People often ask me what I do when I’m in China. So, having just got back, I thought I’d share the general activities of the last seven days.

In five and a half days I was in the factory (a total of 66 hours) I:

Designed 24 new RTW frames for the main collection
10 horn frames for a new potential horn collection I’m thinking of launching
Worked on the manufacturing techniques of Bespoke Horn
Designed four frames for a potential NEW brand I’m thinking of launching
Engineered three new components for potential TD frames
Designed a two meter store display to promote bespoke in Opticians
Wrote a 32 page technical specification for New Supertool
Created 28 screenshots and new graphics to accompany said NEW Supertool
Designed tradeshow stand in America
Implemented new rules for Bespoke fitting
Additional training for design team
Re-structuring bespoke line work flow to make cleaner and more efficient
Material analysis of our “Just in Time” stock
New salesman bag designs
Read over 300 emails
Wrote 284 emails
Created four new Fitting Template (see the Asian fitting below)
Entertained at restaurants (in the evenings) All senior staff (over two nights), Lloyds Bank and one key supplier
Created Bespoke frames for EVERY member of GQ magazine (UK edition)
Visited a factory to look at some new CNC equipment (thats the rather expensive machinery which makes our Bespoke block titanium)
... and well, worked on a hundred other things I’m sure...

Oh, and getting back to the studio in London is like coming back after being on holiday... i.e. there are really lots of things to catch up on...

It is a good job that I LOVE all this. Frankly I'm amazed at the pace of this business and I think it is the best job in the world!

There are many reasons why our Bespoke frames are perfect quality and, as I walked around my workshop today, I stopped for a moment to pay homage to the glory that is our gigantic oven.

 

Control of acetate material is steeped in myth and nonsense. There is only one way to correctly dry acetate to stop it from losing its grip, and that is in a controlled heated environment. The temperature and the amount of time the material needs to spend in here depends on the material. There is only one way to know what that is.... and that is to test.

Controlling our material has become an obsession for some of our production masters and this boring, oversized lump of steel is often underrated. So, I just thought I’d put you all in the picture!

I thought I’d share a few more pictures as I roamed around the production floor. Here is Yang heat sinking hinges in to today’s acetate frames. The pile of red trays are all OT jobs (urgent requests). When he has finished these, they will go off for one last soft polishing before the lenses are added and the frames set.

 

This tray here amused me (and caused countless hours of confusion for the staff) - The first Tom Davies frame, not for Tom Davies but for another Tom Davies “But it's not your size” “But Tom Davies for Tom Davies?” “What about this Tom Davies frame?” The job kept getting stuck as our conscientious staff didn’t want to mess up the “boss's” frame (since it would be far too big for me) and, besides, I always label my frames “Tom Davies for himself”.

 

Here you can see the design team working away. We received 24 bespoke jobs so far today, I think a little overtime is going to be needed since I am also getting them to work on a new collection idea I'm toying with (note the fans on the right, it is already 25 degrees here... and getting hotter!

Today I arrived at my workshop in China. I thought I’d share my misery with you. I have over two hundred thousand air miles and I’ve never been able to spend them since my route to Hong Kong is always oversubscribed.  

This trip I found myself, for the first time, able to upgrade to First Class (see the photo below, times are tough!) and in my excitement, I got rather carried away. You could tell it was my first time as I had to have a little try of everything. “A little Champagne, Sir? A nice drop of brandy with that? More red wine, Sir? Cocktail at the bar, Sir?”

Given that I had just watched James Bond on the video screen drinking Vodka Martinis at the lounge bar in the first class cabin I thought... well, if it's good enough for Bond...

Consequently the nice bed and rest I was expecting was replaced by a hangover and remorse!

We just got back from Mido, the big Italian show which had reported a 40% drop in customer attendance. Not that we noticed, however. We had a great show. Our location really served us well: it was the best location at any show we have been in and we managed to get a lot of new business.

As you can see from some of the pics from Alistair’s phone, the stand was mobbed and I slightly regretted not having a bigger booth. That said, nice to be in demand!

Overall people were reporting that they were not selling anything but our strength came from our customers, they kept bringing their friends over to see our Bespoke product. Magic!