I recently had the distinct pleasure of stopping by the Schott NYC factory for a tour. It was on a Saturday, so the factory itself wasn’t in action. Nevertheless, the place absolutely hummed with energy. Lots of things midway through production, massive amounts of equipment, and a general feeling of “this is where good things get done” pervaded the place. It was a rare, fantastic thing to get to experience, and my most sincere thanks go out to all the folks at Schott for it.
To give a little bit of context: the series starts with a couple shots of the factory from near the main entrance. From there, it’s through the storage area for all the hides and and a good portion of the raw materials, then on to the production floor. I was moving from back to front, which is (not coincidentally) pretty much how Schott’s wares themselves move through the production process. Hides are cut by hand in the far corner, and final steps like topstitching and affixing rivets happen at the very front. The result is some of the best American-made outerwear you can do yourself the favor of picking up.
I’ve got a few shots here, and a slideshow of nearly 100 shots below. For the full experience, just take a leap over to Flickr and watch in glorious full screen mode (where you can see, in detail, the limitations of my photography skills).
For measuring hides
This guy makes fringe
The shearling machine
And the shearling
For cutting hides
Since everything starts inside out, this spike is used to get hard to reach areas like corners right side out for the final touches
And how do they keep it all in order, you wonder? With this powerhouse machine right here
Again, thanks to all the fine people at Schott for letting me come out and grab some shots of the home of a great American brand.
—Jonathan
