When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ???

[Persimmon]

I saw the posting from a member (cmjordan77) this morning stating that he had spoken to John Chapman and that he had placed his order.
At last the book is opening up. Good news indeed .

The interesting thing was the details about cutting the waiting time and the hiring of new staff to make that happen.

"I spoke to John tonight. Super nice guy. He is hiring some new folks and he said he hopes the wait time will be cut to 4 months. I ordered 1 tonight with him."

I guess my thoughts are who will be making the jackets then ?
JC has on this Forum built up a reputation second to none but if he does not have full control will the quality of work suffer, no matter how well the intension is.

Would you want JC to make your jacket individually for you (as before) or have him maybe work on it / parts of it / supervise the work on it ?
I am sure the former.

Eastman mass produce their jackets and they get a lot of flack on here (some fair and some perhaps a little less than fair - I have been in both camps I think !!) but thats the way of scale of production.

Recently John Lever picked up his new Eastman and praised the timeworn effect and even more so when he found out Gary did it especially for him.

Would we all be more happy if Gary Eastman made the jacket we ordered all by his own hands ?
I think yes.

Its just a friday morning thought but will "Original" -worked by JC jackets be worth more in the future ?
Will the quality shine through as before ?

 

[colekwok]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

This is exactly what I have been worrying about.

"All done by John" quality has been the selling point of Goodwear's jackets as THE best repro around.
I would sinicerely hope that Goodwear will not go down the road towards mass production lines.
Even though the quality would probably be still of an extremely high standard, then we would all
be asking questions, why are we not going for the Few, or Aero for custom fittings while you can
also get off the rack Eastman as well without much waiting time.

 

[Roughwear]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

John Chapman has a reputation for making excellent jackets. As a one man outfit he can't keep pace with demand and hence the stop on new orders during 2011. If he is going to meet the demand for his jackets he has to take on at least one assistant. I understand he is taking on some administrative support, which will free him up to make more jackets. Should he take on someone to make the jackets, or part of the jackets, I'm sure he will ensure that over time they become fully trained as he has a reputation to maintain. After all he started as a novice and over the years acquired a high level of skill, and with time the right assistant will hopefully acquire under John's careful supervision and instruction.

 

[deeb7]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

Would we all be more happy if Gary Eastman made the jacket we ordered all by his own hands ?
I think yes.

How do we know he can even sew? :shock:

Eastman mass produce their jackets ...

I wouldn't describe Eastman's output as mass production ... I believe that like with Aero, and the Real McCoy's, the jackets are individually cut by a cutter, and then sewn by one person.

Its just a friday morning thought but will "Original" -worked by JC jackets be worth more in the future ? Will the quality shine through as before ?

Maybe you're jumping to conclusions ... perhaps John's new staff will help you through the ordering process, and answer your emails, leaving John free to get on with jacket production.

 

[Dr H]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

"I spoke to John tonight. Super nice guy. He is hiring some new folks and he said he hopes the wait time will be cut to 4 months. I ordered 1 tonight with him."

I guess my thoughts are who will be making the jackets then ?
JC has on this Forum built up a reputation second to none but if he does not have full control will the quality of work suffer, no matter how well the intension is.

Don't worry Alan, I've also been communicating with JC recently (e-mail/PM) - the help is purely administrative to assist with the processing. John continues to make the jackets and so there will be no change there. It does go to show how much time is lost processing the orders/answering the e-mails/doing the books, etc.

 

[Roughwear]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

John has been talking about taking on admin support for sometime now. Sensible move IMO so he can focus on production.

 

[colekwok]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

"I spoke to John tonight. Super nice guy. He is hiring some new folks and he said he hopes the wait time will be cut to 4 months. I ordered 1 tonight with him."

I guess my thoughts are who will be making the jackets then ?
JC has on this Forum built up a reputation second to none but if he does not have full control will the quality of work suffer, no matter how well the intension is.

Don't worry Alan, I've also been communicating with JC recently (e-mail/PM) - the help is purely administrative to assist with the processing. John continues to make the jackets and so there will be no change there. It does go to show how much time is lost processing the orders/answering the e-mails/doing the books, etc.

Cool, that's reassuring.

 

[John Lever]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

I am sure John will continue to make superb jackets. Look at top quality cars, they are made by teams of people not individuals.

 

[Andrew]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

I'm a one man band business as well and so know very well how hard it can be running every aspect whilst personally responding to every query. When I need and can afford it I use contract staff to do the things I'm able to leave to someone else when my time is better spent on other tasks. It doesn't mean that the quality of the final product is any less as I still review everything.

I'm really looking forward to getting another GW next year and I'm happy the wait time's likely to be reduced.

 

[better duck]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

I wouldn't describe Eastman's output as mass production ... I believe that like with Aero, and the Real McCoy's, the jackets are individually cut by a cutter, and then sewn by one person.

Indeed. I have had the privilege of visiting the East workshop about 5 time over the years, and "mass producing" isn't what comes to mind, when one meets the one cutter of the jackets, the nice, rather shy ladies who make a jacket from the first to the last stitch, and Gary's dad who does some cutting as well, als answer the phone and a lot of e-mails.
Gary is more often then not on the premises, as he is out, dealing with produceres of zippers, leather, sheepskin,fasteners and what not, concerning our jackets.

Of course Gary is responsible - that is the privilege and burden of sole ownership of a company like that - for taking decisions about what leather to use, to what degree an original is being faithfully reproduced (p.e. with the small pieces of leather inside the collar or pocket flaps) of when enough is enough, businesswise. He alone can oversee the whole picture of investment in relation to cost, in relation to revenues, profit. - As does John. But over the years Gary has accumulated quite a few people who are dependent on him and his business. Hiring staff is a quantum leap up the scale as far as responsability goes, and John has just taken this leap. Great news for all uw Goodwear lovers.
Knowing John a little he will make sure that whoever produces a jacket in his workshop under the Goodwear name it will be as good as if he had sewn it himself!

 

[CBI]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

Gents - John's new staff is all admin so he can free up his time to make the jackets. I guess the only downside is that we may not get to visit with him as much via phone/email. He's got to do something to lessen his workload and create a shorter lead time so this should mean good news for all.

 

[Roughwear]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

I'm glad John has perfected his skills over time. Of course they are still GW jackets! They are the ultimate A2 and to say they are "Eastman" in the USA is quite wrong an inappropriate.

 

[767fo]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

I'm glad John has perfected his skills over time. Of course they are still GW jackets! They are the ultimate A2 and to say they are "Eastman" in the USA is quite wrong an inappropriate.

Well said. But don't forget about his Navy and civilian jackets

 

[RCSignals]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

The Goodwear site specifically states the new hire is an administrative position.

 

[Jason]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

You know, even if the new staff were not administrative in nature alone, I wouldn't be disappointed. With John's expert guidance and unwavering eye for accuracy, I'm sure that the master would make sure the apprentice's work is up to his high standard before letting it out to the world.
Still, I understand everyone wanting a jacket made by the master himself. Good to see GW going from strength to strength.

 

[ausreenactor]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

Imagine if JC and Mark (fishmeok) got together. It would not be Good Wear, it would then be GREAT WEAR!!! I think there could be an imparting of knowledge both ways. Like in Underworld, when the guy becomes the hybrid Werewolf/Vampire dude! Together they would be unstoppable!!

Couchy

 

[Dr H]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

And Kate Beckinsale could handle the telephone and the front office?

 

[RCSignals]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

And Kate Beckinsale could handle the telephone and the front office?

Now you are on to something

 

[Dr H]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

Well I always wondered who was making her leather gear...

 

[deeb7]

Re: When is an Goodwear JC jacket not a Goodwear JC jacket ?

... why are there no pictures in this thread? :?