Our Journey with the Chore Coat
We've had our heads down for months as we've been developing and building our Chore Coat. We wanted to give you a look behind the curtain throughout the process of creating something from scratch.
The Journey of the Chore Coat
December 2019: We decided that we wanted to create two flagship products for Pedro and Tailor that could reflect our history, culture, and our story. We decided on the Guayabera (coming Spring 2021) and the chore coat. Knowing the time it would take to develop a product, we decided to start with the chore coat so that we could launch it by Fall 2020.
We started the process of looking for an amazing factory to partner with to help us bring the product to life. We decide that we want to limit our search to USA, Central America, and South America for the moment to try and stay as close to our heritage as we can.
January 2020: The process of product development begins. We began collecting chore coats that we loved and breaking down every detail. What did we love? What were they missing? What problem was ours going to solve?
February 1, 2020: We've sent out dozens of emails to potential factory partners. All begin to come up short. We're sent samples of quality an workmanship, but nothing is aligning with what we're looking for. We start expanding our search to include factories in Asia, because we are running out of luck.
February 11, 2020: We exchange our first email with Rosa. And we found our factory. Based in Guatemala and with a focus on recycled and upcycled textiles, we found the perfect initial partner for manufacturing.
February 16, 2020: Every product that is developed needs amazing design. We asked a friend of ours to help us develop a tech pack for the chore coat, including all the details we wanted to focus on to help make our product unique to us. We wanted to maximize the feel of our coat that could be work as an outer layer or simply as an premium shirt. Flat seams, large pockets that we're oversized, room for a pen or small tool, and a slim cut that didn't leave too too much empty room.
March 13, 2020: We receive our tech pack back. We immediately sent it off to our factory. We begin sampling fabrics.
March 22, 2020: We're sent samples from multiple fabric suppliers and we begin testing materials. We order swatches of moleskin, canvas, cotton twill, reverse bull denim, and more.
April 2020: COVID-19 is in full affect and begins to shut down our factory in Guatemala. All sampling is pushed back weeks.
We sent our factory pantone colors to prepare for getting lab dips to see what color options we want to use to finalize our jacket.
May 2020: All of our Spring line arrives and we begin to plan our campaign shoot. We cross our fingers that our chore coat sample will arrive by our campaign shoot.
We decide to build our chore coat with upcycled cotton, from leftover cotton and denim scraps. The fabric is dense and heavy, without being too heavy, and comes in natural, undyed color that we love.
May 29, 2020: We shoot our SS20 campaign. Unfortunately, COVID didn't allow our sample to arrive in time.
June 8, 2020: Rosa emails us that our sample will be shipping out that week.
June 11, 2020: Our sample arrives! It is beautiful. There are only two small adjustments that need to be made, but the color, details, and trims are all immaculate. The seams and cut is beautiful and it begins to fit like a glove. Our friend Rosie helps us size out all of our modifications for us to send back to the factory.
June 12, 2020: We photograph our chore coat at Sunrise to highlight details and fit.
And that is essentially where we are at today. We will continue to upload this blog post as more of our journey begins, but for now, if you're keen to get on the waiting list, you can join the waitlist for our Chore Coat to make sure you're in the queue when we're ready to release our jacket.
See the Chore Coat and Join the Waitlist
The best is yet to come.
