Swanley is a quiet little place, quite different from the bustling metropole I left about 25 minutes ago. I hailed a cab, and after an uneventful ride, I was there. Wested Leather Company. Open for business. I opened the door and entered.
Shortly after entering the store, a familiar-looking guy walks down the stairs and approaches me.
"Hello. I'm Peter Botwright." We shake hands, Peter notes that I'm carrying a Mk VII. Everything is very familiar, in a strange way - Peter seems like an old aquaintance, the casual approach to all things Indygear... all because of this board. COW is a powerful and barrier-breaking forum indeed!
We chat a little, Peter goes to retrieve my stuff, I check things out... Gerry appears, we say hello and chat a bit. Peter returns: a pair of pants and a shirt appears on the desk. Two shirts, actually; I was to pick up Swindiana's shirt and bring it to Sweden, too.
A little shirt size alert: If you are anywhere near 6' or taller, go for the XXL. I tried the XL - the sleeves are too short. I changed to an XXL for both me and Swindy (who is well over 6' 3").
Then, Peter brings out the piece de resistance:
A beautiful authentic lamb Temple jacket. Looks great and is a perfect fit, made to my specs. The inner pocket is considerably larger than expected - a positive surprise. Peter knows his customers: sooner or later, the jacket owner will try to squeeze a Grail Diary down the pocket - as of now, the jackets leaving the shop are prepared for it (unless spec'd otherwise, of course)
After trying on the gear, chatting a bit more and finishing the coffee graciously offered by Gerry, it's time to leave. Peter is very kind and offers me a ride to Swanley station. We say goodbye, and I head back to London.
If you have the opportunity to pick up your order in person, I warmly recommend a visit to Peter, Gerry and the others at Wested. The people and the service is excellent and the entire place has a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Serious kudos to these people, bearing with us gearheads with our crazy ideas about screen-accuracy, leather qualities and whatnot.
Peter, Gerry - I had a great visit. Thanks for the coffee. Hope to see you again!
/SJ
. Actually, the bench on which my jacket lies in the above pic is where the leather is cut. It's also the place where final touches are added and orders are prepared to dispatch. The sewing is done in an adjacent room, and the office part is located upstairs.
Got the names confused! It's Maidstone, not Maidenhead... trains to Swanley leave from Victoria to Maidstone East. You'll go by National Rail and the train company is South Eastern Trains.
Hmm, the shirt for sure and... isn't it a great opportunity to try Minority Report jacket on? I hope one day will do...
