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I joined the Fedora Lounge because I was quite impressed with what appeared to be a dignified forum of class with knowledgeable and distinguished connoisseurs and collectors with true appreciation of the very best of fine menswear, style, and accessories. I had an interesting insider anecdote to share about the intriguing and interesting thread occurring about the legendary Ghurka name... I did not come here to be sexually insulted. Ken Woods, Director of Operations Ken Woods, Director of Operation of Trafalgar Ltd. was a retired Navy 3-star Master Chief Petty Officer with a great sense of humor whom I called Ken or “chief”. Ken Woods didn't spend much time on the production floor, but worked mostly from his office. Sometimes he would stand around and watch people work making sure that all aspects of running a ship-shape production facility and all its departments were running smoothly... but typically he would be on the phone with vendors and suppliers or Marley who was usually in the main office in NYC, doing paperwork and reports, or telling interesting or funny Navy stories with the secretary and bookkeeper in the front office, etc. He would come out of his office occasionally to do a quick check and give or relay instructions or a new order to me and then let me loose and perform those tasks on the production floor. Ken Woods was always available to me if I had any questions and he was the one who hired me and who I reported to in the business structure and chain of command protocol. Ken Woods freed Marley up from having to be involved in day to day manufacturing in Stamford as Marley focused on sales, marketing, and financing in the NYC office. The legal working age in CT at that time was 16 years old. I was 18 years old when Ken Woods hired me, so it was nowhere a situation of underage child labor as you seem to imply. Of course it was totally appropriate for Ken Woods as the Director of Operations to write my letter of recommendation for me. I was initially hired as a full time seamstress as one of 3 seamstresses, which I did for the first three days. After those first few days I started learning and performing other production tasks too. I was a fast and eager experienced seamstress and worker who was used to performing top quality workmanship and I was a fast learner of the steps in manufacturing quality belts. (My IQ is 140+) Shortly thereafter as the company grew quickly I filled in performing production tasks where ever I was needed... which evolved into my seeing what needed to get done and filling in and doing whatever tasks needed to be done next, until eventually I was the supervisor to all the seamstresses, buckle attachers, skivers, stainers, snap attachers, quality control inspectors, and other craftspeople utilized in keeping the production line running while manufacturing top quality leather belts. Reading the McDonald's Franchise Manual Shortly before I was hired by Trafalgar Ltd. and still living at home, when my younger sister got hired for her first working job at McDonald's hamburgers in Hamden, CT (Back in the days when the hamburger count of all hamburgers sold was still in the tens of thousands This is my same sister whose old military calvary riding boots and ammunitions bag I was using. We would trade clothes sometimes and she prefered a girlier look. I was going for a more masculine look so as to be accepted in a more male dominated militaristic field.) She was allowed to bring the huge McDonald's franchise operations manual home for just a couple days so she could read the small section on employee policy. Fortunately the Westport, CT school system was so incredibly progressive that it had been mandatory for all Bedford Junior High School students to take one quarter of speed reading by the librarian. By the end of that class I was topping out at reading 3000 words a minute. I loved reading and have always been a prolific reader. It took staying up all night long after high school and my homework was done in order to read the McDonald's franchise manual. A bunch of the accounting stuff I did not understand and it was my first exposure to the financial aspect of business on that scale. I would tell Ken and Marley about what I had read in the McDonald's franchise operations manual and I used it's principles on the production floor. But instead of a French fry station, or drink pouring station in getting orders filled fast, instead it was a belt sewing station, or inspection station, or cluster of work stations, etc. in whatever it took to getting orders filled fast and on time. We were and became kind of like a well trained McDonald's fast food crew, but 2/3 of my ladies did not speak English as a first language, half of whom did not speak English at all... so for instance, it would be the Polish ladies who manned the thread trimming station. They were even allowed to talk amongst themselves, and were even allowed to listen to their music on the radio if they wanted to at their work station... the focus was quality. Better, faster, cheaper. And I am proud to say that we filled orders fast and on time with a top quality product that garnered bigger repeat orders. Marley Hodgson did indeed determine that there was a market demand for high quality men's belts, when all that was mainly being manufactured in America was hippie belts in those days. Designing with Marley Hodgson The workroom was too busy and noisy to be able to do much designing and sewing sample runs during the work day when the workroom was full of employees in the hustle bustle of full production. The legal drinking age in CT at that time was 21 years old, whereas 15 minutes away in NY state the legal drinking age was 18 which was where my friends and I would frequently go out to drink and party or get booze. Of course drinking was not typically allowed on the job at Trafalgar Ltd., it did not occur during regular business hours. That it did occur on several occasions and that Marley bought it and brought it was inappropriate maybe but I happen to enjoy and prefer wine with pizza as did Marley. There was certainly no getting plastered on the job. We had deadlines to meet, plus I was on overtime. Developing a new line of belts was often done in one evening! On short notice! It was wild! As I recall there were 6 salesmen, plus Marley in the NYC showroom so each sample style was making up and whipping out 7 belts of each style... and with typically 6 styles minimum in a line, that meant coming up with and whipping out some really good designs quickly. Like so many people who put things off until the last minute, it seemed the samples had to be ready to give to his salesmen the next day!!! Talk about inventing just-in-time inventory order fulfillment! LOL! To work late on short notice would mean canceling any plans with my friends.. not even a break for going home for dinner after 8 ½ hours on the production floor and Marley would have to call out for pizzas to be brought in for dinner when we would take breaks and have something to eat and drink. We both enjoyed nice wines and had compatible palettes. The workroom would empty out and become quiet, we'd put some rockin' music on the radio and start designing and creating which we both loved, and make up and I would sew the new lines! We would have a blast. As I would sew away and Marley would watch as the designs became reality we would talk about everything. We talked about McDonald's, our dreams, we would laugh at ideas that bombed and when they looked awesome, haute couture workmanship and the perpetual demand for high quality goods , Trafalgar, Westport's rich people and the ways of high society, funny stories, etc. Have you ever become so exhausted that you get slaphappy? A couple times I worked 12 hours overtime and Marley would give me a ride home to get a couple hours of sleep before having to return to be out on the production floor in a couple hours for another days production. But we ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS got those sales samples done in time. It was wild. LOL It was great to see the belt samples we were making sell orders and interesting to see which styles sold more than others. Marley had preconceived ideas of what leathers and buckles to use together in designing the belts and he had the type of designs in mind, and I would be the one who expressed the designs by sewing and making the prototypes, making suggestions about how to make it for the production line while maintaining quality, etc. I think it goes without saying that Marley Hodgson is a brilliant and gifted designer and manufacturer of quality luxury leather goods, as history has proven. No doubt about it. Haute couture has changed so much over the years and evolved to where it appears that the names of designers nowadays are the brand used to pitch the designs of the in house designer staff and craftspeople, and the big name designer picks, shapes, and chooses and determines what they will put their (brand)name on to sell best and build the brand name, while the holding company organizes and controls the quality, manufacturing, marketing, placement, and distribution. I think it can be a good marriage for the designer maximizing making big bucks. Haute couture is being lost (is it dead already?) to going the way of pret-a-porter. And haute couture designers and design houses have gone the way of becoming a stable of designers in a holding company, and what produces the maximum return on investment to the holding company owner(s) who in the case of Ghurka the Ghurka theme brand appears to be owned by the holding company Accessories Network Group which is owned by Abe Chehebar, the real true Stylista. Highest Quality American Made So who is actually the one who is selling out? Someone who walks away from the trade because they refuse to sell out themselves and their personal integrity, America, and reputation to put their name on something inferior quality or made overseas and not in America? Is this a pun? Selling out by refusing to sell out, having to sell out for refusing to sell out, selling out for not selling out, or selling out for selling out? The debate may go on endlessly. If I recall correctly, it was very important to Marley for Trafalgar to be an American company, with having its belts be American made. He had the conviction that American craftspeople can produce and create and compete with the comparable high superb quality and craftsmanship as Europe's best fashion houses of manufacturing luxury leather goods. That Americans can be just as good if not better. It just depends on what quality tolerances and standards are adopted and designing talent. I agree that maybe there is something that is lost and that there is no need to outsource when there is already gifted low wage leather goods workers in America and even in America's First Nations for instance. I think that American pride, in talented work people and craftspeople in smaller workshops is worth paying a little extra premium for compared to having it outsourced to mass production factories. Maybe not as good as Herme's? Who is to argue? It looks like some will argue the matter. Marley and the Murse Man-purse/murse? It appears that Marley Hodgson was the pioneer to break that sexual boundary that it is okay for a man to carry a handbag, and start collecting handbags. Military... masculine. The Ghurka name is masculine, Ghurka troops were legendary for their effectiveness and stealth so that is a good business identity. Putting a number on something conveys fine art and that there is a limit or rarity and that it is limited as with the numbers found on fine art prints and sculptures. It looks like Marley took my purse and made it a murse. And it looks like Marley's murse was able to compete in the same price range as women's purses. Bravo! I am laughing in the closet with the elephant. New to Ghurka I am completely new to Ghurka. I didn't know Ghurka even existed until late 2006 so of course I was delighted to discover it and I contacted Marley right away to congratulate him! I have not seen any Ghurka in real life to inspect it, or compare old Ghurka to new Ghurka quality so I can only comment by what I see in Ghurka's design. And that I have much to say and comment about, and so many fresh ideas for the company and industry. And there are indications that Madison Ave. is listening. My commentary seems to be influencing design and Madison Ave. marketing of Ghurka today. I criticized Ghurka's new deconstructed line when it was introduced and the web page ad name changed by removing the decontructed tag line and renaming it. And now those items appear to be off the market. A long-time favorite posted video of mine, Baraca Monkey Chant is now being featured in the Ghurka lifestyle positioning video intro into their website. Connoisseurs and collectors, will you please tell me if you have noticed or do notice a trend that reflects some of the designs on my website and blogs? Do you notice any change in garment bags becoming more varied and versatile? Has it been just since 2006 that the prices have skyrocketed? Marley's devotion to his marriage to Linda appeared to be strong to me and they appeared to be totally thrilled with the birth of their son Marley III in 1973. If Marley did go estate sale shopping in England in 1973 looking for inspiring Ghurka boots with the vintage and tanning recipe attached, and left his wife with a brand new baby at home with a busy new belt company in financial difficulty... I can't say of course. I'm just sayin'. I met with Marley a couple of times after I left Trafalgar's while visiting my husbands family in Westport, until Trafalgar moved it's production facilities from Stamford, CT when the building was razed. Trafalgar Ltd.'s still appears to be a very good belt company and I am not aware that it was on the brink or experienced the tremendous success that Ghurka's bags ever did, yet it still supplies the demand for premium quality men's belts beautifully. It appears more so ever to me, that a new company with a new name needed to be started under a different financial structure free of the financial obligations that were limiting Trafalgar Ltd and Marley Hodgson from what he could make if he formed another company, and that it took 2 years until 1975 to position and launch the bag company that my boots and bag appear to have inspired! And then that new company Ghurka obtained tremendous success introducing a murse and luggage line. Marley took the risk to introduce the murse in a way with a military regimental theme inspired by my boots and purse that men would embrace, and Marley Hodgson had and has the designing talent and business talent to make it big time. Male Sexist Pig I earned the almost the most of the seamstresses and female production workers. I was earning at the level of seamstresses with over 10 years of sewing experience. Let me tell you that the lady on the floor with the most years experience sewing is the queen bee of the sewing team/station. Back in those days there where major issues of white collar/ blue collar pay and class distinctions. Mens pay, womens pay class distinctions. McDonald's workers pay. White workers and Black workers pay. White women's pay over a Black man's pay, just even White women supervising Black men was revolutionary! Or women supervising men, a younger woman supervising older women and men. Ken Woods was from an ALL still mens US Navy where you earn pay based on experience, and over time as you work your way up the ranks, not based not talent or contribution. Ken Woods believed that women had NO place or competance in the United States Navy or United States military other than as a nurse, and that women had absolutely NO place in management, much less jumping across the line from blue collar to white collar... much less for someone so young, beautiful, and still wet behind the ears. Leather Gets Better With Age The nature of leather is to wear and age like skin, Any leather poorly tanned, maintained, or treated will wear out and rot. Any leather that is well tanned, well maintained, and well treated will last a lifetime... look at the Egyptian mummies and how long those skins last. Leather garments and leather goods like beloved shoes or boots once broken in fit like a glove or a second skin, because it IS a second skin and is stitched similar to how a surgeon stitches a cut in someone's skin. Different tanning methods produce different results, so where one process may tan the animal hide into leather goods for a belt that is haute couture, another process can tan the same animal hide into leather goods to become a fan belt to drive a logging engine, to make equipment, industrial, military usage, or protective gear. The difference is in the tanning process. I protest and complain. Isn't that against the Fedora Lounge forum guidelines and policies? Was I wrong to think that this was a place for ladies and gentlemen to gather and discuss fine mens haute couture and accessories? Must I remind myself that is just any place where any NonEntity can come in without any proper valid name or location but just some valid email address hidden to everyone but the forum host? Hiding behind NonEntity, eeewwww who has such a crude and nasty imagination!!! Ick! That is sooooooo “Ugly Betty!” I did not realize that the Fedora Lounge was a sex chat forum, to discuss and speculate on sexual matters instead of appreciating the fine art of quality leather luxury goods and mens finest accessories.
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