Penfield Collaborates with Abraham Moon for a Tailored Tweed Jacket

Get the story behind the jacket.

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Image via Complex Original

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Abraham Moon has been producing wool in England since 1837, while Penfield has been making some of the warmest and most stylish jackets in Hudson, Massachusetts since 1975. The two iconic brands have come together for Penfield's Black Bear line to collaborate on the Banks jacket. David Hellqvist of PORT Magazine recently had the chance to sit down with John Walsh of Abraham Moon to discuss the woolen mill and collaboration.

Below are some choice excerpts:

David Hellqvist: You’re the fourth generation Walsh running the company, how and when did your family get involved with Abraham Moon?

John Walsh:My great grandfather, Charles Walsh, was the mill manager of Abraham Moon when, in 1920, the fourth generation of the Moon dynasty decided to sell up. In effect it was an early form of management buyout and Charles was clearly a courageous entrepreneur in his day. We believe he paid some £34,000, which he borrowed partly from the bank and partly with venture capital. It was a considerable sum of money – several millions in today’s terms – and a very unusual thing to do for a man with no personal or family wealth. He certainly spent the rest of his life working his fingers to the bone to meet the re-payments; quite a character from all accounts.

David: Does the Mill have a signature fabric?

John: At Moon we specialise in tweed wool fabrics, very much in fashion. We have some two hundred of our own yarn colours and each of these have up to seven component dye shades making all our colours unique.

David: How did you get involved with Penfield?

John:We like to work with customers like Penfield where there is a meeting of minds – designer to designer. We see many of our key customers as partners and the fabric is key to the garment style.

[via PORT Magazine]

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