ABOUT USWe feel we can rightly claim to be the UK's leading company for New Zealand Merino outdoor activity clothing. We don't want to boast, but we really are the "merino experts". We have a long family association with sheep, worked in the woollen industry (when we had one), and have our gear made by a company that has been making fine wool underwear and clothing for three generations.We sell ONLY Merino (apart from the merino that's got a bit of possum in it:'), and our range runs from socks and gloves to beanies, touching all bits in between: baselayer including boxer shorts and leggings, singlets and t shirts, long sleeve crews, zip-necks in both baselayer and midlayer weights, and when we can get the fabric, real merino fleece jackets. Our gear is not the cheapest on the market, but we think it's the best value if you want both performance and versatility combined with ethical manufacture.
We now have our own-label range of superfine Merino wool outdoor clothing. We supply gear to professionals working from Antarctica to the Arctic, from Africa to Nepal, as well as walkers, hikers, canoeists, kayakers, mountain bikers, fell runners ….. and people who just like the quality and comfort of Superfine Merino wool clothing. AND it's REALLY made in New Zealand. Not just made from New Zealand merino, or made by a company that's based in New Zealand but gets its gear made in China or Fiji and then puts anyone's logo on it and ships it out from New Zealand. We mean it's really and truly Kiwi-made.
Our own-label range of superfine Merino wool clothing is designed on the KISS principle - "Keep it simple and stylish". In this we are extremely fortunate in the company who makes this for us. Once a leading manufacturer for Icebreaker, before all Icebreaker production moved to China, Soma-President have been producing merino baselayer, underwear and clothing for three generations. Their expertise is second-to-none. The reason our gear is so great is that these guys are truly the experts. We work very closely together with Soma on design and fabric.
Right from the start we decided that having clothing only suitable for single activity use seemed a luxury few can afford. Nor will we change our styles from year to year purely on the basis of "fashion". Performance will always come first.
Our own designs, Taranaki 190 lightweight base layers, TeMata 260 midweight zip-neck jerseys, and Tuaraki 280 Fleece, are all designed to be versatile and multi-purpose. Not for us the gimmicks of unnecessary colour flashes in odd places, or ridiculous extra panels, the seams of which can actually stop the garment moving with your body. Merino, with it's incredible natural elasticity simply doesn't need these. If you want maximum flexibility, the fewer seams the better. We look for a sleek, pared-down look which is as at home at the top of a mountain as in the city, under a wetsuit or a under a business suit.
We use flat seams where they are essential to the fit, not everywhere on everything when this simply looks silly and serves no purpose.
What's different about our gear? Well it's all made in New Zealand for a start. Why? Because firstly, that's where the Merino wool comes from, secondly, that's where the best Merino outdoor gear in the world is made, and thirdly - and very importantly - this means our clothing is ethically made. We not only know where out gear is made (mostly in Hastings, some in Rotorua, some in Auckland, and some in Christchurch), but we have visited all our manufacturers, and met not only the owners of these companies, but their staff as well. How many retailers do you know who can put names and faces to the people who make their clothing? We can - although we can't claim to be on first-name terms with all the sheep!
You may also note that we never say "we make". This is because we do not own the means of production. To say "we make" would therefore be untrue. Despite this, a lot of companies say "we make", when like us they commission their designs from independent manufacturers - or even through agents. Instead, we are proud to name the New Zealand companies who make our own label gear, as well as those from whom we buy existing labels. We are happy for anyone interested in doing business with our suppliers to contact them - just don't try and use our designs:-)
Here in the UK, we try to run our office in an environmentally-friendly way as possible, using recycled paper products and printer inks and degradable packaging, wherever and whenever possible. And to offset our carbon footprint, we now gift to Bradford Environmental Action Trust's Forest of Bradford and Climate Offset Programme.
We believe in style not fashion, performance not gimmicks. Our Chocolate Fish own-brand gear is simple but effective in good basic colours. We will not change all our colours from year to year on the basis of "fashion" as this simply adds to costs that companies have to pass on to the customer. The basic colours for our Taranaki 190 baselayer are Black and Sage. In addition this year we have a great Blue, and another colour is in the pipeline for next year.
Nor will we change our styles from year to year purely on the basis of "fashion". Performance will always come first, and as we believe our gear should take you to the top of a mountain and just about anywhere else, we like keep things simple, sleek and pared down. Not for us the colour flashes and unnecessary panels and seams that add nothing to performance, only to cost.
Oh - and if it didn't go "baa" - we don't sell it.
Why don't we have an all-singing, all-dancing posh website like other companies? Because you, the customer would end up paying for it through higher prices. Commercially produced websites are not only extremely expensive to have designed, they are extremely expensive to maintain - that's what they're designed to be! We prefer to have control of our own company website and not pass on unnecessary costs to our customers.
Why don't we offer a paper catalogue? Because we are an internet company. We think paper catalogues are a waste of resources and not environmentally friendly, and also to produce one costs a lot of money, the cost of which would have to be added to the cost of our clothing. In other words - you, the customer would be paying for it. We'd rather keep our prices down.
Why don't we make our gear in the UK? Simple - there isn't a single company left in the UK that can produce our sort of pure Superfine merino wool clothing to the standard we require and our customers expect.
Sometime later, between school and uni, when the UK still had a clothing industry, I worked for one of the first companies to mass produce ski-wear. It was here I learnt about cutting, sewing and finishing. As I then went on to Uni to study English & History it all seemed rather irrelevant. Little did I know!
Eventually I met a geologist whose idea of a good time was somewhere at the top of a mountain communing with rocks. These mountains were the Pyrenees, Scottish Highlands, Alps, Snowy Mountains, Rockies, Southern Alps - and a few more I've forgotten. The outdoors was where he worked and I tagged along for the fun of it.
Occasionally, in the pursuit of my own career, I would also be involved in filming which meant standing around in the freezing cold on location somewhere cold and miserable for hours on end. Serious clothing was always a priority. |
