In my ongoing quest for a new pair of raw denim, I ran across the exceptionally high-quality (and exceptionally expensive) denim manufacturer Hiut Denim. Hiut Denim is a start-up based in Cardigan, a small town of 4000 people in Mid Wales. Cardigan has and rich history of denim production and at one point, some 10% of the town’s population was involved in the trade. Hiut Denim is harnessing this knowledge and skill to produce a specialised line of denim: they only produce raw or organic denim in slim or straight styles. Each of their workers are referred to as denim grandmasters and have over 20,000 hours of denim manufacture under their proverbial belts, twice the 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell set as the time-investment required to become an expert. However, they only make ten pairs a day, so expect to wait for your pair and to be charged £230 poundsv(~CAD$400) for the pleasure. Nevertheless for the denim aficionado the exceptional quality of this bespoke denim more than justifies the price.

- CK