10E2562: Rockmount snap-shirts

Playing catch-up here...

Rockmount western-styled shirts are famous for their diamond shaped snaps. The book Western Shirts (co-written by Steve Weil of Rockmount) has all kinds of dating info for HBarC, Rockmount, Levis etc.

Rockmount (and Lee Stomrider jackets) famously worn by the entire crew it seems of The Misfits. Clark Gable below;


These sawtoothed, diamond snapped, made in USA shirts are selects up on Huckberry at the moment. Fine examples. I live in the blue ginghams...

 

In 2008, the grandfather of the Rockmount brand Jack Weil did die. Fantastic obit at the time from The Economist; a slightly unexpected source but very welcome.

"Mr Weil reckoned that a cowboy on a horse, if wearing a shirt with buttons, was liable to get snagged on sagebrush or cactus or, worse than that, get a steerhorn straight through his fancy buttonhole. He was pretty certain, too, that a cowboy losing a button would feel disinclined to sew it on again. The answer to all those difficulties was to make shirts with snap-fasteners. And for 62 years, in a red-brick warehouse in the LoDo district of Denver, Mr Weil did exactly that."

10E2561: Nobby Clothes Shop - Nantucket

Nobby Clothes Shop, on the lower end of Main Street, Nantucket MA. Est 1930. The upstairs used to carry a full range of Carhartt and other workwear - with the downstairs serving the casual and cocktail crowd. Their older breton red canvas shirts check a lot of boxes. #deadstockisthebeststock

10E2560: Up Mountain Switchel

Switchel, haymakers punch. 4 simple ingredients when Up Mountain Switchel make it for you; local organic maple syrup, local organic apple cider vinegar, organic fresh ginger root, and Berkshire mountain water. This brand gives you a huge hit of ginger. Fantastic on its own or as a mixer. Trialed in the outdoor markets and fairs of Vermont, now slightly more polished by the same guys for the TRI-STATE area!

"Like maple sugaring, haying a hill farm in the pre-mechanized era was a chancy, nerve-wracking job, in which Gramp's patience with me frequently wore thin... after helping unload the wagon I could run to the milk house cooling tank for the stone jug of switchel which my grandmother made up each morning... the traditional northern New England field hands' drink decocted from pure spring water with a touch of vinegar..."
- Frank Mosher, Northern Borders

Laura Ingalls-Wilder drank it, as did Herman Melville. Unbeknownst to them it provided electrolytes, anti-inflammatories and more - a fenceposter gatorade. Switchel may have originated in the Caribbean (ginger and molasses give a clue) but transformed in New England with the substitution of maple syrup or sometimes honey.

Their supply chain is certified "NON GMO, ORGANIC, VEGAN, AND KOSHER, including the added lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and yerba mate in our additional switchel flavors." And "because of the naturally preservative components in Up Mountain Switchel, UMS does not require refrigerated trucking or warehousing. This LOWERS ENERGY-USE , AND WASTE, and overhead with all aspects of supply".  Brilliant.

Get yours at the store  

10E2559: LLBean Bookbag Fabrics

Attn parents; summer means LLBean revamps the kids backpacks/bookbags. Couple of neat prints for 2016 including one reminiscent of a certain mining videogame, and a retro camping fabric. The pencil case would make an inexpensive dopp kid for your young campers.

10E2558: From Harris (tweed) to Paris

File under desktop vacation. BTW EU grants played a part in the recent resurrection of the Harris Tweed industry...

Clo Mor. Harris To Paris from Athletics on Vimeo.

Following the journey of the tweed from Harris [the isle of Harris - ed.] to Paris, it is a story about people, craftsmanship and how an traditional island industry remains relevant and connects to a global fashion industry that changes, literally with every season.

10E2557: Fathers Day Too Late Next Time

Pretty much anything on 10e would work as a Father's Day gift, though have to mention - how did Father's Day become such a thing?? Feel like we get a pretty good deal generally... now gifts and a slap-up ribs lunch too! Just for towing the line?

Anyhow, the picks should probably be made of either leather, cast iron, slate, wood, booze or a combination of the above...



1. Ames Tru-Temper steel-barrow. 6 cubic feet. Not easy to get made in USA 'barrows; usually the wheel is imported, sometimes the handles, these come close I believe. Plus, stealing idea from the NYT, fill this thing w/ ice and tonic for later...

2. Slate stakes/row markers. There are a lot of these around.

3. LLBean rubber moccasins. Great for gardening. Same price or less than Muck boots and you can wear them out and about afterwards; just hose them off. What, you were gonna buy crocs?
[sidenote: these run big imho, def order a 1/2 size down.]

4. Sipsmith Gin. Distilled in London. Sis is in the drinks biz, says this one cooler than the other side of the pillow... Cue the G&Ts.



Cast iron cricket bootjack. Classic. $20.




The original face-saver from Ursa Major; cedar/mint/lime. Essential kit for bearded types as it also sloughs (right word?) and stops you getting itchy. $28 and lasts several months.

I am late to the party on this beef jerky company Krave. I like saddle leather jerky too but this is like dry slices of steak. Soft. No chemical aftertaste. I ate a bag today for breakfast... And their smaller line available at whole foods also looks pretty snazzy.

Slate coasters. Possibly made of rescued roof slates from a lumbercamp's chapel in the Green Mountains... Sub$30.

R. Murphy clam knife in Island Creek Oyster orange. $15. No brainer.