IRON CAST by Iron Heart International
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Just listened to Giles on the podcast, also a first podcast for me. I live in Japan and am still struggling with Japanese culture after 20 years! So it was good to hear about Giles struggles too. And laugh at those funny stories. But they are so true! I am trying to upload some images of our visit to Gosport, but it doesn't seem to work from my Mac. Any suggestions?
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Listened to this and really enjoyed it. Here are two things I found most thought provoking:
First, I'm currently in an engineering management masters program, and I'm actually taking a course in global virtual teams right now. Cultural considerations are a huge potential stumbling block in multi-national teams, as I'm sure many can imagine. I liked how the podcast highlighted just how special the Iron Heart model is, and how it was a rare partnership formed partially by luck, and partially by the unique characters involved. There were probably 1000 ways that it wouldn't have worked, and only one way it could have.
Second, jeans people (and people who appreciate quality), definitely feel that their stuff has it's own life and story. And there's a sense that your possession of it, though consequential, is not the beginning of the story for that thing. I think that's why people are drawn to Gosport, and why people devour any access to the other manufacturers of their cherished stuff. They go on distillery tours of their favorite bourbon or factory visits of cigars. Quality stuff takes people caring about it being quality, from start to finish.
I think that last bit has been placed in stark relief by the Suez canal fiasco. Just how much crap needs to be shipped all over the place. There really are two different models of "global commerce" working at the same time. One that uses "global connectedness" to bring together people who can add the most value, and another that uses it to race to the bottom. I think this article in The Atlantic nailed it.
Global shipping is an unglamorous business that has created some extremely glamorous fortunes, but mostly for people you’ve never heard of (unless you’re an art dealer). If you never, ever think about all the big-ass boats out there full of cheap clothes or baby strollers, the industry is working as designed. But a significant majority of your material possessions, including virtually everything you’ve ever bought from Amazon or Best Buy or Target or Walmart, was ferried most of the way from where it was manufactured to where you bought it on a ship similar to the one currently taking an extended smoke break in the Suez.
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When people have to think about that—and perhaps, as a result, feel connected to the high-stakes logistical ballet that is global manufacturing, or implicated in the often miserable working conditions of the faraway people who make it possible—something consumer psychologists call “friction” is introduced into the buying process. Retailers, manufacturers, and shippers alike benefit if purchase decisions feel unencumbered by anything but consumers’ personal desire, which means the origins of the things we buy are usually obscured.
I think I'm like many here that nothing feels better than pulling the trigger on a $300 shirt or a $700 pair of boots, because we know where these things came from, often from raw material to our door. For us, knowing more reduces friction, not the other way around. So, I hope the IH model is the real future of global commerce: less stuff, better made, where the more you learn the better it sounds.
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I think I'm like many here that nothing feels better than pulling the trigger on a $300 shirt or a $700 pair of boots, because we know where these things came from, often from raw material to our door. For us, knowing more reduces friction, not the other way around. So, I hope the IH model is the real future of global commerce: less stuff, better made, where the more you learn the better it sounds.
Great post. I agree 100% with your conclusion. That "good friction" is all over an IH product, as evidenced by this this forum and our common interest in the how's and why's of nearly every aspect of provenance, design and construction.
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Hi Giles, I clicked "upload images" and selected some pictures, but all that came out was a load of letters and numbers. So any more advice you have would be appreciated.
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Click “post”
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I am on currently a road trip to NC (just finished my turn driving) and listened to episode one on the way. Wonderful podcast and cool interview @Giles . Looking forward to more episodes in the future. I'm happy we have a forum that is full of rad people that I otherwise would have never connected with. Stoked on the IH fam
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Right on @Oaktavia
Have a great trip! -
Thanks Mike and Giles. Happier days of freedom! Summer 2019 in Gosport with my wife and daughter (wife taking the photo!)
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Awesome! Glad you figured it out. Thanks for the pics
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Yes! Thank you @TSG Those pics are most worthy. Seriously. And, are those some Puma’s you’re wearing?
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HI Adam, Greetings from Japan. Yes, happy times. They are indeed Puma's I am wearing. Suede green/khaki. I have them in black and blue, too. All the best to you, I hope you are enjoying life in Southsea.
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Up late (again) on baby duty, and needed something to keep me awake and lull the infant to sleep.
The story at the end reminds me of Sherlock Holmes, being able to identify someone by their jean fades ???
Would love to hear Alexs' reaction to the borrowing of his inheritance
So glad it all worked out in the end, and thank you to Paula for being so supportive!
Really fun stuff -
I just had a listen and really enjoyed it. Olly is much more gentle than you would image based on the the image he portrays in those motorcycle pics
So, UHFs are popular and CPOs are popular. It time for another fusion attempt. But this time with a patterned flannel. I've got both the black and maroon UHF CPOs and they are great. I'm assuming the main reason they failed is because of their solid color.
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Hi Giles, a quick question. How on earth did you end up in a little place like Gosport. I heard on the podcast that you are from the Midlands. And then for years lived all over the world. So of all the places you could have chosen, how did it end up to be Gosport? Not that I have got anything against the place, I lived there for years!
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Alex was in boarding school in Winchester and was only allowed out on Sundays. We wanted to minimize travel time to pick him up and take him back. In reality, Gosport was further away than we planned, but when we saw the house, beautiful but derelict, we fell in love. And I really need to live by water….
