"Why Can't Iron Heart Make More Stuff"
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@Giles you do a great job educating in the FB group
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@AdamJ of course that is the issue. Throughout posts it's clear IH can't and won't please everyone, and surely this is a strategy you've all considered, but it does seem strange to me that even with the current state of things there are new cuts and denims being added which would seem to only make the existing problem worse and not better.
There might be a middle ground where you can make all the cuts but you dedicate specific fabrics to them each year? All my point is that making everything in everything really isn't doing any favors.
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@pechelman some of the issue is that the mills making the most desired denims are at maximum capacity and can’t make more (or more frequently) than they already do. Different mills that make lighter weight denims or fabrics keeps products on the shelves.
Edit: In any supply chain there can be multiple choke points. Sometimes it’s not always the most obvious.
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@pechelman I think this is a terrible idea and I wear 888/634 religiously
I think what they're currently doing is great, and all sells out... The fact there are different cuts to choose from is what makes IH good, that way they can satisfy more customers...
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@pechelman also, IIRC Alex mentioned at one point that 555/634/666/777/888 all make up roughly 20% of IHUK's direct sales volume. Obviously, this does not take sales via retailers into account, but based on those numbers which cut would they skip?
Edit: this is the post I was referring to
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It's a math problem.
We all understand that heavy weight fabric production is the current choke point, and is maxed out.
This idea of reallocating the current (max) production volume of fabric to fewer cuts would still mean the overall number of jeans produced would stay the same. This also means that overall production costs stay the same. If you do end up keeping more stock on the shelves, and you aren't producing more jeans, then you're simply selling less. Spending the same to sell less is probably not the most attractive option for a business owner.
They would also alienate the core IH Army peeps that wear 666, 555 and 777, and do so in order to placate the casual shopper.
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There’s honestly so much info. Posts like this one really do help the casual every day type just wanting good stuff. I’m still learning new things about IH and consider myself uncommonly nerdy with this stuff. Probably like most of you guys reading this. To look down on these casuals and call them dumb isn’t right imo. Everyone starts from a point of ignorance. Not knowing and stupidity are very separate things. There’s nothing particularly wrong with wanting answers spoon fed on a FB group. For a lot of those casuals, it’s their first interactions with the brand. To be answered by Giles himself is really special imo and completely unique. An other of the fuctone of reasons I love you guys!
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I do agree to an extent, especially for newbies. No question is dumb when you’re first getting into this stuff. There’s a ton of information and honestly most of us are still learning things ourselves.
The issue I have, like we saw with the purple western thread the other day, is when people ask the question, get the answer directly from the source, and then just keep going and going and going because they don’t like the answer they were given. That’s the part that gets frustrating.
I see it constantly in the denim world and definitely in the boot world too. Some people just do not listen. You literally have the owner of the company, the person who built the brand and helped bring this stuff to a worldwide audience, explaining exactly why something is the way it is, and people still want to argue with him about his own product. That drives me absolutely batty sometimes.
There’s a difference between being curious and just refusing to accept the answer because it doesn’t line up with what you wanted to hear.
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I see a shift in the individuals who come into the denim world slightly different year to year.
When you go back to the beginning of the forum, you had many denim heads that took great time in their research and trying to understand the intricacies between different denims. Many of the people asking questions already had a basic understanding of what they were looking for. They are the ones who started sharing their knowledge and research to create what the forum is today.
The shift I see is that newer people to this community just want answers without doing much legwork.
I’m not saying that the approach is wrong, as you pointed out that we all started somewhere, but it would be nice if people accepted the answers that were being given. Also, there are many questions that are easily answered by using the search feature here on the forum. I use it daily finding half of what I need in mere minutes.
…but at this point I only sound like a curmudgeon yelling at the clouds. I appreciate we have new individuals coming here as it keeps this place interesting and thank them for doing so. Just want to emphasize that we all need to find the middle ground and respect where the other guy is coming from.
“…hope that somewhere there's a hobbit with a ring on his way to a volcano.” - Nic
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@goosehd I think it's just a result of the hyper capitalized society we've created. You want something? Go on to Amazon and buy it and have it show up at your doorstep 48 hours later. Got a question? Ask AI and get an answer immediately without having to do any thinking. Want food but are too lazy to get off the couch? Doordash. We're all so god damn impatient because we're being conditioned that way.
It seems like it's the same old song and dance, and no matter how many times the IHUK team reiterates to customers the age old production issues IH faces, the singing just seems to get louder. I admire Giles and Alex for being able to put up with these customers for so many years. I wouldn't be able to handle that side of retail, at least not for any extended amount of time.
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@goosehd said in "Why Can't Iron Heart Make More Stuff":
When you go back to the beginning of the forum, you had many denim heads that took great time in their research and trying to understand the intricacies between different denims.
And as a result, we had practically zero returns, the guys had done their research, knew what they were doing, knew that Japanese sizing was not the same at US or European etc etc etc.
Bloody good job too, as in those days, I would queue up for ages in shitty local post offices and sent with extremely high shipping rates, and with virtually no tracking.
I look back and think "how the fuck?"
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Very interesting thread.
Do the mills / manufacturers work exclusively for IH / produce only IH products or do you have to get a ‘slot’ in their production run?
I have absolutely no idea about the mechanics of production and how each cog in the machine fits and works and find it really interesting.
(And at the same time making me glad that I don’t have to figure out a solution!!) -
Better to protect the quality than force output and dilute what made it good in the first place.
Really enjoy Iron Heart personally.
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@RobeOfTheMagi said in "Why Can't Iron Heart Make More Stuff":
@Kasi Honestly, there are some really cool donkeys.
Yeah you keeping looking at them ass‘s
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@Cymro said in "Why Can't Iron Heart Make More Stuff":
Very interesting thread.
Do the mills / manufacturers work exclusively for IH / produce only IH products or do you have to get a ‘slot’ in their production run?Nope. We have 4 dedicated Shuttle Looms in the mill that makes 21 and 25oz denim. They have maybe 50 looms. Personally it pains me that after 25 years of working with them getting more looms from them is like getting water from a stone.
The heavy ounce workshop does work for other brands too. They need to spread their risk, and also make stuff that is easy to make and get some relief from the stress that producing the 21 and 25 oz garments puts them under
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@goosehd said in "Why Can't Iron Heart Make More Stuff":
The mills do not work for IH and yes it is by time slot.
Levi’s has some jump in to using them mills to
