Leadership Is Standing Next to the Best
Leadership Is Standing Next to the Best
Shackleton brought every man home. A chain stitch artist has given twenty five years to one craft. The lesson is the same.
Every Man Home
In 1915 the ice of the Weddell Sea crushed Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance. Twenty eight men were stranded on the ice at the bottom of the world. Shackleton kept them together for months. Then he took five of them across roughly 800 miles of the Southern Ocean in an open boat, the James Caird, to reach South Georgia and bring back help. Every man of the Endurance crew survived.
In March 2022 searchers found Endurance on the floor of the Weddell Sea, about 3,000 meters down. The name could still be read on her stern.
Shackleton did not do it alone. He knew his men, he knew what each one did best, and he stood beside them.
The Best in the World at One Thing
I believe in standing next to people who are the very best in the world at one thing. That is how Black Bear Brand works.
Our jeans are sewn by a family sewing room more than five generations deep. Our horsehide is tanned at Horween in Chicago. Our Harris Tweed is woven by hand in the islands of Scotland. Leadership here means knowing what a piece should be, finding the people who can make it best, and giving them room to do it.
Twenty Hours of Needle and Thread
The ART Edition Chain Stitched Varsity Jacket shows it plainly. Each patch is made by an artisan named HANDLER, who has given twenty five years to chain stitching. The chain stitching alone takes four days. The back patch takes four hours by itself. All together the jacket carries more than twenty hours of needle and thread.
The body is 400g/m² melton, 90 percent wool and 10 percent nylon. The sleeves are 1.6mm white cowhide. The quilted lining is made in Japan. The whole jacket is made in Japan, fabric and hardware included, and production takes about eight months.
What a Leader Owes the Work
A leader owes the work patience. Four days of chain stitch cannot be rushed. He owes the people respect, and he owes everyone the truth. After that, leadership is mostly showing up, again and again, beside the best people you can find.
A Way Of Life.
Shop the Story
ART Edition Chain Stitched Varsity Jacket
The Black Bear Brand Factory Store
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