Cover: Flimby railway station(source: http://www.mindinwestcumbria.org.uk)

Photography: Arkadiusz Skolak, Thomas LindieWritten by: Arkadiusz Skolak, Radosław Marciniak

Design:

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We would like to welcome you for a little trip around Flimby – a town, which at first sight looks like every other in the region, but there’s something extra special about it. Cumbria is home to the Lake District, full of mountains and lakes, and it’s a place where you feel close to the nature with every step.

Cumbria is also famous for it’s footwear manufacturing traditions. Not that long ago, many of the UK and international brand’s factories were located here, but globalization and the chance to move the production to cheaper countries resulted in a decrease in the number of skilled workforce from around 80-90 thousand in the 1980s, to just 4 thousand nowadays. However, these factors do not scare New Balance. The American brand has manufactured it’s famous footwear here since 1982. In short, Flimby has became the heart and soul of the whole company and the shoes labelled “Made in England” have thousands of fans around the globe.

Visiting Flimby was one of my dreams since I had a pair of New Balance shoes manufactured there in my hands for the first time. I can’t remember which model that was, but it’s not that important now. At that time, competition was incapable of getting even close to the famous New Balance quality. These shoes were not that popular back then, a few of my colleagues had them in their collections but everybody felt that they were one of a kind.

Thanks to New Balance, I’ve just made my dream come true. I visited the place which I wanted to see for a long time and I can assure you, that the magic which I thought it’s covered with, exists in reality. I hope that you could feel it even for a moment through this special issue of our magazine.

- Arkadiusz Skolak, Suede&Mesh

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“ We were picked up by a classic Double Decker Bus at 9:00 and driven straight to the New Balance factory. ”

“ Cockermouth-Flimby ticket also assured the entrance for a guided factory tour. ”

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“ The factory is bounded by the Irish Sea and beautiful Lake District National Park. ”

“ These doors separate dreams from reality. ”

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“ A relaxed atmosphere and a family feeling is being felt throughout the whole factory. Radio hits come from the speakers

and by looking out the window, you can see cows and sheep grazing on the green meadows. ”

“ A special scanner inspects the suede quality. A trained worker closely examines the suede, looking for even the tiniest flaws and

then marks them using the electronic pen. ”

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“ The collected data is then transferred to the laser sensors, and if the fabric is less than 85% free of flaws, it is sent back to the

supplier. Quality comes first! ”

“ Every element of the upper is cut by the metal cutting tools. ”

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“ Every shoe size equates to a different size of upper elements, therefore, separate cutting tools are needed. ”

“ Every member of the factory crew has a different task to perform, such as, selection of the materials, handling the cutting

tools, sewing the uppers together, glueing the soles to them...

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...removing the glue excess, grinding the sharp edges, supervising the embroidery machines, lacing the shoes, cutting

small elements such as the famous “N” sign, quality control, and even packing up the finished shoes. ”

“ It is pretty obvious that all of the factory crew members love New Balance shoes! ”

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M990BK3

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From the left: Chris Hodgson, Andy Okolowicz, Mark Godfrey, Tom Henshaw.

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Arkadiusz Skolak: Could you describe the design process? How long does it roughly take from initial concept to release?

CH: It can be 18 months before the launch.

MG: So all 2016 product is in the can and done, and we’re already moving on. So that’s how far ahead we work because it takes that much time to design it, source everything, commercialise it, and then make it in the factory, market it, everything else.

TH: We’re getting sales samples to the sales team, who then have to go out and sell it, and showcase it, and then take in the orders, and then deal with the orders at the factory level to produce the product.

So by the time it’s in the consumers’ hands, can be 18 to 24 months.

AO: And also, we launch in all markets at the same time where possible, and for us to manufacture in the factory, and get them to Japan, and places like China, so that can sometimes take 7 to 8 weeks.

TH: And we have to ship on boats, occasionally we air freight but we try and avoid it because of the costs of air freighting. In terms of coordinating a release of a collaboration shoe, where we’re trying to hit a few key stores with the same launch date, and then we have to air freight in order to make that happen. Logistics is a huge challenge on those projects.

“THE HEART & SOLE OF FLIMBY”Mark Godfrey – Senior Footwear Designer Chris Hodgson – Senior Footwear Developer

Andy Okolowicz – Factory Manager Tom Henshaw – EMEA Lifestyle Marketing Manager

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CH: We actually make the product to launch in order of the furthest distance away first, so basically, if anyone is going to be short of shoes, then it’s actually our UK customer base, because by that time we’ve made all the Japanese shoes, and they’re somewhere en route, all the shoes for China are somewhere between here and China, and the last people who have shoes made are the UK. So, if for any reason we’ve had a large amount of rejects, we have to wait for replacement raw materials to come in from Asia, soles in particular which take 90 days typically between ordering and delivery, and then we have to make them after that. So it’s quite strange that our closest market is the one who most likely will not get all their shoes. Arkadiusz Skolak: Do you remember a shoe that you didn’t like at the project stage, but it was looking great when finally manufactured?

TH: I think it’s always impossible to tell.

CH: We’ve had lots of shoes that look good on paper, then when we make it first time round, they don’t look good, for whatever reason.

AO: I tell you what was good, the veg tan!

CH: You told me you’d sack me if we did that!

AO: We did a veg tan many many years ago, and we had a lot of trouble manufacturing and developing, and we weren’t sure about

it all the way through but actually when we made it, it actually was incredibly good.

MG: Even with the Real Ale first protos we did, where we tried to do a coloured edge in a pig skin which we’d never really done before, and it just didn’t really work out, and we were like, “oh is this really gonna work?”, and we ended up changing it for the better I think. But quite often with the first prototype, you kind of want to try something else, you want to try push it a little bit, make it more interesting, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

CH: Quite often we get a shoe that looks good on paper and looks as though it really ought to turn out well, and then when we make it, you actually make the shoe and then it turns out to be too heavy, and that’s something we run across quite a lot.

TH: That’s also why we’ll never let any collaborator or a project sign off on just a CAD, we need a confirmed prototype when everyone’s seen the sample and signed off on it because we’ve had conversations with collaborators who want to make a last minute change and they say “let’s just do it off the CAD and we’re happy to go into production”, but we won’t sign that off because we just know it’s too much of a risk until you can see a confirmed prototype and we know everyone’s going to be happy with it.

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M575SNG Soles.

Chris Hodgson: “Replacement raw materials come in from Asia, soles in particular which take 90 days typically between ordering

and delivery.”

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Arkadiusz Skolak: So they cannot do everything that they want?

CH: Definitely not! For a couple of reasons, one is, quite often the tagline is “we’d really like to do this because it’s never been done before”, and quite often there’s a lot of very good reasons why it’s never been done before, and will still never be done.

MG: Some collaborators, they just change their mind. From round to round, they just change their mind. Shoes can swing massively, so that’s a big one where designs change but I think internally, we try to stick to an idea and try to stay with it if we can because we know it causes problems for the factory otherwise.

TH: But also how Chris put it, I think another conversation we had, Chris said “like anything is possible, as long as you’re prepared to pay the costs”. In theory, you can get anything done to a shoe, as long as you’ve got unlimited funds, or you’re prepared to charge whatever you like for the shoe in order for that to happen, but you have to be realistic about what is the commercial reality. So our collaborations are expensive in the market but they can’t get much more expensive otherwise they just won’t move, so there are a number of considerations.

Thomas Lindie: So in the past when you guys have worked with Ventile, Schoeller, and Harris Tweed, does that not even come onto the radar now?

CH: No, no, technically and practically, there’d be nothing to stop us making more Ventile shoes, because Ventile is a material that’s

made in the UK. There’s a restricted palette you can use in terms of colour, so you can’t be as adventurous as you want. The Harris Tweed material wouldn’t be a problem, other than the logistics which would no doubt be exactly the same. We could use Schoeller, we wouldn’t want to use the same material that we used last time for sure, but we could use them as a material, but quite often we’ll take a concept of the material and the look of that material and try develop it so that it achieves the technical element that Mark looks for, like it’s waterproof, and it’s breathable. We may not end up buying it from the original source, we may buy it from a source that we’re more comfortable with in terms of the logistics of supply, but we’ll look as close as possible to what Mark envisions.

MG: We’re always looking out for new materials but we don’t mind going back to some of those existing ones, but at the same time we don’t want to retread the same ground. Since they’ve done as well as they have, then it’s become a thing, so it’s nice to keep it in trend.

Thomas Lindie: I just think it’s interesting seeing all the different materials used on shoes, and it’s one of the things certainly with the past that people regard with New Balance.

MG: We don’t necessarily always make a story out of it, like you can name these suppliers, but we don’t attempt to name a lot of the suppliers. They might be interesting to you, like some of the suede comes from Scotland for example, but we don’t really make a huge deal about it, but it’s all there in the shoe, we just don’t shout about it as much and let it stand alone and speak for itself a lot of the time.

Mark Godfrey: “Some of the suede comes from Scotland.”

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M670GKY prototype. For the very first time Ventile fabric has been used on New Balance shoes.

Chris Hodgson: “Technically and practically, there’d be nothing to stop us making more Ventile shoes, because Ventile is a

material that’s made in the UK. There’s a restricted palette you can use in terms of colour, so you can’t be as adventurous as you

want.”

Chris Hodgson: “The Harris Tweed material wouldn’t be a problem, other than the logistics.”

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M576BHT. Collaboration with Harris Tweed was a bit of challenge on the logistic side.

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Thomas Lindie: While we’re on the topic of collaborations, it feels like it’s slowed up quite a bit, certainly in comparison to a few years ago, are there any particular reasons?

TH: The practical reason why we can only do a certain amount of UK Made collaborations is the capacity and the challenge of making it, so realistically we’re limited to 2 or 3 projects a year for a UK Made collaboration, and that’s purely down to what’s achievable and what we can produce.

CH: As a byline to that, the way we do our collaborations is slightly different now. We do collaborations for a global market, rather than just the historical collaboration, which would be for a customer, like hanon for example. If we were to do a collaboration with hanon today, that collaboration would be for somewhere between 1000-1200 pairs for global distribution and hanon would have a quantity up front, and then there would be selected marketing opportunities throughout the world as a one hit. The major reason for that I think, in terms of commerciality is, we’ve got smarter like everybody else, and we’d like to make a little bit of money out of this at the same time. We don’t make a lot, but we don’t lose our shirt, which is what we used to do when we did a one off 72 pair speciality hit for someone like Microzine.

TH: This is also the realities of the way the business is growing as well, so the in-line Made in UK product range is an obligation to our customers that the factory has to fulfill, which obviously means that the possibility to do really special bespoke projects maybe isn’t there

the way it was a few years ago, but that’s just the reality.

CH: And the line is bigger.

MG: And we’re right on capacity now, so there’s less room for projects, plus we’re fully aware of how many packs and collaborations now that other brands are doing. It seems crazy, so we’d like to think that we do less of them, but hopefully they have a bit more impact.

TH: I think the challenge for us as a brand is not to necessarily take a direct policy to do fewer collaborations, but how do we ensure that when we do collaborations, they remain special in a market that is arguably over saturated with collaborations. So that’s just an ongoing challenge that we have to face.

We want people to be excited it. I think a collaboration is too specific, so a New Balance special project, whether that be a collaboration or just a standalone special story. For example, the 1300JP2, I know it’s a US Made shoe but it’s not a collaboration, it’s very special, it’s very restricted in its distribution. It’s really important that those things are still revered, that they sell out, that they’re talking to the connoisseur consumers that really appreciate and understand it, and get it. Those projects still have to have a lot of value there.

A big challenge is that everybody wants to do a collaboration, one of my challenges every week is having to have diplomatic conversations with people who want to do collaborations with New Balance, good people who would be a great partner, who have a lot to say, and a lot to contribute, but if we were to do collaborations with everybody

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that approached us, it would just devalue the whole thing because you’d have so many out there that they’re no longer special, no longer exciting, and it’s a tough decision to figure out who we work with a which projects go ahead and which don’t. Another thing is man power, the designers have to have enough time to be able to devote to a project.

MG: It takes a lot of time and effort on my behalf, on Chris’ behalf, to develop any of these projects, and that’s why we have so few of them.

CH: They are by the very nature of what they are, even more complicated than developing an in-line product, because you’re going off beam onto something that is very different most of the time.

TH: And every single collaborator will have a different approach to the process, so some guys will be very straightforward to work with, some will be a bit more complex to work with, so you can’t apply a formula for how every collaboration works, because every single project will throw up different challenges and you don’t know what they’re going to be until you start the next project.

Arkadiusz Skolak: Are there any plans to open the next New Balance Factory in Europe?

AO: No, we haven’t actually. I think we’ve still got capacity in our current plant in terms of area. You’ve noticed that we’ve expanded to the larger warehouse but we’ve still got some room to grow. Obviously it needs to be very measured in terms of how we grow, and there are discussions every week and every month about how we grow.

MG: A new factory is such a huge investment, and there are no workforces in most places that have any sort of former training in footwear so it would take a huge investment.

AO: I think we could probably do another 150,000 pairs out of our current footprint annually, so we’re ok for now.

Robert Stewart: Relating to capacity, you’re bringing back the 575, so does that have the capacity to run alongside all the other models, or does a model have to be dropped to fit that in?

MG: I think at least for this coming season it’s an addition to the range, it’s not replacing anything else.

TH: Regardless of capacity, every product has a life cycle as well, and products need to be rested in order to be brought back with some energy behind it and great demand behind it, so it’s not just about production capacity, it’s more about giving products time to breathe, sometimes time out from the line, so that then people can appreciate them. There’s only so many stories you can tell in a season, and if you have too many products and too big a product line, then some of them are going to get neglected, and some of them are going to get overlooked, so it’s kind of bad brand management as much as anything. Also, we have to be aware that when you’re making premium product, there’s only a certain demand for the market because it’s very expensive and it’s in our interests to protect the market by not oversaturating it.

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M576MN. 12 pairs were put under a roughing wheel to get the unusual effect.

Chris Hodgson: “We don’t make a lot, but we don’t lose our shirt, which is what we used to do when we did a one off 72 pair

speciality hit for someone like Microzine.”

Andy Okolowicz: “I think we could probably do another 150,000 pairs out of our current footprint annually.”

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Thomas Lindie: So when are you guys going to bring back the 860 or the 1300?

TH: You’re going to have to wait and see. I mean, we’re always looking at the archives, we’re always aware of what people like you guys would like to see, we’re always having a discussion internally, but we can’t obviously disclose too much.

MG: You can still buy the 1300 from the US.

CH: That’s the other thing that’s happened, the portfolio of product has been divided so basically, there is a portfolio of historical styles, which will only be made in a certain location, particularly the domestic locations. The domestic manufacturing locations produce entirely individual portfolios of products, so if we want to sell 998’s, we have to buy them from the US, and if the US want to sell 1500’s, they have to buy them from us, you know, they don’t make their own.

TH: There’s a lot of equity in those stories for us as a brand, so it doesn’t always make sense to just suddenly shift production of one model that’s became synonymous with UK manufacturing or US manufacturing. I guess guys like you would understand because you’re kind of experts and purists in the brand, but I guess to the average New Balance consumer, it can get quite confusing.

MG: However, there is going to be some very exciting new stuff coming, definitely, both new and old.

TH: Yeah, there is a lot of exciting stuff. And also, as much as consumers at your kind of networks, we understand that it’s important to keep engaging with you guys and doing stuff that you guys are going to appreciate because you’re the connoisseurs and it matters what you guys think. So yeah, there are a lot of interesting

things coming forward and I think you guys will be stoked.

Arkadiusz Skolak: The custom program in the US is huge, and it attracts a large amount of UK consumers who are let down by not being able to purchase, are there any plans to launch NB custom program at Flimby, or is it just not a viable option?

AO: We’ve got enough on our plate at the moment, so we definitely won’t be. However, never say never about anything.

Thomas Lindie: Would it ever be an option for New Balance to ship to the UK from their custom program in the US?

TH: The challenges there are to do with logistics, and the duties, and costs, so that’s the problem. Obviously ideally, I think, it’s not just a mean spirited conspiracy to just not ship out of the US, I think there’s just a lot of practical challenges. It’s now called NB1 in the US, and it’s marketed globally, that social media is global, and in an ideal world we’d like to make it global but there are practical obstacles to get over before we come to that stage.

MG: The custom program is still new to the US, and they’re still figuring it out in their own territory, let alone trying to export it out yet, but I’m sure they’re discussing it.

Thomas Lindie: What are your favourite models made here in Flimby?

TH: M991 - super comfy.MG: M991 or M1500, depends on my mood. Today it’s M1500!CH: M1500, no doubt!AO: M1500, but I like also M576.

Arkadiusz Skolak & Thomas Lindie & Robert Stewart: Thank You for the interview!

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M576MNM575SNG. After almost 30 years M575 are coming back.

“You’re bringing back the 575, so does that have the capacity to run alongside all the other models, or does a model have to be

dropped to fit that in?

Mark Godfrey: “I think at least for this coming season it’s an addition to the range, it’s not replacing anything else.”

“ In 2006 New Balance realesed the first themed pack. The shoes were inspired by the classic military jackets - Aviator, MA1 and

Workwear also known as a Donkey. ”

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M576VBO “Workwear Jacket”

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M1500AB / CT300ATB / M576AKT

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REAL ALE PACKNew Balance introduces “The Real Ale Pack”, their latest premium Made in the UK collection, which takes inspiration from traditional British ale and pub culture.

Crafted in the New Balance UK factory in Flimby, “The Real Ale Pack” raises a glass to three classic New Balance styles, the 576, 1500 and CT300. Each is named after a fictional beer inspired by popular types of British ‘real ale’ (cask-conditioned beer that is served traditionally, without additional gas pressure).

The 576 Ye Old Flimby Prime; 1500 The Cumbrian Red; and, CT300 Chicken Foot IPA make up “The Real Ale Pack”. Each silhouette offers a pigskin upper with perforated details, a ‘Real Ale Pack’ insignia on the tongue label and ale branded inserts.

The New Balance Real Ale Pack follows a legacy of New Balance ‘Made in UK’ theme packs referencing iconic elements in British culture and landscape.

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M1500AB

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M1500“THE CUMBRIAN RED”

The 1500 model is still considered as the most popular shoe manufactured in Flimby, even though its roots dates back to 1988. That time it used to be the most advanced New Balance silhouette, which was described by experts as “the thing closest to the perfect running shoe”. More than 20 years ago, advanced five-element midsole that was equipped with ENCAP technology and triple density EVA foam was something what runners were waiting for.

1500 “The Cumbrian Red” is inspired by the red amber ale. Characteristic color with the dark red hues, become the base for the upper made out of premium suede. This type of beer is famous for its expressive taste which matches the sharp and aggressive shape of the 1500 model.

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CT300ATB

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CT300“CHICKEN FOOT IPA”

In the early 80s, New Balance started to develop other categories. With the help of Roy Emerson and Virginia Wade, the first tennis collection has been presented. By that time the designers were focused only on the sole traction. CT300, the brand new model took different approach – fit, comfort, stability and durability were the issues which distinguished it from the competition. But the most important changes could be found in the midsole – gum outsole with

the PU core and strengthened side walls were far beyond its time. Upper made out of suede and breathable mesh were also a revolution in this rather conservative category.

CT300 „Chicken Foot IPA” is inspired by the golden pale ale. Golden, sometimes amber color is a base for the full suede upper. Neutral and balanced taste matches the calm and more mature CT300 silhouette.

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M576AKT

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M576“YE OLD FLIMBY PRIME”

History of the 576 model dates back to the end of the 80s, when one of the New Balance designers was tasked to re-use the soles left after manufacturing the 675 running shoe. He decided to remodel the shoe upper, use different materials and that way, far from flashes and big advertising campaigns one of the New Balance icons was born.

576 “Ye Old Flimby Prime” is inspired by the specific type of a darker, almost stout-like ale. Very deep, almost black color is a perfect base for the upper made out of the finest suede. Simple but distinct taste fits the classic and timeless silhoutte of 576 model.

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SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Sadly, nothing good lasts forever. On one hand, a single day in the Flimby factory is enough to feel it’s magic, but on the other hand, it’s definitely too short to get know it’s history. I had a chance to be guided around by the people who have worked with New Balance for most of their professional lives and were part of the design and development teams which were responsible for the shoes that I have

always wanted, or that I was lucky to have in my collection. I have to admit, a visit to the Flimby factory changes your perspective, and I’m pretty sure that from now on, I will look at the “Made in England” label in a different way. I also hope that it was not my last visit to beautiful Cumbria.

- Arkadiusz Skolak, Suede&Mesh