What "Artisan" Actually Means
Artisan, atelier, handcrafted, and heritage are unregulated words. Any brand can print them on anything, and most do. That makes them useless as a buying signal unless someone tells you specifically what was done by hand and by whom.
This article is about how to tell the difference, and it starts by being precise about our own range.
Our Two Ranges Are Not the Same
Footwear. Hand-assembled in India in small numbered runs. The Croco Edition uses croco-embossed cowhide at 1.1 to 1.3 mm sourced from a tannery in Agra, with soft-finish cowhide panels and suede accents, on an EVA and TPR two-component outsole with a 5 mm memory foam insole. First batch: 240 pairs. KOHL and DEODAR use suede uppers, 40 pairs each, 8 per size from UK 6 to UK 10.
Essentials apparel. Designed by us, printed to order by a production partner. Not hand-finished, not limited-run, no leather work, no cashmere. Printed cotton garments at an accessible price.
Both are legitimate products. Only one involves handwork, and we are not going to describe the other as though it does.
How to Test an Artisan Claim
Ask these, of any brand:
- Which step was done by hand? Cutting, lasting, stitching, finishing, and printing are different operations. "Handcrafted" without a verb is decoration.
- Where, and by whom? A named region or workshop is checkable. "Our atelier" often means a factory.
- How many were made? Limited is a word. Ask for the number.
- What is the material, precisely? Animal, grade, thickness, finish. Or for textiles: fibre, blend, GSM.
- Is there certification? If a brand cites one, ask which body and which rating. We hold none and say so.
A brand that answers all five is worth trusting. One that responds with adjectives is telling you something too.
What to Actually Spend On
If you are building a wardrobe that lasts, the money is better placed in some categories than others.
Worth spending on: footwear, outerwear, and knitwear. These carry structure, take the most wear, and are the hardest to make well cheaply.
Less worth it: printed t-shirts and graphic sweatshirts, including ours. The garment blank and the print process are broadly similar across the market. Buy them because you like the design, not because a label calls them artisanal.
That distinction is the single most useful thing in this article, and most brands have no incentive to tell you.
Building Something That Lasts
Choose a tight colour palette so pieces work together rather than competing. Prioritise fit over label, since alterations cost less than most people assume and do more for how a garment reads. Buy fewer, better things in the categories above, and treat the rest as replaceable.
Care matters more than provenance. Cedar trees for shoes, conditioning every few months, cold washes and no dryer for printed cotton, breathable storage for anything structured.
The Honest Conclusion
A wardrobe gets better when you know what you are buying, not when you buy the most heavily described version of it.
Ask which step was done by hand. If the answer is specific, it probably happened. If it is a paragraph about heritage, it probably did not.