1 diabetes, where his body doesn't produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar levels.




So he's started a project called Gilpin Family Whisky, which turns the sugar-rich urine of elderly diabetics into a high-end single malt whisky, suitable for export.

The source material is acquired from elderly volunteers, including Gilpin's own grandmother, Patricia. The urine is purified in the same way as mains water is purified, with the sugar molecules removed and added to the mash stock to accelerate the whisky's fermentation process. Traditionally, that sugar would be made from the starches in the mash.




Once fermented into a clear alcohol spirit, whisky blends are added to give colour, taste and viscosity, and the product is bottled with the name and age of the contributor.




. . .

It'll be exhibited, with tasting sessions, at 100% Materials, a design and architecture event in London in September, and the Abandon Normal Devices festival in Manchester in October. If you're not keen on trying it yourself, then you can still go along and view the three films that Gilpin will be showing alongside the whisky, which each outline one aspect of living with the disease.

There's more at the link. Photographs are from James Gilpin's Web site.

If any British readers of this blog will be attending either event, and you're feeling adventurous, please post a comment here and tell us what the stuff tastes like, won't you? Personally, I'll stick to Glenfiddich, thank you very much!

PaperBack

Today I phoned paperback for a sample pack of papers to be sent for the Lauren Carande brief, this company sources recycled paper stock in a range of weights and colour, hopefully i should get this for thursday to discuss with Lauren.


They also include infer on each stock how ethical each one is and include facts on recycled paper which would be interesting to show Lauren when making her choices on stock, to see if this had an effect on the stock she would choose.

RECYCLED PAPER: MYTHS & FACTS

It requires more energy to make recycled paper than new paper

False and True!
If we look at the papermaking process alone, then it does indeed normally take
more energy to make paper from waste paper than from pulp because of the extra
cleaning involved, but …….. pulp does not grow on trees!

If we include all the other energy requirements involved in turning wood chips
into pulp, the making of recycled paper consumes up to 50% less energy than
using trees.

Making recycled paper is more polluting than making new paper

False!
Pulping, bleaching and manufacturing paper, especially paper made from
'chemical' pulp (used for most printing papers other than newsprint), requires
more chemicals and is often more polluting than making recycled paper.
Recycled paper production uses up to 50% less water than virgin paper and fewer
chemical processes.

The production of recycled paper also reduces carbon emissions. In addition,
carbon is retained in the paper when recycled rather than being released when
incinerated or broken down in landfill sites. When compared to the production
of virgin paper, 1 tonne of recycled paper can save 1.32 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Making recycled paper requires a lot of bleaching

False!
Most recycled papers require little if any bleaching.

If a mill has no de-inking or cleaning equipment, it can only accept unprinted or
lightly printed (e.g. computer) waste paper.

At other mills printed waste is cleaned by:

Dispersal – the ink is diluted and dispersed in the pulp (with no extra pollution);
or De-inking – this is more a mechanical than a chemical process.
A detergent (usually phosphate free) is used to dissolve the ink.
Most commonly air bubbles are injected into a large vat (de-inking cell) holding
the pulp. Ink sticks to the bubbles and rises to the surface where it is scooped off.
This process is repeated a couple of times. The de-inked waste is solidified and
either burned, turned into soil conditioner or safely disposed off.

Where bleaching is used, almost invariably chlorine-free agents are used.

It is better to burn (incinerate) waste paper than to recycle it

False and (occasionally) True!
There is a lot of paper (especially packaging) which is contaminated or difficult
to recycle (if mixed up with other materials). It may be better to make use of the
calorific value of the waste than dump it in a hole in the ground. But incineration
itself can cause pollution! … and there is still much good quality paper going to
waste. It is obviously better to recycle this (and retain the carbon) than to burn it.

There is nothing wrong with using trees – a renewable resource – as a crop
for paper

False and True!
Trees have only been used on a large scale for papermaking since the second
half of the 19th century. Provided they are grown in a sustainable and ecologically
responsible way, trees are a valuable source of raw material for papermaking
…. but there are many areas where trees are grown as a 'cash crop', often in
mono-culture fashion (one species of tree). Fertilisers, herbicides, insecticides
and other pesticides are used to ensure a 'healthy' crop with consequent damage
to the environment
…. and there is a limit to how much natural or original forest we want to see
turned over to 'farmed' forest
…. and in areas where clear-felling is practised, it can lead to soil erosion.

Don't trust the label 'made from sustainable forests' at face value. To be sure,
specify papers made with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified content.

Recycled Papers are always of poor quality

False and True!
The quality of recycled paper (as well as new paper) has benefitted from great
improvements in papermaking technology over the last three decades. Quality
control is almost invariably computerised and subject to the strictest testing and
checking. Many recycled coated and office papers are now indistinguishable from
virgin equivalents, not just in their performance, but even in their appearance.