WINGS, WHEELS & ROCK'N'ROLL - LEWIS LEATHERS

Wings, Wheels & Rock 'n' Roll - Vol.1

A 240 page book with 1600 photos detailing the legends, the leathers and the legacy behind Britain's Oldest Motorcycle Clothing Company.

Rina Tanaka & Derek Harris took a deep look at the first 60 years of Lewis leathers, covering its early history detailing images of flying, motoring and motorcycle clothing from the 1920's onwards. The story told through vintage catalogues and advertising material from the company's collection along with previously unseen pictures of the Racers, Riders and Aviators who wore the brand, bringing to life the story of one of Britain's truly unique and iconic clothing companies.

Release date is end of March 2017.

DOUBLE RL SPRING 2017 CATALOGUE

The Spring 2017 catalogue of Ralph's Double RL is completely inspired by the Double RL Ranch.

Ralph and his wife, Ricky, bought this breathtaking property in 1982. Parts of the original western classic True Grit, starring John Wayne, were filmed here.

Occupying some 16,000 acres beneath the snowcapped San Juan Mountains is the Double RL Ranch, the Colorado getaway of fashion designer Ralph Lauren and his wife, Ricky. "Colorado was for us an escape," he says. "It wasn't about being in fashion. It wasn't about saying, Wouldn't it be nice to have this cute ranch!' It was about a life that would be different, that would be freer—that would have nature and trees and animals and big sky."

HOLUBAR - PIONEERS OF AMERICAN OUTDOOR CLOTHING

The Movie

Alice & Roy Holubar

Vintage ad from the 70's

 We all know the movie The Deerhunter with Robert de Niro in his iconic Orange Mountain Jacket, but a few know that this jacket is a Holubar Jacket.

Holubar began informally in 1946 in the basement of Alice and Roy Holubar’s house in Boulder, Colorado, when they decided to buy World War II mountaineering equipment from an army surplus warehouse to supply the many outdoor enthusiasts in the area. Soon after, they started to sew down-filled sleeping bags and then also parkas and backpacks. When an important order came from the Arctic Institute of North America a year later, they bought a business license and started formal operations. To make a long story short in 1981 North Face took over the company and a iconic American brand disappeared. In 2008/9 there was this Italian clothing company Fritz SRL seeking to bring back the heritage of a great American outdoor brand. Based in Northern Italy in the city of Pordenone. This Fall/Winter 2016 collection is their fifth season ready to make you The Urban Deer Hunter.

CHADS VISITS HATCH SHOW PRINT - NASHVILLE, TN.

During my last trip I also visited the Iconic Hatch Show Print Store.

It started with the Hatch family. William H. Hatch ran a print shop in the town of Prescott, Wisconsin, where his two sons, Charles R. and Herbert H. (born in 1852 and 1854, respectively), grew up and learned the craft of letterpress printmaking.  In 1875, William moved his family to Nashville where, four years later, Charles and Herbert founded CR and HH Hatch.

The golden age of Hatch was from the mid-1920s, when Charles's son Will T. Hatch took over the business, until Will's death in 1952. It was a golden era for country music as well, and Hatch captured the magic. Will frequently turned his talent as a master woodblock carver to "chiseling and gouging" (as someone once put it) some of the most indelible images of country music performers ever made. To further secure the historic link, Hatch's home from 1925 to 1992 was right behind the Ryman Auditorium, the Mother Church of Country Music.

Hatch captured the glory of other musical genres, doing work for the great African-American jazz and blues entertainers of the day, such as Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Elvis Presley.

Today, Hatch Show Print resides at 224 5th Avenue South, in four different spaces designed and built to suit the demands and mission of such a busy icon of design, letterpress printing, and history.

And being in the store you will end up with some goodies to share your memories at home.