‘Our town is making jeans again’: meet the firm reviving jobs and skills in Wales
Source: The Guardian ·
In the first article in a series on high end British manufacturing, we visit the Hiut Denim factory in CardiganWorn on the streets of London’s Soho, San Francisco or Sydney, every pair of high-end jeans made by Hiut Denim comes from the rather unlikely location of a small coastal town in west Wales.Cardigan, with a population of just 4,200, has a proud history of denim production and was once…
From the source
Worn on the streets of London’s Soho, San Francisco or Sydney, every pair of high-end jeans made by Hiut Denim comes from the rather unlikely location of a small coastal town in west Wales. Cardigan, with a population of just 4,200, has a proud history of denim production and was once home to Britain’s largest jeans factory, even if the town’s name recalls a different garment entirely. When jeans manufacturing in Wales was moved abroad at the start of the century, hundreds of local people lost their jobs and were forced to find work elsewhere. Hiut Denim was founded by David and Clare Hieatt in Cardigan in 2011. The couple, both originally from Wales, previously ran the ethical fashion brand Howies. They set up Hiut – the brand name blends their surname with the word utility – with the goal of reviving denim-making skills in the town and training up the next generation of skilled craftspeople. Elin Evans was one of those “grand masters”, as they are known in the company, with a…