Creating a space creates your culture

How you start out is how you will end up.

I don't know where I got that phrase from, but there is a lot of truth in it.

If important values,dreams, aims aren't put into place from the beginning, they don't just magically turn up during the journey.

I remember one day having a conversation with the landlord about how bad the floor was, and how I thought he should get it painted. His mindset was different to mine. He was happy with mediocre and I wasn't. I ended up walking out and left the landlords in the factory without any goodbyes being said. The next day, we went and bought some floor paint and some rollers.

I wanted everyone to know that if we were going to make great jeans, we wouldn't surround ourselves with mediocre. Mediocre is contagious. And it would set us out on the wrong path.

The floor is now part of folklore of Hiut. Everyone in the factory knows what our intent is: To be great at what we do. 

One way to make sure you beat mediocre is to work with people who have already battled with it and won. I like working with a small team of people who have proven to themselves and the outside world that they have the desire to push things forward.

My idea for the factory was to make it feel precise, to make it feel uncluttered, to make it feel almost zen like, where the only thing to concentrate on was the art of making a great jean.

One member of our small team is Russell Ashdown who runs Remodel Design (Others are Nick Hand who designs the Year Book, Jon Heslop who develops our internet strategy). He designed the space at the factory and in so doing, he shaped our future. Of course, helped along by the Landlord.

I will put up some more photos next week. I will end by sharing his thinking on the project.

‘Think about the difference between the factory space and the workshop. 

One is about production, the other is about craft.

Remodel has helped design a new manufacturing facility for Hiut Denim.

One particular challenge was key for this unique denim company.

Can you have a modern production space, geared to the high speed needs of the marketplace.

But still create a place that supports the workflow and thought process of craft.

The finished space has the feel of an efficient manufacturer.

Dead straight lines of sewing machines, a regimented order for handling the jeans give away the careful thought that has gone into the layout.

Also however, allowed to creep in here and there, is the mild chaos of the creative space, the workshop and the artists studio.

The new space tells the story of a serious little company, with its roots firmly in the craft tradition.’