BUSINESS
A Cut Above Their tweed clothing range is worn by Princess Anne and Eric Clapton. Corby based manufacturer Chrysalis Clothes is that rare breed: a successful British manufacturing business. Words and photos: Fiona Cumberpatch
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HE factory floor at Chrysalis Clothes is a hive of industry. There’s the hum of sewing machines, the smell of freshly pressed cloth, tweed jackets hanging up in various stages of completion and Radio 2 playing in the background. With 30 workers, Chrysalis is a success story. It was started on St George’s Day 1986 by Managing Director Chris Blackmore with just eight employees, and has been in profit since the first year. “Throughout my working life I’ve seen it all: we’ve had three day weeks and two major recessions,” says Chris, who started his career as a tailor at Austin Reed around 50 years ago and came to Corby in 1973 as factory manager of duffle coat makers Gloverall. “There are only a handful of us left manufacturing clothes in the UK now, but I wanted to stay here rather than move offshore.” In January this year, Chris’s daughter Charlotte joined the business as Marketing Director. After 20 years at Next, she is now helping her father to expand the brand. Chrysalis designs and manufactures tweed outerwear for men and women. There are between 50 and 60 different styles from field coats to top coats. Each one is hand cut and hand made with astonishing attention to detail.
Chris and Charlotte Blackmore of Chrysalis Clothes
Only the finest soft British tweeds are used for the garments, and this is sourced from mills in Yorkshire and Scotland. Linings, pocket trims, under collar and top collar trims are selected to create stylish, classic long lasting garments. The company is mainly a business to business seller, although a factory shop has recently opened on site, where coats made from shorter lengths of discontinued material are available to the public at reduced prices. “A business client will come to us and choose the style they want us to make, including selecting bespoke linings, trims and all the details. They literally build their own coat, and we then go into production,” explains Charlotte. “We don’t hold stock, everything is made to order.”
Cutting out a jacket
From start to finish The devil is in the detail: stitching a perfect pocket
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Once the client has chosen a coat design, the making process begins. “First, the pattern is made and we do this here at the factory,” explains Chris. Then the jacket pieces are cut out in the prepping area. The tweed is then processed, and a stabilising interfacing is fused on to key pieces, such as pocket tops and
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