Rising Sun

I am not talking about the workwear brand. Not the clock tower bell either, although Ben Phillips is from the UK. He made a special trip to see us and we thought our meeting deserves recounting.

On the lazy Pasadena morning after Christmas, while workers of Rising Sun and other local institutions were at home hungover from celebrating, our propreitor Mike Hodis found himself compelled to open the store. In his own words not ten minutes after the doors were open “I quickly realized why I had to open that day and that if I had not I would have missed an opportunity to meet one of the most motivated and passionate denim enthusiast out there.” He is talking about Ben, the hulking Brit who deals in American tattoo machines and loves faithfully made denim clothing.

Ben was stateside with his girlfriend who is in a student exchange program in Philadelphia. They made the trip to the west coast to see the sights but “the catalyst for the trip was to come and check out our shop and to purchase a pair of Blacksmiths, in size 40.”

Chatting and swapping stories ensued. Ben’s size served him well in barroom brawls and hard living in the tough, industrial English town he grew up in. His passion for vintage clothing and 40′s era culture gave him a creative outlet to overcome what must have been a rough upbringing. We are proud to count Ben as a supporter and have him wear Rising Sun garments.

This encounter gave much Mike much to think about during this season of thanks and reflection. “The time I spent in the shop with this great guy made me realize that the shop serves more than one purpose. It also serves as a destination for like-minded people whose lives intertwine with mine. The stories as well as the new friendships I cherish as priceless moments in my life.” Thank you, Ben! It was a pleasure meeting you and Ooffii.

What follows is a small autobio by Big Ben himself.

Ooffii and I come from Brighton, England, about an hour south of London. My experiences in the music industry as a tour manager and promoter, and my time working for The Duffer of St. George has generated my interest in tattoos, vintage and especially denim. I now work for Deluxe Tattoo Supplies; I travel throughout the UK selling handmade tattoo machines.

Ooffii is a student at the University of Sussex studying American History. She is currently on exchange at the University of Pennsylvania; for her Christmas break we decided to head out west to get some California sun. My denim obsession forced us to brave LA public transport to make the trip to Rising Sun. We had the best experience in the shop. We hung out with Mike and chatted about everything from denim and vintage to frontier history, mining and our families. It was a pleasure and a privilege to spend time in the shop and get to see the amazing workshop. I couldn’t be happier with my new Blacksmiths and am looking forward to building a up a Rising Sun collection.