Made by An English Hand

An English Hand - Honesty in British Craftsmanship

An English Hand, the accessories and clothing company started only two years ago as a reaction against the global trend of brand first, product second.

Co-founder Jonathan Lloyd-Platt explains the story...

"We had been involved in running several well-known brands and been deeply involved in the global sourcing model. It's pretty much universal now in luxury fashion, certainly in the UK. Italy and France have their exceptions of course, but we were jaded by the rather cynical profit-driven model of manufacturing off-shore (the Far East, Eastern Europe, Turkey etc), importing the almost finished product, sewing a few buttons on and calling it 'Made in Italy' or wherever. Profitable, yes, but not really honest. And more to the point, reducing, or eliminating the skills and the manufacturing capability here."

In the Beginning

From a house deep in the Suffolk countryside An English Hand developed the idea of building an online business that would work with British designers, makers, jewellers, leather workers and anyone else who was good at what they did. They started with men's accessories, presented online to an international audience.

Ties First

The first items available from An English Hand were the ties woven in Suffolk mills from the best silk Jacquard fabric available.

The ties are hand-cut and sewn in the few remaining workshops capable of this labour intensive process. The tie below was designed with Georgina von Etzdorf, and  references her Dragons design inside, which is also reflected in the colours of the spot.

British Design and Manufacturing - Slowly Does It

Designs from An English Hand make their way to their own workshops or to the workshops of other British craftsmen with whom they have built a relationship. The design brief is to be contemporary but un-faddish, and to keep the manufacturing completely in the British Isles.

Nothing is rushed, time is allowed to get things right.

Tweed Goes Viral

This season An English Hand's unstructured Harris Tweed jackets have sold out, and the wash bags in the same fabric are their most popular line in the run up to Christmas. It seems that people can't get enough of tweed nowadays.

Stockists

London
Ally Capellino
9 Calvert Avenue, London E2 7JP
and
312 Portobello Road, London W10 5RU

Barcelona
Jofre
Passeig de Gracia 104
Barcelona
Spain

Tokyo
Edifice
6-23-3 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo
Japan

United Arrows
1F, 2F 3-25-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo
Japan

Hitman & Co
1F 2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo
Japan