This sweet couple from Germany visited our shop after reading about Rising Sun in a German magazine and we chatted the day away. Customers hungry for denim talk make our work immensely gratifying. After trying on several pairs they walked out with a pair of Standard jeans hemmed on the spot for a perfect cuffing length. The machine used is of course none other than our especially rare black head bulldog Union Special chainstitch hemmer. If you come by the haberdashery in Pasadena we can show you how this is not your garden variety Union Special.
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.
Timbo is a sleeve-rolling, guitar-playing, fast-thinking, handy dandy carpenter. We dig his cow punk music. We like his easy style. He is stylish without needing to try. It helps he is often found decked out in Rising Sun clothing for its built-to-last construction. This is Timbo. Hear him roar. And croon. Those sighing sounds are from the swooning ladies.
As his bio states, Timbo was raised in the backwoods of Hammond, Louisiana. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he and his band, Speedbuggy, produce high energy country/roots/Americana music fused with punk rock and rockabilly influences. Speedbuggy is described as a working man’s band and Timbo is definitely hard-working.
He has been a carpenter for 20+ years, specializing in remodeling homes and constructing new houses. For his talent and skills he has worked on television as carpenter to the TV Guide Network’s “Ready, Set, Change,” main construction coordinator on TLC’s “Trading Spaces” and HGTV’s “DesignStar.” His current gig is for the new show, “The Antonio Treatment,” where he is featured as lead project manager.
Timbo is shown here on a job site garbed in Rising Sun’s duck canvas Workers, slub tee, indigo warp and weft selvage canvas Outdoor Vest, American-loomed indigo selvage chambray workshirt, and selvage Ranch Hand jacket. Everything is worn without regard as he knows the garments we make do not need to be babied. These clothes can take care of themselves so the wearer can take care of business.
Do you know Timbo, the working brother on the left? Perhaps you have seen him performing at a cool local venue with his band Speedbuggy. He may look stylish decked out in Rising Sun clothing but he knows he does not need to baby our crafted garments. We are inspired by his hard-living lifestyle and will be featuring him on our blog from time to time.
Check out “Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda” below, the cow punk video Speedbuggy recently shot. Timbo is the front man.
We caught up with JP Plunier, music producer extraordinaire and founder of the Feal Mor clothing line. He was wearing his 1-of-20 Visvim Patton Hoodie leather jacket, Rising Sun Workers, and boots that look like they should be in a Sergio Leone spaghetti western.
He was nice enough to let us snap some pics to depict how the Workers are breaking in. The duck canvas fabric has soften comfortably and wear creases have set in to conform to the body.
Can you think of a better name for a coffee brand than Rising Sun? The idea haunted us ceaselessly and we finally could not resist. Rising Sun is creating its own blend of coffee. The beans are from Pasadena’s Jones Coffee Roasters who grow some of the world’s best coffee on their own family farm in Guatemala known as Finca Dos Marias. The fifth generation estate, owned by the same family since 1870, has kept the coffee growing art and heritage strong and today produces some of the finest beans for clients such as Green Mountain Coffee. They are as obsessed about coffee as we are about denim.
Our proprietor Mike Hodis is shown here working at the roasters to get the perfect blend that captures our passion for denim and workwear.
For a limited time get a sneak preview of the Rising Sun blend when you make any purchase at the shop and get a free half-pound bag of coffee beans.
It is Thanksgiving time and the Rising Sun & Co. team would like to thank all of our supporters for their patronage and encouragement. Thank you for appreciating all the sewing details we so so paintstakingly insist on in our humble haberdashery. Thank you for supporting Made in USA. Thank you for coming to our parties. It has been quite a journey and you have made it worthwhile. Happy Thanksgiving!
Now enjoy this short YouTube clip we found of a Wrangler commercial that aired during the 1986 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It’s good ol’ Willie Nelson. One day we will ask that man to do a Rising Sun commercial.
